Ajinkya Rahane reckons that pink ball is quite different to the conventional red ball in terms of the movement that it offers.
The red ball also offers movement if the conditions are ideal for the bowlers, but Rahane reckons the bink ball moves much more than the red ball once it hits the deck.
While the Indian team was busy playing the T20I series against Bangladesh, Rahane, who only plays test match cricket for India these days, was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in the meantime practicing with the pink ball.
It was the first time that Rahane ever played with the pink ball and his assessment says that it will pose quite a bit of challenge for the batsmen.
“The lateral movement is big, actually a lot more than the red ball. I’m sure we’ll get two good practice sessions in Kolkata.”, Rahane told the reporters.
Rahane is not quite sure how much the dew would affect the day-night test match because he didn’t face the wet pink ball at NCA. The Indian team, however, would have evening practice sessions in Kolkata ahead of the game.
It’s not only Rahane who was at the NCA to practice with the pink ball during the India vs Bangladesh T20I series, Mohammed Shami and Jadeja were there as well, two players who are integral parts of the Indian test side.
The pink ball is a different proposition for the bowlers as well if the dew comes into play. When the pink ball was used in the Indian domestic circuit a couple of years back in Duleep Trophy, dew had turned out to be the biggest challenge in the last session.
“Generally when dew comes into play, it becomes easy for the batsman. But I don’t know about the pink SG ball how it goes on to play when dew comes in.” Rahane said when asked about dew.
