Day-Night Test: Fielding biggest challenge with pink ball, says Virat Kohli

News Network
November 22, 2019

Kolkata, Nov 22: Ahead of their first Day-Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens here, India captain Virat Kohli said on Thursday that fielding with the SG pink ball is a very challenging task.

India had a full training session under lights on Wednesday evening where Kohli was seen batting for a long while at the nets during the twilight period, which is said to be the toughest phase for the batters in a pink ball Test.

India went through fielding drills as well, with Rohit Sharma even picking up a minor knock on his hand while catching at slips.

On the eve of the historic occasion, Kohli was asked what challenges the team faced while training.

"Batting is something we were focusing a lot. As batsmen you think of cutting down those errors when you are playing with a different-coloured ball. We were looking to solidify our technique. We are fine with that. But what surprised me were fielding sessions," said the captain.

Kohli compared the pink ball which has an extra coating of lacquer with a hockey ball in terms of feel and how hard it hits the hand.

"How in the slips the ball hits your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball or those synthetic balls you used to play with as a kid. It felt like that on the hand and it's purely because of extra glaze on the ball. It's much more hardened and felt a little heavy although there won't be much of a difference in terms of weight. Even the throws took lot more effort than the red ball to reach the keeper," Kohli explained.

The 31-year old further said that high catching during the day would become very difficult due to visibility of the ball being an issue.

"Dip perception was very difficult when the ball went up in the air. So during the day, high catches will be very difficult. We had to watch the ball straight into our palms more often than not. With red and white balls, you have an idea of how fast the ball is coming down but with the pink ball, if you don't look at the ball until your palms, it's gone.

"Fielding session was much more challenging. People are going to be surprised how challenging fielding with this ball can be," Kohli emphasised.

Among other challenges, the Indian skipper said batters need to have a better idea of where their off-stump is.

"Your idea of off-stump, that's going to be the most crucial thing because even yesterday when we practised, we felt that the ball could be closer to you but it's actually not that close to the off-stump. That channel one has to be careful," said Kohli.

"It will require more concentration, more solid technique, a more compact game compared to the red ball purely because anyway in the longer format, the ball does a lot more than the white ball. Add not having great visibility or the ability to pick that colour makes it even more difficult. So as you can imagine decision-making has to be very precise.

"Even while catching the ball, we felt like how wee feel like when we play with the white ball in the afternoon. You don't really know how far the ball is and then it hits your hand very quickly. Even in the slips, it was flying very fast. I think the extra glaze on the ball is making it travel faster and it hits the hand very hard."

Kohli said change is good and sometimes the "template" needs to be changed in order to make things exciting.

"It's going to be a challenge and it should excite everyone. Sometimes you need to change the template and be excited for new challenges and new things you are going to try out. We'll have to be very precise and our skills are going to be tested in this test."

He compared the buzz at Eden to how it was during 2016 when India and Pakistan locked horns for a World T20 game.

"Last time we saw a similar buzz at Eden Gardens was when India played Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. There too, dignitaries came and former captains were felicitated in front of sellout crowds. We're expecting a similar atmosphere here.

"It can be a daunting, intimidating experience for a player too. Imagine the boost our bowlers have standing at the mark with some 80,000 fans cheering for them. I'm expecting very exciting cricket in the first hour because the energy level will be very high. I'm sure the fans would enjoy it. It's a landmark Test and we're lucky to be the first Indian team playing it. It's a great honour."

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News Network
January 14,2020

Sydney, Jan 14: Retired South African big-hitter AB de Villiers on Tuesday said efforts are on to ensure his comeback in the national team for the T20 World Cup in Australia, a plan in which his IPL form will play a crucial role.

Speaking to Cricket Australia's official website 'cricket.com.au', the 35-year-old swashbuckler said he would love to be back two years after calling it quits internationally. He is currently in Australia to play in the Big Bash League.

"I would love to. I've been talking to 'Bouch' (new South Africa coach Mark Boucher), (new director of cricket) Graeme Smith and (captain) Faf (du Plessis) back home, we're all keen to make it happen," he said.

"It's a long way away still, and plenty can happen – there's the IPL coming up, I've still got to be in form at that time. So I'm thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out," he added.

De Villiers, nonetheless, is keeping a check on his expectations.

"It's not a guarantee, once again. I don't want to disappoint myself or other people, so for now I'm just going to try and keep a low profile, try and play the best possible cricket that I can and then see what happens towards the end of the year," he said.

"There are a lot of players (involved with CSA) who I used to play with. Guys who understand the game, leaders of the team for many years" he said of the present dispensation.

"So it's much easier to communicate than what it used to be in the past. They understand what players go through – especially players that have played for 15 years internationally.

"It doesn't mean that everything is going to be sunshine and roses, but it's definitely a lot easier and it feels comfortable, the language that's being used and just the feel that everyone has at the moment in South Africa about the cricket," he added.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is tired of his constant comparisons with India skipper Virat Kohli and says he would rather be compared to the greats at home.

Babar, six years younger to Kohli, has a long way to go in getting close to Kohli's staggering numbers across formats. The India skipper has 70 hundreds to his name and averages more than 50 in all three formats.

"I would be more happy if you compare to me say a Javed Miandad, Muhammad Yousuf or Younis Khan. Why compare me to Kohli or any Indian player?" asked the 25-year-old, who is in England with the national team, said in an online media interaction on Thursday.

Babar has scored 16 international hundreds and averages more than 50 in ODIs and T20s. In 26 Tests, he has scored 1850 runs at 45.12.

He also said that he is not targeting any English bowler for the series next month.

"I don’t see who the bowler is or his reputation. I just try to play each ball on merit. England no doubt has a top bowling attack and they have advantage of playing at home but this is a challenge I want to score runs in," he said.

Before the squad’s departure for England, Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said that pacer Joffra Archer will be a handful for the Pakistani batsmen.

Babar said that he would try to play every English bowler on merit but conceded that after getting runs in Australia last year, he was keen to leave his footprint in the coming Test and T20 series in England.

Reminded that some former Test players had already written off Pakistan for the England series, Babar said they were entitled to their opinion.

"But we don’t have a bad team and already we have been enjoying our training. It is good to be back on the field after such a long lay-off. I think we have the bowlers to trouble them like Abbas, Naseem, Shaheen and others while we have some experience in our batting line-up."

Babar said he would love to get a triple century in a Test match.

"When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series.

"I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers."

Babar also ruled out any problems in the Pakistan dressing room due to the presence of former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked last year.

But he said that since Muhammad Rizwan had been playing in all formats for Pakistan in recent times, he would be the starting keeper in the Test series ahead of Sarfaraz.

"I think we first have to give Rizwan a proper chance and Sarfaraz is there as back up."

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News Network
June 30,2020

Malabar, Jun 30: I-League club Gokulam Kerala's former assistant manager Muhammad Alloush on Monday died due to COVID-19. He was 44.

Alloush, who was with the football club in its inaugural season, was working as technical director at Egyptian club Tanta SC at the time of his demise.

Alloush's mother had also succumbed due to the deadly virus earlier.

"We're deeply saddened by the death of our former assistant manager Muhammad Alloush, aged 44, after contracting Covid_19. The thoughts of everybody at Gokulam Kerala Football Club are with Alloush's family and friends at this sad time. Rest in peace, Alloush," Gokulam Kerala FC tweeted.

Meanwhile, with a spike of 18,522 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India's coronavirus count stands at 5,66,840, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry, 418 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours. The number of deaths in the country now stands at 16,893.

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