Being the most dominant spin pair and one of the most successful Test bowlers at home, Bangladesh would be scared of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and even they must have started making a strategy on how to tackle India’s seasoned duo, but VVS Laxman doesn’t think the way.
As India is preparing to play first-ever Day-Night Test at Eden Gardens on November 22 against Bangladesh, there are a lot of talks about the historic Test match, especially the challenges the teams could face like dew factor, playing with the pink ball under the lights.
And cricket expert former Indian batsman Laxman and Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara have also shared their views on the upcoming much-awaited Test match.
Read Also: "Traditionalist" Tillakaratne Dilshan welcomes Sourav Ganguly's move of Day-Night Test
As pink ball swings more than the red cherry and assists seamers, Laxman believes that Ashwin and Jadeja would face tricky challenges under the light in the Kolkata Test.
Explaining the same, Laxman said: “The spinners would want the shine of the ball to be off quickly but the pink ball will have an extra layer which I feel will not be helpful for the spinners and more of a challenge for both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Another challenging factor will be the dew factor because even in one-day games during second innings the spinner has struggled to bowl, so during the Test, if the ball is wet and the seam is flat it will be difficult for them to grip the ball.”
The Indian great also commented on the challenges of playing with the pink ball, “The most challenging part with the pink ball for the fast bowlers will be the seam, especially with the fast bowler who has the ability to land the ball consistently on-seam will not only get swing in the air but will expect to get more movement from the conditions.”
Meanwhile, Sangakkara also reckoned that both the batsmen and bowlers will face tricky challenges with changing light during the Day-Night Test in Kolkata. He said, “At the end of the first or second session where the light will change and dark starts to take over, overcoming the effect will be a tricky period where you will see extra swing and seam with the ball.”
Sangakkara signed off by saying, “The batsmen might face challenges with changing light and the dew factor will affect the condition, and it will be interesting to see how the change in conditions will help the bowlers. So it's an interesting Test match to be part of as there are lots of questions which will be answered with the progress of the game.”
(With IANS Inputs)
