It is still a very new concept for all of us, and we’re trying to learn with each test. Bumrah said of playing tests under the light.
Before heading into the pink-ball Test at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Sri Lanka, The Indian team is constructing mental adaptations. “Before heading into the pink-ball Test at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Sri Lanka, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah conveyed on the eve of the encounter.
He confesses that not playing with the pink ball and Test cricket under lights means the players had to put together special preparations and they focused on exploring and measuring the conduct of the pink ball in the build-up to the historic fixture, which will now be played with no restriction on the crowd.
“We have to make mental adjustments while preparing for the Pink Ball Test. Playing under light, fielding and bowling with Pink Ball are things we need to get used to and we keep all of these things in mind while in the training session,” Bumrah said during a virtual media conference in Bengaluru. “We are not used to catching or bowling with the Pink Ball. It is still a fairly new concept for all of us and we are trying to learn with every Test.”
Have played the Pink Ball Tests on different surfaces, so no set Limits for it: Jasprit Bumrah
This might be India’s third day-night Test at home, succeeding the Kolkata Test against Bangladesh in November 2019 (the same match in which Virat Kohli recorded his last international century) and the Ahmedabad Test against England in February 2021. Surprisingly, India won both games in three days and now has a pristine record going Against Sri Lanka.
Although, one of India’s most harrowing Test outings ever has also come in a pink-ball affair when they were folded for a paltry 36 in Adelaide in December 2020 before bouncing back to record a significant conquest in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
When asked to elaborate about the players preparations for the coming game, Bumrah said: “It all depends on the individual. Pink Ball looks different, the speed at which it comes to you on the field and the amount it moves or spins is also different. Timings for the D/N Test are also different, so the ball might not do so much in the first session but might start to do more under the light. We have played the Pink Ball Tests on all different surfaces, so there are no set parameters for it.”
No deliberate effort to manage workload during a Test
Meantime, Bumrah, who only bowled four overs all told in the second innings in Mohali where India smacked the visitors by a massive margin of an innings and 122 runs, said that the reduced volume of bowling was down to the spinners “doing the job” and not managing workload, which he said would never be done in the middle of a Test.
“There was no deliberate effort to manage workload once you are playing in a Test match. I was planning to bowl with (Mohammed) Shami on the second day but the light wasn’t quite right. Then with the spinners doing a good job on the third day, I wasn’t quite required to bowl,”
“I don’t think he would want to rest after such a good performance. He is on a high and would want to replicate it,” Bumrah’s words about Ravindra Jadeja The Player of the Match in the first Test for his flawless all-round show that included an unbeaten 175 and a match haul of nine.
