Pink ball Tests, World Cup upset & the roar of Bengal Tiger: Indian cricket made news in 2019
India were in for quite a bit of pain when New Zealand knocked them out in the World Cup semifinals.
By PTI |
Agencies
The year India played its first pink ball test, England lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time and 'Dada' became the BCCI Chief.
NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli and Indian cricket remained an enduring love story and Sourav Ganguly held out promise for a path-breaking reign off the field in a year during which the country finally embraced Pink Ball Tests.
There were the heartbreaks, the biggest one being a World Cup semifinal exit, and not to forget the anxious wait on what Mahendra Singh Dhoni might do next after being on a sabbatical for half the year.
In a World Cup that was decided by boundary count-back, India were in for quite a bit of pain when New Zealand knocked them out in the semifinals.
The Kiwis then had to bear a lot of agony of their own when England became champions for a better boundary count after regulation as well as super over scores ended tied.
The very affable Kane Williamson's painfully blank expression after that crushing loss made for the perhaps most poignant picture of the year. In the neighbouring Australia, Steve Smith and David Warner began their redemption in earnest after hitting nadir in 2018 due to the ball-tampering scandal.
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Smith had a memorable Ashes campaign which also presented world cricket with a potential superstar in the young Marnus Labuschagne.
South African cricket lost most of its revered performers during an year of decline with the only consolation being a win against England at the fag end.
Test cricket was back in Pakistan with the Sri Lankan Test squad touring for the first time since the 2009 terror attacks but the response was at best lukewarm.
It was also a year when Glenn Maxwell put the spotlight on the mental stress that international cricketers endure. He took a break to deal with his mental health issues and found support from all quarters.
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Kohli was among those who threw their weight behind Maxwell and revealed that one time in his own life when he battled "end of the world" thoughts. The period being a rare slump in form during the England tour of 2014.
Maxwell since then has recovered and has also clinched a cool million-dollar IPL deal with Kings XI Punjab.
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Back to Indian cricket.
If winning a Test series in Australia for the first time in over seven decades was the crowning glory for India, the fifteen minutes of self destruction in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand stuck out like a sore thumb continuing the national team's now six-yea-old jinx in ICC tournaments.
Amid all this, Ganguly, known for taking charge in Indian cricket's difficult times, became the unanimous choice to become the 39th president of the BCCI after three controversy-marred years under the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.
And Ganguly immediately showed his penchant for taking "on your feet" decisions by convincing an unsure Kohli to play the first ever 'Pink Ball Test' against Bangladesh.
The quality didn't match the hype even though the new board president was able to drive home a point about how to get dwindling crowds back for the purest format.
The opinionated Indian skipper, even after scoring the country's first pink ball hundred, thought otherwise and highlighted the need for permanent Test centers to cultivate fans instead of forcing those, who don't want, to watch the traditional.
The quality didn't match the hype even though the new board president was able to drive home a point about how to get dwindling crowds back for the purest format. There was no stopping Kohli on the field and he was the highest scorer across formats with 2,455 runs -- 13 more than his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma (2,442 runs), who rediscovered himself as a Test opener with stupendous success at home.
The Indian pace bowlers -- the best to have ever bowled in tandem in the country's cricketing history -- fetched the current team the tag of gutsy travellers even though Ganguly thinks that their biggest Test is yet to come.
But as West Indies great Brian Lara pointed out, teams are getting the drift of how to get past India on big ticket days like New Zealand's swing bowlers did at the windy overcast Old Trafford.
They got Kohli and Rohit early and then Martin Guptill pulled off a direct throw, which was one in a million, to get Dhoni run out.
India's most successful captain hasn't played any cricket since then and the mystery continues as Indian cricket embarks on a new year with endless possibilities.
History In Making: Kolkata Shimmers In Pink As India Gears Up For First Day-Night Test
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In what is being considered a landmark occasion, India’s first day-night Test match will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. This is the first time that Team India will play with the pink ball, and to mark the monumental moment, not just Eden but the entire city of Kolkata is decked up in pink.
The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) tweeted a 17-second video, on Wednesday, showing how the City of Joy is preparing for the big match.
The video shows Eden Gardens stadium and several other landmark spots in the city shimmering in a pink hue.
The new BCCI Chief, Sourav Ganguly, who is the brain behind the first-ever day-night Test, also posted a picture of two skyscrapers shining in pink on his Twitter handle.
In what is being considered a landmark occasion, India’s first day-night Test match will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. This is the first time that Team India will play with the pink..
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The historic match, between India and Bangladesh, will kickstart with Army paratroopers landing in Eden Gardens to hand over a pink ball to each of the two captains, just before the toss.
This will be followed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (left) and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (right) ringing the customary Eden Bell.
The historic match, between India and Bangladesh, will kickstart with Army paratroopers landing in Eden Gardens to hand over a pink ball to each of the two captains, just before the toss.This will be..
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A day-night Test match, as the name suggests, is played either totally, or partially under floodlights (artificial stadium lighting) in the evening or night. The idea behind playing day-night Tests is to increase the footfall at the match, because a large number of cricket enthusiasts watch matches after workhours.
Friday’s Test match is particularly important, and as Virat Kohli calls it, a ‘landmark occasion’, because this is India’s maiden day-night Test match.
The Test match at Eden is coincidentally happening on the one-month anniversary of Ganguly being named BCCI Chief. The Bengal Tiger had given a go-ahead for the idea immediately after being appointed Chief.
A day-night Test match, as the name suggests, is played either totally, or partially under floodlights (artificial stadium lighting) in the evening or night. The idea behind playing day-night Tests i..
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The pink-ball, or ‘pink cherry’ as it is fondly called, is used in day-night Test matches as it has better visibility during the night as compared to the red balls, usually used for Test matches.
The red balls, under yellow floodlights, take a brownish colour which is similar to the colour of the pitch. The pink ball is glossy and shiny in contrast to the matte finish of the red ball.
However, the question remains, why not use white balls that are normally used for T20 and ODI matches. An advantage of using the pink balls is that they deteriorate slowly as compared to the white balls which makes them ideal for day-night Test matches.
The pink-ball, or ‘pink cherry’ as it is fondly called, is used in day-night Test matches as it has better visibility during the night as compared to the red balls, usually used for Test matches.The ..
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One of the biggest concerns around the pink ball is its longevity. The more pink ball is used, the faster it loses its original colour. The grass acts as a cushion which helps the pink cherry last longer. That’s why Eden was chosen as the venue of the match since the stadium has a good grass cover.
One of the biggest concerns around the pink ball is its longevity. The more pink ball is used, the faster it loses its original colour. The grass acts as a cushion which helps the pink cherry last lo..
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The match at Eden will see the sun set at approx. 4 pm IST, owing to the Indian winter. As a result, dew is expected to set in. As captain Kohli said, "There is no way for us to anticipate dew. So, that is a concern and it will be a factor in the last session."
If there’s a lot of dew, gripping the ball may become a major challenge.
Another challenge is the weight of the pink ball. The pink ball feels heavier which makes fielding very difficult. While catching, the ball hits the hands of the fielder harder and more effort is required when the ball is thrown from the boundary.
The match at Eden will see the sun set at approx. 4 pm IST, owing to the Indian winter. As a result, dew is expected to set in. As captain Kohli said, "There is no way for us to anticipate dew. So, t..
