SG MD explains the specifications BCCI gave for pink ball-manufacturing ahead of historic Eden Test

India’s Test series against Bangladesh has mostly had the pink-ball Test as its cynosure. The hosts played the opening game versus the Tigers at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, but all the talks were surrounding the Day-Night Test. The epic match will take place at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, starting November 22 and tickets for the first four days have already been sold out.

In the lead up to the contest, there’s a lot of discussions regarding how the pink ball would behave under the lights. On the eve of the Indore Test, Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, said that he played with the pink ball for the first time and felt that it swings way more than the red ball. As per Virat, the extra lacquer on the cherry doesn’t go away early and the seam holds upright.

Spinners to have an advantage with SG pink balls?

Both teams have been practicing hard to get used to the pink ball’s characteristics. In the meantime, Paras Anand, marketing director of SG balls, talked about the specifications, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave for preparing the pink balls.

“The message we have received from the BCCI is that the properties which are there in the red ball, which includes the seam which is upright and which allows the fast bowlers to bowl with it even after 40 overs or 50 overs, spinners too have an advantage,” Anand was quoted as saying in International Business Times.

“Hence, we have tried to ensure that the seam in the pink ball will be upright, pronounced seam retained. The feedback we received from the side is that the ball should be hard,” Anand stated.

Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian Test vice-captain, also shared his opinion on the pink ball. As per the middle-order batsman, it’s a different ballgame, playing with the pink cherry. He also talked about playing the ball a bit late and also close to the body.

For the epic game, the Eden Test, the venue has been lit up in pink, a clip of which was shared by the BCCI on their Twitter handle. A number of special dignitaries, including Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal CM.

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