LANS, Kolkata :
Ahead of their first Day-Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens here, India captain Virat Kohli said on Thursday that fielding with the SG pink ball is a very challenging task.
India had a full training session under lights on Wednesday evening where Kohli was seen batting for a long while at the nets during the twilight period, which is said to be the toughest phase for the batters in a pink ball Test. India went through fielding drills as well, with Rohit Sharma even picking up a minor knock on his hand while catching at slips. On the eve of the historic occasion, Kohli was asked what challenges the team faced while training.
“Batting is something we were focusing a lot. As batsmen you think of cutting down those errors when you are playing with a different-coloured ball. We were looking to solidify our technique. We are fine with that. But what surprised me were fielding sessions,” said the captain.
Kohli compared the pink ball which has an extra coating of lacquer with a hockey ball in terms of feel and how hard it hits the hand.
“How in the slips the ball hits your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball or those synthetic balls you used to play with as a kid. It felt like that on the hand and it’s purely because of extra glaze on the ball. It’s much more hardened and felt a little heavy although there won’t be much of a difference in terms of weight. Even the throws took lot more effort than the red ball to reach the keeper,” Kohli explained.
Ahead of their first Day-Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens here, India captain Virat Kohli said on Thursday that fielding with the SG pink ball is a very challenging task.
India had a full training session under lights on Wednesday evening where Kohli was seen batting for a long while at the nets during the twilight period, which is said to be the toughest phase for the batters in a pink ball Test. India went through fielding drills as well, with Rohit Sharma even picking up a minor knock on his hand while catching at slips. On the eve of the historic occasion, Kohli was asked what challenges the team faced while training.
“Batting is something we were focusing a lot. As batsmen you think of cutting down those errors when you are playing with a different-coloured ball. We were looking to solidify our technique. We are fine with that. But what surprised me were fielding sessions,” said the captain.
Kohli compared the pink ball which has an extra coating of lacquer with a hockey ball in terms of feel and how hard it hits the hand.
“How in the slips the ball hits your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball or those synthetic balls you used to play with as a kid. It felt like that on the hand and it’s purely because of extra glaze on the ball. It’s much more hardened and felt a little heavy although there won’t be much of a difference in terms of weight. Even the throws took lot more effort than the red ball to reach the keeper,” Kohli explained.
