India vs Australia: All set for a twilight test in pink

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 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.

So it’s a challenge but of a different kind, more so because over the years teams have got accustomed to playing with the red or white ball. The change is colour is disconcerting, it just throws them off a little and sometimes that is what makes the difference at the highest level.

“We know what to expect because when we come to Adelaide, we will play a day-night Test,” said Rohit Sharma at the Oval on Thursday. “But it is what it is. We aren’t going to complain, we are just going to get on with it.”

India do not play day-night Tests very often — perhaps they should — but it’s not like every second game is a pink ball affair for Australia either. So, it should challenge teams in quite the same way.

As assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said in Canberra, “The team has always been thinking about what we should do. Whether it’’ a pink ball, or a red ball, the difference is in the mindset. There is a slight difference in the game, the colours are different, there are some lacquers in the game.”

But it not just that. KL Rahul, on Wednesday, had spoken about how some of the batters are having sighting the ball.

“[It] seems a bit harder than the red ball,” Rahul had said. “While fielding as well, you can feel it hitting your hand a lot. A lot quicker and a lot harder. Same with batting. It just seems to get to you much quicker than the red ball.

“It does seam around a little bit more than the red ball [too]. So that’s the challenge we’re looking forward to. For me it’s exciting because it’s my first pink-ball game. So I’m going in with a clean state. I’ll go there and see what really happens. And try and face up to whatever comes my way.”

Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey feels that it throws his depth perception off a bit and that can throw the timing off.

“At times, when the lights come on and the (ambient) light does change, it can be a little bit of depth perception,” Carey said on Tuesday. “Behind the stumps it can just look like a bit of a glow rather than see the seam. So, it’s making sure you watch the ball as close as possible. I’m not sure what it looks like from the side, but at times it can be hard to pick up. But it’s part of the game, I think the pink ball is a fantastic opportunity.”

Every pink-ball Test so far has had a result and much of that is down to the ball doing so much more. CricViz dug up data to show just how different the experience can be and why Australia have such a great record in this particular variant.

For instance, in day Tests at Adelaide, Australia average 41.14 and the opposition 29.95. The averages for day-night Tests are lower for Australia (38.81) and much, much lower for the opposition (20.29).

The bigger surprise is from a bowling perspective. Given the helpful conditions, both sets of bowlers should do well. But that isn’t quite true. In day games at Adelaide, Australia’s bowlers average 31.08 and the opposition, 43.20. The difference in day-night Tests is almost mind boggling: Australia 21.11 and the opposition, 43.09.

This shows that Australia have learnt to counter the conditions better than their opponents. But that is where this year could be different because the Indian bowling is just as potent as Australia’s. Their batting also seems to be in better form than the hosts. It may not take long for that to change but for now, India will draw confidence from the performance at Perth.