India lost the first Test of the four-match series to England by 227 runs and went 0-1 down. Now they cannot afford to lose any more Tests in the series if they wish to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship and face New Zealand in June at Lord’s, London.
However, this defeat has put the new SG ball which is being used for the first time in the series, under the spotlight. The ball, which has been made especially for this series by Meerut-based Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) Company, was criticized by India captain Virat Kohli and ace off-spinner R Ashwin for being degrading in quality in quick time.
“This game the ball is pretty, I mean, it was very bizarre for us. Because I have never seen an SG ball tear (get torn) through the seam like that. So it could well be a combination of how hard the pitch was on the first two days, even in the second innings after the 35th-40th over, the seam starting getting sort of peeled off,” Ashwin said to press on the end of day 4.
IND v ENG 2021: Virat Kohli expresses displeasure over the quality of SG balls used in Chennai Test
He signed off by saying, “It was bizarre, I mean, I haven't seen an SG ball like that in last so many years, but yeah, maybe it could be due to the pitch and the hardness of it through the center which is making the ball gets scuffed up. We will have an answer for it going through the series.”
Even captain Virat Kohli echoed the sentiments of Ashwin and said, “Quality of the ball (SG-Test) was also not what we were very pleased to see as that was also the case in the past. Just the ball completely being destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and any side could be prepared for.”
The new SG ball is darker in color and has a more pronounced and heightened seam, with a harder core. "An important change is the seam. It is more pronounced now. The spinners especially wanted a seam which they can grip and thereby get more revolutions on the ball," Paras Anand, the marketing director of SG, was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
IND v ENG 2021: It was bizarre, never seen it tear through seam, says R Ashwin on the new SG ball
"Hardness will stay longer, say 50 to 60 overs. There will be something for the bowlers. The extra bounce too will help bowlers. We have gone back to that dark shade. That request came from the Indian team. I feel it is more psychological. But they believed if you use a darker color, you get a good result," says Anand.
The cameras of the official broadcasters captured the thread of the seam coming apart quite early and despite repeated requests from the Indian team, the on-field umpires didn’t deem the ball bad enough to replace it. However, both Ashwin and Kohli did concede that part of the ball getting scuffed up so easily could be because of the abrasive nature of the pitch.
England quick James Anderson also noticed this and had said, “The wicket is so abrasive that our second new ball in India’s first innings reversed after four overs. We are not far away from reverse (swing).”
(News 18 inputs)
