After training with the pink ball during the practice sessions Ajinkya Rahane finally asserted his views on pink ball calling it a different ball game compared to the red ball. The ball offers more lateral movement and batsman will be forced to play late and close to the bodies.
Ajinkya Rahane along with Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja had 2 practice sessions with pink ball preparing for the upcoming day-night test at Eden Gardens.
The players practiced under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid, director of NCA (National Cricket Academy) to analyze the swing and seam movement from the pink ball.
Although, during the Duleep trophy seasons there were complaints of spinners not getting any purchase off the pitch.
“I think they played with the Kookaburra ball in Duleep trophy, that’s a different thing. With the SG ball, I am not so sure. We played against spinners in Bangalore and they were getting good revs (revolutions) on the ball. Yes, the shine is completely different to red ball but it’s very hard to compare with SG ball and the kookaburra ball,” feels Ajinkya Rahane.
Rahane admitted that he has never played with the pink ball in the past, but after watching the pink ball assisting the pacers early on in Bangalore, the batter warned other batters to be careful with movement and play the ball close to the body and as late as possible.
Although, despite honing their defensive techniques with the pink ball during practice sessions, his prime focus is the red ball.
Ajinkya Rahane was in good touch with the bat during the recent India South Africa series and looking at his dedication a big daddy hundred is just around the corner.
