With Ganguly's push, BCCI preps to host first-ever Day-Night Test at Eden

BCCI has proposed a plan to host the second test match against Bangladesh next month in the Day-Night format at Eden Gardens.

When Sourav Ganguly joined as BCCI President on Oct 23, he was already vocal about hosting Day-Night Test matches in the country. And it looks like his push is going to work out soon as BCCI has proposed the plan to host the second test match against Bangladesh next month in the Day-Night format at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The plan has been sent to the Bangladesh Cricket Board as the BCCI wait for their nod. And if the response from Bangladesh Cricket Board is positive, the Indian Cricket team will get the chance to taste the different hue of test cricket in November.

Earlier, when the Day-Night test match was proposed to the Indian Cricket team in 2018 against Australia, India had declined to play their maiden day-night test as the players were not prepared for such conditions and then the plan to play with Pink ball was never put on the table. And now that the new BCCI President is taking Day-Night Tests into consideration on priority, he met the Indian team captain Virat Kohli regarding the proposal to which he has agreed to play.

If everything goes according to BCCI’s plan, Eden Garden will host the very historic its first-ever Day-Night international Test match. It is easier said than done because in order to play a test match with a pink ball, a lot of preparations to be done beforehand so that the pitch is ready before the match.

Different setting, different preparations

The preparations for Day-Night test matches are to be done differently and the wet weather of Kolkata will also be a big concern. Like Virat Kohli has already said that the test matches should have fixed venues and Eden Gardens is the most iconic venue but it will need special alterations to the pitch for Day-Night tests. The match that will take place from November 22, will mark the beginning of the winter season and for that matter, the dew factor will be the biggest concern that needs to be tackled so that the players won’t suffer. Usually, wherever, the Day-Night tests are being played to date in Australia, England, Abu Dhabi, the ground staff makes use of adjuvant spray which is used in hotter climates on a regular basis to separate the evening dew.

All needs to be done is to spray it very finely over the outfield and it only coats the blades of the grass. Thus, when the dew starts falling, it will only sit at the top of the grass and will not go underneath. Then a tractor comes along on the cricket ground during the breaks and starts whizzing around with a rope. Here as well, once the dew falls after the application of the spray, it can be whizzed off with the rope. When it is whizzed off, it flicks all up in the air and major amount of the dew gets evaporated.

Basically, the spray can't stop the forming of dew since it is a natural process, but it makes sure that the dew does not stick to the grass and can be flicked off easily. The dew pattern in at Eden Gardens needs to be studied properly as in when the dew starts forming and when can be the right time to take care of it, everything needs to be considered before the match can be played.

There is no doubt about the fact that in Sourav Ganguly’s language, Day-Night Test cricket is the “way forward” and should be promoted among cricket lovers. The India-South Africa test series saw a really poor response from the crowd and the stadiums were mostly empty during the matches. But it being the World Test Championship, it is important that the cricket board should create a kind of buzz among the fans about the original form of the game.

Seamer-friendly Eden

Technically, it will not be the first time with the pink ball at Eden as in June 2016, the stadium hosted India’s first-ever pink ball multi-day game, the CAB Super League final between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore Club. It was observed that most of the wickets were taken by the fast bowlers. Therefore, it is already known that the Eden pitch will be helping the fast bowlers of India and Bangladesh. But the Indian team is best known for its spinners and it will be a task to keep the seamers rolling throughout the innings along with the spinners.

Also, it is difficult to play with the pink ball as it gets dirty quickly. Therefore, the former BCCI’s panel of curator’s head Daljit Singh suggested that in order to avoid the ball getting dirty, the amount of grass can be increased on the pitch during the Day-Night test match.

So technically, the management at the Eden already has an idea regarding the know-hows of the Day-Night test cricket and would follow scientific methods instead of traditional ways to prepare the pitch as Kolkata is humid as compared to the venues of Ranchi or Cuttack. But the Indian national team has not played even a single test match with the pink ball and the proposed match being a part of WTC just adds more pressure on the team. 

India and Bangladesh along with Afghanistan and Ireland are the only remaining Test-playing nations who have not played the Day-Night test match. And if Bangladesh declines the proposal then the plan to host the Day-Night affair at the earliest would go in vain but then BCCI will surely put this on the table while hosting New Zealand and that might turn into a positive response.

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