Hard to pick the pink-ball seam in twilight: Mohammad Mithun

Mohammad Mithun, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman, had a fair amount of trouble while picking the seam of the pink-ball, especially during the twilight period. The 28-year-old was a part of the Tigers’ historic Day-Night Test versus India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and was in for a rough time. On the second day, Mithun copped a blow on the helmet from Ishant Sharma.

But he said that it was more due to his slow reflexes more than anything else. Regarding the visibility of the pink-ball, Mithun stated that it’s easier making adjustments with the red ball than the pink cherry. As per him, the ball tends to move prodigiously and also skids through, making things tough.

Pink cherry swings more, says Mithun

“Like with red ball you can pick up the seam early and make adjustment knowing in which direction it is going but with a pink ball that is not the case and more so during the twilight hour,” Mithun was quoted as saying in an interview with Cricbuzz.

“At that point of time, pink ball swings more and pace also increases substantially even when the weather is damp and you just can’t pick the seam. It seems the pace is more than the normal days and it also skids,” Mithun stated.

Mohammad Mithun feeling the pain

Mithun also felt uncomfortable in his hands, despite wearing the gloves. Quite often it was seen that the leather moved significantly after passing the batsman. Mithun talked about the same and also mentioned that such isn’t the case with the red ball.

“I was also keeping wickets and I felt that the ball is giving me lots of pain even though I was wearing the gloves. Off the pitch, the ball moves a lot. Even after crossing the batsmen to till it comes to the keeper the ball still keeps moving and all these things don’t happen with red balls,” he added.

Mithun wasn’t the designated keeper for the game. Liton Das was given the role to start with, but he developed concussion in Bangladesh’s first batting innings and was subsequently ruled out. In the Day-Night Test, Mithun could only manage scores of 0 and 6, even as he ended with 37 runs in the series at a dismal average of 9.25.