Duleep Trophy | Pink Ball in focus in the battle of equals

However, Test cricket has held its ground despite the birth of the T20 format. It is down but not out yet. History was created when the West Indian first-class team Guyana drew a game against the Daren Ganga-led Trinidad and Tobago in the 2009-10 season with a pink ball under floodlights. Several experiments have been done since then by several countries, and finally late last year, Australia played New Zealand in a day-night Pink ball Test match at the Adelaide Oval to signal a new era for the oldest version of the sport.

In India, Eden Gardens hosted the first pink ball game in the CAB Super League Final in which Mohun Bagan got the better of Bhowanipore by 296 runs. Notwithstanding the experiment in that club game, a first-class game is the perfect opportunity to test the pros and cons of the Pink ball in India. With the BCCI looking to host a day-night Test match sooner than later, Duleep Trophy, which was scrapped last year due to the busy international calendar, will make a come-back thanks to the pink ball experiment.

Only for the second time in its 55 years of history, Duleep Trophy will not be played between the geographic belts of India. The forced death of the Zonal tournament has created a lot of furore among the average performers, but on a wider range, the new format would provide the India wannabes a chance to aim for a spot in the national team as well.

For the first game, both the Green and Red teams were evenly placed when the squads were declared. But, Green has lost its two premier players owing to national duty - Jasprit Bumrah is a part of the Indian team which will play West Indies in a two-match T20I series in Florida on 27th and 28th of this month, while Murali Vijay is playing the fourth Test of the India-West Indies series and is expected to join only the second match against Blue. However, Green does no­t have any major selection issues as they have to pick only 11 out of 13 players unless any replacements would be announced by the BCCI.

The major paraphernalia for the pink ball game is an even cover of grass on the pitch in a bid to protect the colour of the pink ball. A bumpy outfield can take a toll on the ball and make it scuffed up. However, a thick grass cover doesn’t take the shine off the ball away that easily which means the ball won’t reverse and barely turn. If that would be the case, players need to brush up their skills and prepare accordingly. The dew factor also will come into play when the extravaganza kick-starts.