Skipper Virat Kohli is on the cusp of achieving a huge feat for India when he takes to the field against Bangladesh in the second and final Test of the series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting Friday. The hosts won the first Test in Indore by an innings and 130 runs and will look to seal the series with a victory in this historic Day-Night Test. As for captain Kohli, he will look to get some runs under his belt after getting dismissed for a duck in the opening Test.
Kohli is set to add another feather into his already illustrious cap as he needs just 32 runs to complete 5000 runs as captain. He will become the first Indian to achieve this massive feat. Overall, he will become just the sixth cricketer in the world and will join an exclusive club which boasts the likes of Graeme Smith, Allan Border, Ricky Ponting, Clive Llyod and Steve Fleming.
Kohli and other Indian batsmen will have to up their game to counter the pink ball at this iconic venue. The second Test match will be played with a pink SG ball and this will also serve as a trial for the pink balls as well as the BCCI. The Kookaburra pink balls were used in the Duleep Trophy earlier. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has already issued a warning to teammates that it will be difficult to negate the movement of pink ball.
“The lateral movement is big, actually a lot than the red ball,” Rahane had earlier told reporters in Indore. “Adjustment-wise, I’m sure everyone will adapt very quickly. We are used to playing different formats – after T20s we play Tests. It’s just the mindset, technical skills will play a role. Mentally if you can adjust to the pink ball, then it’ll be good.”
Rahane did not want to be drawn into comparisons as he has not experienced the Kookaburra ball.
“We played against spinners in Bangalore, and they were getting good revs on the ball. Yes, the shine is completely different to the red ball, but it’s very hard to compare with SG ball and the Kookaburra ball. “I’ve never played with the pink ball. And what I’ve heard from other people is that the Kookaburra ball is actually really easy for the batsmen. But what we saw in Bangalore and played in Bangalore is that the SG ball was doing a bit for the fast bowlers. For spinners, it is difficult but it is very hard for me to say right now about Kookaburra and SG ball.”
