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Historic game produced some great momentsA lot of puritanical speculation about day and night Tests has now been put to rest. The first international Test match to be played under lights has turned out to be a whopping success. If this was a film, the third Trans-Tasman Test in this series would be called a blockbuster by now and the director would be laughing his way to the box office.To watch the swinging pink ball and the players in whites under a magical evening sky in Adelaide was surreal at times. There were many firsts in this match and some optimistic voices are crying out that Test cricket has found a formula to resurrect its popularity.Here are 5 things we learned from the first Day-Night Test.
#5 The Kiwis as a Test team is still a work in progress
The Kiwis have played some brilliant cricket ever since Brendon McCullum took over as a captain. He has infused the team with his infectious dynamism and took them to the final of the World Cup this year. Under him, they have started playing with a newfound aggression and confidence.
But as a Test team, it has to be conceded that they appear a tad too undercooked at times. Aggression always has the danger of descending into rashness and one needs to draw the line. Some of the shots played by the Kiwi batsmen on the third day were totally uncalled for and they brought about their own downfall.
A lead of 30 runs more at least could have done wonders for them. That being said, it is not always easy to play Australia in their own backyard and the Kiwis have played some memorable cricket during the series. They would only wish they were more consistent with their brilliance. Or the crucial DRS decision went in their favour.
#4 Mitchell Starc can do no wrong
Going into the match, Mitchell Starc was always going to be the biggest threat for the Kiwis. And Starc did not disappoint - the only 9 overs he bowled in the match were the finest example of fast bowling when he swung the ball and picked up three wickets conceding only 24 runs.
Starc proved that he is definitely the man to watch out for and he might go on to be one of the greatest fast bowling legends in the world if he could keep up his form and fitness. He, unfortunately, had to limp out of the match after he suffered a painful stress fracture.
But just as there were question marks over whether he would come out to bat in the first innings, he led the charge for the tail-enders scoring a quick-fire 24 that included three fours and two sixes. Those runs were invaluable in a close contest like this.
He again surprised everyone by coming out to bat ahead of Lyon and Hazlewood in the 2nd innings. The reception that he got could have even made a batting legend like Ponting envious on his day.
#3 Doubts over the DRS are not unfounded
A controversial call taken by the DRS on Day 2 of the Test match became a huge talking point. With the Kiwis still 86 runs ahead, Nathan Lyon got the faintest of edges while trying to sweep Mitchell Santner. But he was given not out by the on-field umpire S Ravi and the third umpire decided to stay with his call because of lack of 'conclusive evidence'.
Even when HotSpot showed the edge, third umpire Nigel Llong chose to ignore it as there was no confirmation from the Snickometer. "There is a mark on the bat, I'm not sure where it is coming from," said Llong to on-field umpire S Ravi. The replays were ironically enough to suggest that Lyon had nicked it.
Lyon went to score a crucial 34 runs and stitched together an important 74-run partnership which decisively swung the match in the favour of the hosts. The match could have definitely had a closer finish given the fact that Australia struggled in the end to get to the Kiwi total.
Ross Taylor criticised the decision and said it had a big impact on the game. He said, "Obviously, the Hot Spot that showed up, Lyon walking off and nearly getting to the boundary, I think it's had a big bearing on the match.
"We can understand when the umpires make the wrong decision on the field, but once you've got so many different angles and what-not, you think that more often than not, 99 to 100 percent of the time you're going to get the right answer. I guess we didn't today."
Even Ashwin tweeted about it justifying the BCCI’s reservations about the DRS.
#2 The pink ball does swing a lot
There was a lot of speculation before the Adelaide Test about how much the pink ball will specifically swing. The answer is not unexpected - quite a lot. And it was also observed that the ball swings the most under lights which always made the last session of play extremely tricky.
All the fast bowlers showed that there is very little you can do as a batsman if the ball is pitched in right areas. Which means that as a batsman you are never really set on this pitch - Nevill's gutsy 66 was the highest score in the entire match.
The delivery that dismissed Shaun Marsh in the second innings showed how difficult it is to negotiate the swinging pink ball even when the batsman is set and the ball is 40-odd overs old. All through the match, it seemed like a bowler's wet dream so much so that it seemed to be a throwback to the era before the 90s.
#1 The Day-Night format is very popular already
The first Day-Night Test was immensely popular and the format has already earned its fair share of followers. On Day 2 of the Adelaide Test, Shane Warne tweeted to Cricket Australia requesting that the Boxing Day Test against the Windies this year be a day and night affair.
With a huge audience turnout and the television ratings doing well because the match went on up to 9 pm Adelaide time, the Test under floodlights was certainly a new beginning in the history of Test cricket. But having said that, the entertainment came at a cost and has thrown up a Pandora's box of uncomfortable questions.
Just as the Nagpur pitch blew up a furore of criticism the world over, the problem with the pink ball especially under lights is that it stacks the odds up unfairly in the favour of bowlers.
With wickets falling like nine-pins and matches being over inside three days, there is an expectation of something unusual happening off every ball. Purists are therefore asking if Tests must necessarily imbibe elements of limited-overs cricket for its excitement and survival.
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