India vs England: The two sides clash with each other in the third Test, a day-night match at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Both England captain Joe Root and India captain Virat Kohli have warned of the challenges of playing in the day-night Test during the twilight zone – when batting may collapse – ahead of their third Test clash starting on Wednesday. The match would be the first time India and England would be 1-1 in a four-match series – facing each other in a day-night clash. Kohli said on the eve of the match at the world’s largest cricket stadium, “Regardless of the pitch you are playing, playing with pink ball is more challenging.”
Kohli told reporters, “Especially in the evening, if, as a batting team, you are starting your innings with lights, then it is an hour and a half challenging.”
“When it starts getting dark, especially during that twilight period, it becomes very difficult. The light changes, the ball is hard to see and the first session in the morning in a normal test match under the lights is like playing Is. The ball starts to bend. Swing a lot. “
Both teams have had painful experiences with pink ball cricket. India were bowled out for 36 by Australia in Adelaide in December and New Zealand stunned England for 58 in Auckland in 2018.
“Both are bizarre experiences for two quality sides,” Kohli said. “Except for that 45 minutes of barre cricket (in Adelaide) we dominated the Test match. We are very confident about how we play pink ball.”
Roll with it
Root agreed that the batsmen needed to be cautious – and not only that they could start swinging when the ball came to light in the evening.
“I think there has been a trend in all pink ball test matches on this occasion,” Root said in a separate news conference.
“It is a trend and it is something as a batting group that you need to make sure you stop,” he said.
“It is sometimes right at the beginning of the game, you know the morning session, late in day four, that it has become a strange kind of game.”
He said: “When you get that opportunity and you’re on the right side of it, you’re on the field with a ball in hand, you really get it and roll with it. You take every opportunity and opportunity. Take it and you make it. Really counts in your favor.
“Likewise with the bat in hand, you’ve really agreed to make those (first) 20 balls, you’re fighting everything you’re doing to get yourself, the wicket. Addicted, status and make sure you build the partnership that is very important. “
The Ahmedabad stadium has a capacity of 110,000 people and the authorities have allowed 55,000 tickets for sale each day.
Each side has won the first two Tests. England won the first match by 227 runs, while India claimed the second by 317 runs. Both need a win to keep their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final alive.
