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KL Rahul, who had opened the last game, talking to the media on Wednesday said, “48 hours before the Adelaide Pink Ball Day-Night Test, India has decided what their batting order will be, especially who their openers will be. However, they have not revealed this batting order to the media..”
But the last practice match played by the Indian team and practice sessions so far has given an impression that Rohit, who has been a regular opener of the Indian team for the last five years, may slide down in the batting order.
He batted at number four in the practice match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra. Virat Kohli, however, did not come to bat then. This suggests that the Indian team is satisfied with Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening.
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India’s practice session and Kl Rahul’s practice with pink-ball
India has spent two sessions in the nets so far after reaching Adelaide and is getting accustomed to playing day-night cricket under the lights, and especially to using the pink ball. When asked about when the pink ball is going out of the hand of the bowler it gets a little tough to spot immediately Rahul said but the fast bowler of the team Mohammad Siraj mentioned gripping the pink ball itself is a little different and weird.
Only eight players of the Indian team have played the day-night Test so far. Out of that, only Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and R Ashwin have experience playing it in Australia.
KL Rahul said, “It is a bit harder than the red ball. Even when you field, it feels like it is hitting your palm faster. It is a bit faster too. It is the same in batting too. It comes towards the batsman faster than the red ball and also seems more than the red ball. It is a challenge, but I am also excited to face it because this is my first pink ball test, in which I will have nothing to lose.
“We have learned in the last few days how the pink ball is reacting and how easy or difficult it is to play against it. If you look at the pink ball tests of the last few times, you will know that these tests do not last long and end quickly. This ball will help the fast bowlers more and there will be a lot of seam movement.
We have prepared for this and it happened on the first day in Perth as well, when the bowlers got more seam movement. Certainly, it will happen here in Adelaide as well,” KL Rahul added.
Australia has won every day-night Test match played in Adelaide so far and they prefer to bat first and bowl the other team in the twilight of the second day. Twilight time is from 20 minutes before sunset to 20 minutes after sunset when batting is more difficult. Sunset in Adelaide is at 8 pm local time.
KL Rahul said, “As a batsman, you first have to see the ball leaving the bowler’s hand. If you read the bowler from there, then you are in the best position to play that ball. That’s why we batsmen are trying to play as many balls as possible in the nets so that they get used to it.”
Six meters of grass on the pitch
On the other hand, Adelaide pitch curator Damien Ho has left six millimeters of grass on the pitch, which is the same as the last day-night Test in Adelaide, when India was all out for 36 runs. Some rain is possible on the first day of the Test match on Friday but otherwise, the weather is expected to remain clear on the remaining days.
He said, “Everything is the same as before. This is a mat grass pitch, which is dry and hard. Fast bowlers will get more pace here, while spinners will also get bounce. But apart from this, we can also see some good partnerships because the ball will come on the bat and it will be easy to hit shots.
Both teams have some world-class bowlers, who can challenge the new batsmen. We have seen in day-night matches that there is more challenge for new batsmen. If you do not have a new ball when the floodlights are on, then it will be easier for the set batsmen to bat, as we have also seen in the Sheffield Shield matches.”
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