Bangladesh cricket team have arrived in Kolkata from Indore to play pink ball day-night Test against India. The Tigers arrived in the city of current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday.
Bangladesh team departed for Kolkata from Indore yesterday after their 10:30 am flight was delayed by two and a half hours. In a shambolic manner, Bangladesh lost the first Test in Indore within three days. Since then the two teams practiced under the lights in Indore ahead of the subcontinent’s first pink ball
Test match at Eden Gardens,
Kolkata.
The match at Eden Gardens is scheduled to begin from November 22. Players from both teams are thrilled to put their mark on history books. Ahead of the Test match, in the city of joy, Kolkata is decorated with colors, paintings, mascot etc.
Mascots of the Test, Pinku and Tinku, were unveiled in the presence of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday. Several parts of the city around the stadium have been decorated with pink lights while some landmarks will be lit up in pink lights in the run-up to the match.
A dozen billboards, six LED boards and branded buses will also be seen around the city from Monday onwards to increase awareness about the Test.
All in all Kolkata is geared up to host the first pink ball Test in subcontinent.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh pacer Al Amin Hossain thinks he is prepared to play his part in the pink ball Test.
Al Amin did not played in the Indore Test, however, the paceman consistently practiced under the lights with pink ball and believes it will be more challenging for pacers than batsmen to adapt with pink ball at Eden Gardens, despite the swing and movement that the ball is said to offer. Therefore, he thinks bowlers should take more responsibility.
“It will be more challenging with the old ball than the new one. During evening, when the flood lights come on, there is an increase in the movement of the ball. From what I understood in practice sessions, it will be a challenge for the batsmen, however I feel that the main challenge here will be for the bowlers.
The team which bowl the best will have the upper hand in this match,” Al Amin said.
Meanwhile, on-field preparations for the upcoming historic day-night Test match are in full swing.
Bangladesh team has to
prove their competence at this level as they have not won a
single Test match against India either at home or away and the Indore loss was a big one for
them to swallow.
They were expected to put up a fight against the no.1 ranked Indian team despite missing Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, but apart from Mushfiqur Rahim, no other batsman could do much as they were bowled out for 150 and 213.
It will undoubtedly be a stern test for the Tigers who after 19 years of experience in Test cricket, are yet to offer consistent performances against elite teams.