Preview: India and Bangladesh will be playing their first-ever Day-Night Test at iconic Eden Gardens starting Friday. This will be the second match of the series after India recorded a comprehensive innings and 130-run victory in Indore. The second Test match will be played with a pink SG ball and this will also serve as a trial for the pink balls as well as the BCCI. The Kookaburra pink balls were used in the Duleep Trophy earlier. Ahead of the blockbuster contest, our correspondent Aritra Mukherjee will get you all the updates from Team India’s first practice session in Kolkata.
Follow Team India practice session Highlights below -
18:30 hrs: The Indian team has left the training session, our reporter from Kolkata Aritra Mukherjee has informed. This marks the end of India’s first practice day before the historic day-night Test.
18:00 hrs: An out of form Rishabh Pant has a lot to prove in the 2nd Test. The left-handed batsman, is unlikely to get a game with Wriddhiman Saha becoming India’s first choice wicketkeeper in the longest format. Our correspondent Aritra Mukherjee caught Pant at the nets in Kolkata as India’s training session continues.
17:50 hrs: All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are now practicing against the pink ball. There hasn’t been a need for them to score with the bat yet in the series but the duo aren’t leaving any stones unturned before the historic clash.
{{/usCountry}}17:50 hrs: All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are now practicing against the pink ball. There hasn’t been a need for them to score with the bat yet in the series but the duo aren’t leaving any stones unturned before the historic clash.
{{/usCountry}}17:35 hrs: Our correspondent Aritra Mukherjee tells us that Rishabh Pant has arrived in the nets and he is trying to positive. He lost his place to Saha in the Test team and it seems that he will have to stay on the bench for some time in the longest format.
17:25 hrs: History will be created on Friday when India will be playing under lights for the first time in the longest format. This is what the stadium would look like on Friday under the lights. Only fans are missing currently.
17:15 hrs: Wicket-keeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has now joined skipper Virat Kohli in the nets. Saha has done really well with the gloves but same can’t be said about his exploits with the bat. He needs to change that soon as competition for his place heats up.
17:05 hrs: Kohli continues to defend everything that is being thrown at him. The right-hander has looked very comfortable so far, reports Aritra Mukherjee.
16:55 hrs: Skipper Virat Kohli goes inside the net to face bowlers for the first time today. He starts off with batting against the pacers. Shami is steaming in to Kohli in the nets, also beats the captain once and like a true champion, Kohli applauds the swing Shami got with the pink ball.
16:45 hrs: India top-order batsmen Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara are now going hard at the nets. The duo will play a crucial role if India are put up a big score in this historic game.
16:35 hrs: Skipper Virat Kohli seems in a confident mood and he is currently doing warm-up by playing football. Kohli is just 32 runs from creating history at Eden Gardens. Read here
16:25 hrs: Opener Mayank Agarwal would like to continue his good form in the next match. He scored a scintillating double ton in the last game and will look for the same in Kolkata. Here he is trying to adapt with the pink ball.
16:11 hrs: It is all about acclimatising to the conditions with the pink ball. The fielders are catching the ball and hurling it back to Rishabh Pant, all in an attempt to sight the ball properly.
16:02 hrs: Aritra says there are as many as six Indian fielders taking practising slip catching. Well, the pitch is good, the Indian pacers are in form, it is just a sign of things tho come.
15:55 hrs: The Indian team in a huddle, captain Virat Kohli doing the talking.
15:50 hrs: “The sight screen will be crucial. For ODIs we have black sight screen, I’m not sure about this match. But it will be important as it may be difficult for the keepers anf slip fielders,” Saha says.
15:45 hrs: Wriddhiman Saha is at the press conference and he too believes the twilight zone will be the most tricky phase. “The main change is the ball. we played with the Kookaburra in the CAB league so this will be new. Twilight time will be a challenge. we’ll have to adjust to that. Bowlers will have help for sure.”
15:34 hrs: The Indian side is in the house and they are warming up with a session of football.
15:19 hrs: Shastri inspects the pitch: Aritra is at the ground and he says that the Indian head coach is taking a good hard look at the surface.
15:13 hrs: Pitch is generating tremendous interest - Aritra says that India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour having a world about the outfield with chief curator Sujan Mukherjee before going towards to the pitch to have a look.
15:11 hrs: Sourav Ganguly on the pitch - The former India captain, who was also CAB president before taking over as BCCI’s 39th president, spent around 4-5 minutes discussing the pitch with Eden chief curator Mukherjee. Ganguly even bent down to check the hardness of the pitch, which has decent covering of grass to keep the colour and shine of the new SG pink ball intact.
14:54 hrs: Daniel Vettori has spoken about the challenges at hand - The former Kiwi skipper has said that the biggest challenge will be to counter the threat of the pink ball under lights.
14:30 hrs: Team India arrives for session - Our correspondent Aritra Mukherjee tells us that Team India has arrived at the venue for their first practice session ahead of the match. They would want to familiarise themselves with the new SG pink ball before taking to the field in their first Test Day-Night Test.
14:20 hrs: Sourav Ganguly inspecting pitch - BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is taking a stock of the pitch himself and was seen speaking with chief curator Sujan Mukherjee. In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, Mukherjee had said India should field first on Friday.
14:10 hrs:The science behind pink ball - The first ever Day/Night Test between Australia and New Zealand ended inside 3 days with none of the sides crossing the 250-run mark. Records of batsmen have improved since then but the pink ball’s trait of swinging more for long hasn’t changed.