That Saturday (December 19, 2020), when Virat Kohli and his teammates were bundled out for 36 by Australia at the Adelaide Oval, Indian cricket experienced one of its darkest days.
Team India, though, “wore that 36 all out as a badge”, as said by then head coachRavi Shastri, launching a remarkable turnaround towin the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
But that’s a different story. From the pink-ball Test perspective, however, that Adelaide Test four years ago is the only instance of India losing a day-night multi-day contest. Since the introduction of pink-ball day-night Tests in 2015, India have played just four so far, winning threeof them.
Such a record is certainly impressive. But having said that, all the three victories India registered so far in the pink-ball Test have come playing at home. The forgettable Adelaide Test is their only overseas day-night Test.
Beginning on Friday at the same Adelaide Oval, India will be playing their first overseas pink-ball Test in four years in the form of the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Momentum and mindset-wise, India will be far better off than Australiafollowing their dominant 295-run victory in the series opener in Perth.
For Australia, they seem to be having too many problems to deal with. Particularly, when it comes to their batting which appears to be extremely fragile and looking out of sorts before India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Precisely, their unbeaten run in day-night Tests in Adelaide — winning all seven matches there so far — and bowling India out for 36 the last time appear to be the only aspects which can boost Australia’s morale.
All said and done, regardless of current form and momentum, the pink ball can always throw up a surprise or two, especially during the twilight period which is the toughest period for batsmen in a day-night Test. To talk of India’s batsmen, only twice have they posted a 300-plus team total in a pink-ball game — 347/9 declared in the first innings of their first-ever day-night Test against a weak Bangladeshi attack at Eden Gardens in November 2019 and 303/9 declared in the second essay against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in March 2022.
On the other occasions, the going hasn’t been easy for India’s batters while the 36 all out too had happened much before the twilight period.
“The transition from daylight to evening is when it gets most difficult (to bat), especially when the light isn’t great,” former keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who played in India’s first two pink-ball Tests at the Eden and Adelaide, told The Telegraphon Monday.
“The pink ball has more lacquer in it and is thus shinier. It’s not like the white ball. That’s why it moves more, especially under the lights.
“In daylight, the rotation of the ball is comparatively easier to gauge, but it’s not so under lights even when spinners are in operation. Batters thus have to apply themselves better,” Saha explained.
India’s bowling group, both quicks and spinners, have done consistently well with the pink ball. So far, only 208 has been the highest total managed by an opponent team (Sri Lanka in the fourth innings of the 2022 Bengaluru Test) against India with the pink ball.
In the coming Adelaide clash too, Bumrah and his fellow quicks can make fine use of the pronounced green-coloured pink Kookaburra seam.
“With the pink ball, it’sbetter to bowl back of a length,” Mohammed Siraj told bcci.tv.
“Pitching it up, there’s not a lot of swing. So the more we hit the deck and get it to seam, better will it be for us.”
