Out of comfort zone, teams face a 'different' test

IT'S A CHALLENGE BUT OF A DIFFERENT KIND, MORE SO BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS TEAMS HAVE GOT ACCUSTOMED TO PLAYING WITH RED OR WHITE BALL

- Ashish Magotra

The first-ever day-night, pink-ball Test was played in Adelaide in November 2015. It was a low-scoring thriller with Australia beating New Zealand by three wickets on the third day. No one was quite sure if the pink ball would last (whether it would get discoloured), there were even suggestions about coloured clothing and it was all a bit of an experiment then; a way to maybe draw crowds back to Test cricket.

Almost a decade later, the experiments have stopped. The match has become more commonplace. The ball now has an extra coat of lacquer and the pitch is prepared in the same way as it is for red-ball games. They don't leave extra grass on the wicket anymore. The batters know it won't be easy—the new ball will challenge them, as will the twilight period. And the crowd comes in knowing the match won't last five days—not in Adelaide at least.