Seam and swing
By Arindam Basu
The pink kookaburra showed its true colours on day two of the CAB Super League at Eden Gardens as no leass than 16 wickets fell under an overcast sky. Meanwhile, the think tank at CAB headquarters continued to work overtime to put together the final pieces in this beautiful puzzle called day-night match with the pink pitcher.
As the pink panther had an early tea snuffing out Bhowanipore for just 153 within 39 overs, the myth of the ball having a mind of its own only got more muscles. The ball showed its viscious nature in the hands of Bagan pacers. Mohammed Shami made the ball cut through air, spike off the pitch and snap at the willow hurling five batters to their doom in just 13.4 overs. If this was not enough then Sanjib Sanyal (2 for 14) and Sourav Mondal ( 3 for 51) did the clean up act in 21.1overs.
Shami later shared that the pronounced seam of the pink ball helped in the movement. “The pink ball is a whole new experience. The black seam helps the ball to cut through the air and move off the ground. If you can put the ball in the right places it will work for the bowlers.”
On the matter of reverse swing, he added: “The ball holds its sheen for long and that is a huge advantage for the fast bowlers. But on a bare surface it will reverse. In fact today also we generated some reverse swing.”
Bagan teammate Wriddhiman Saha, who has a vantage position seeing the pink menace from behind the stumps, said: "The ball is doing something or the other every delivery. It will work well for bowlers willing to bend their back.
ALL ABOUT APPLICATION
On what did it have for the batsmen, Wriddhiman said: “ Batsman can play the ball if he puts his mind to it. It will need application. As far as visibility is concerned the pink ball unlike the red or white ball is clearly visible and makes the job a lot easier in the twilight hour.” Well, Saha found himself lacking in application in the second innings as he was caught behind first delivery to one that rose awkwardly from good length.
As the game gingerly moves on to the penultimate day, the think tank at CAB is getting its act together rathar than hoping everything would fall into place. Talking to Mumbai Mirror CAB Joint-Secretary Abhishek Dalmiya, son of Late Jagmohan Dalmiya, said: “When everyone was talking about this new era of cricket, we decided to do something about it. Action always speaks louder than words. We didnt want to say we can, we wanted to show we can.”
“But we are not sitting back as the game progresses. We are watching the match very closely and taking down notes. We will make adjustments if needed. And given the chance Eden Gardens will be functionally ready to herald in the new era of Day-Night Test matches," he added.
The trial with the pink kookaburra is not a walk in the garden of Eden after all.
The pink kookaburra showed its true colours on day two of the CAB Super League at Eden Gardens as no leass than 16 wickets fell under an overcast sky. Meanwhile, the think tank at CAB headquarters continued to work overtime to put together the final pieces in this beautiful puzzle called day-night match with the pink pitcher.
As the pink panther had an early tea snuffing out Bhowanipore for just 153 within 39 overs, the myth of the ball having a mind of its own only got more muscles. The ball showed its viscious nature in the hands of Bagan pacers. Mohammed Shami made the ball cut through air, spike off the pitch and snap at the willow hurling five batters to their doom in just 13.4 overs. If this was not enough then Sanjib Sanyal (2 for 14) and Sourav Mondal ( 3 for 51) did the clean up act in 21.1overs.
Mohun Bagan was firmly in the driver's seat with a 146 run lead in the first innings in the final of the fourday CAB Super League. They finished the day at 150 for 4 in their second with an accumulated lead of 296 and six wickets in hand.
Shami later shared that the pronounced seam of the pink ball helped in the movement. “The pink ball is a whole new experience. The black seam helps the ball to cut through the air and move off the ground. If you can put the ball in the right places it will work for the bowlers.”
On the matter of reverse swing, he added: “The ball holds its sheen for long and that is a huge advantage for the fast bowlers. But on a bare surface it will reverse. In fact today also we generated some reverse swing.”
Bagan teammate Wriddhiman Saha, who has a vantage position seeing the pink menace from behind the stumps, said: "The ball is doing something or the other every delivery. It will work well for bowlers willing to bend their back.
ALL ABOUT APPLICATION
On what did it have for the batsmen, Wriddhiman said: “ Batsman can play the ball if he puts his mind to it. It will need application. As far as visibility is concerned the pink ball unlike the red or white ball is clearly visible and makes the job a lot easier in the twilight hour.” Well, Saha found himself lacking in application in the second innings as he was caught behind first delivery to one that rose awkwardly from good length.
As the game gingerly moves on to the penultimate day, the think tank at CAB is getting its act together rathar than hoping everything would fall into place. Talking to Mumbai Mirror CAB Joint-Secretary Abhishek Dalmiya, son of Late Jagmohan Dalmiya, said: “When everyone was talking about this new era of cricket, we decided to do something about it. Action always speaks louder than words. We didnt want to say we can, we wanted to show we can.”
“But we are not sitting back as the game progresses. We are watching the match very closely and taking down notes. We will make adjustments if needed. And given the chance Eden Gardens will be functionally ready to herald in the new era of Day-Night Test matches," he added.
The trial with the pink kookaburra is not a walk in the garden of Eden after all.
