IND v BAN 2019: Virat Kohli shares his first experience of practising with pink ball

India will be playing its first ever pink ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata from November 22-26.

Virat Kohli faces the pink ball at nets | Screengrab

After the much-needed rest, India skipper Virat Kohli is set to be back in action with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting November 14 in Indore.

The series will be a new challenge for Kohli as he will be leading the team for the very first time in a Day-Night Test at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 22-26.

In order to prepare for the historic Test under lights, the Indian cricket team on Tuesday (November 12) practised with the pink ball.

MUST WATCH: Virat Kohli takes throwdowns with the pink ball

After the intense net session, Virat addressed the press conference and said extra concentration will be needed to combat the pink ball threat after playing with the red more often.

"Well I hadn't played with the pink ball before. So I was given an experience to try it and I wanted to, that was my mindset behind playing with the pink ball. I think everyone else did it as well," Kohli told reporters.

"You need extra concentration to pick the pink ball suddenly when you are playing with the red ball, so it was to work on the reflexes as well. When you play with the red ball at net and then you arrive at the pink ball it is very difficult to pick it up, so to get into the zone was the reason behind it," he added.

The Indian captain was also of the opinion that pink ball will swing more than the red cherry and if the Eden Gardens strip favours the bowlers then the pacers will be in the game.

"The pink ball I have played yesterday, I think it swings a lot more compare to the red ball because there's extra lacquer on the ball and doesn't go away too fast and the seam holds upright quite a bit," Kohli said.

"If the pitch has enough for the bowler then the bowlers will be in the game, especially the fast bowlers," he further remarked.

(Inputs from NDTV)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 13 Nov, 2019

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