Pink ball finds differing views among batsmen and bowlers

One of the big debates at the ongoing Duleep Trophy in Greater Noida has been the use of the pink ball. Different players have had a varied perspective on the usage of it with some admitting that they found no difference while others saying that it wasn’t of as much help .

"It wasn't hard, to be honest. Maybe on that first afternoon when there was a bit of dew, but otherwise I had little problems.

“Of course in tougher conditions the challenges will be greater, but in the afternoon and evenings there were not that many adjustments to be made, from a personal account. No reverse swing, not a whole lot of turn,” Abhinav Mukund, who hit a century during the first match, said.

Mayank Agarwal, who had a fruitful stint with the bat in the last match, felt that once the initial part of the innings was played cautiously, things began to improve slowly and admitted that it was Kuldeep Yadav’s chinaman deliveries that he found the hardest to play.

“I had a few initial problems, but once you get set there wasn't much difference in approach, like when you play under lights against the white ball. If you see, spin has accounted for most of the wickets in this tournament and personally, I found it hardest to pick the wrist spinner [Kuldeep Yadav] at night. Overall, it's been a positive experience and I welcome the introduction to have more pink-ball matches in domestic cricket,” he said.

While the batsman adjusted to the ball quickly, the bowlers felt a bit hard done- by, stating that the ball didn’t offer much reverse swing and also added that the ball softened quicker than the red one.

"There was no reverse, which you need on Indian surfaces, especially when the ball is old. But here the ball has not remained hard as long as the red ball does; I found it got soft after 30-35 overs.

“The red ball, at least one side stays hard as long as 80 overs but that wasn't the case here, which made it challenging for fast bowlers. One side has to stay hard, but I didn't see that with the pink ball. We can only say more after we see more matches and on various pitches,” Abhimanyu Mithun said.

The final is slated to start later on Saturday and it will be interesting to see how the ball behaves, on what is expected to a turning pitch.