Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
It’s the start of a new dawn in Indian cricket, and Kolkata is dressed in pink to welcome Day-Night Tests at the Eden Gardens.
India and Bangladesh will square-off in their first-ever D/N Test starting 22 November, thanks to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who finally managed to get the pink-ball rolling at home.
Even a day before the start of the final Test of the series that India is leading 1-0, the ‘Mecca of Indian cricket’ aka Eden Gardens and the entire city of Kolkata was buzzing with excitement. Fans lined up outside the stadium in the hope of buying tickets to the ‘pink extravaganza’.
India’s Day-Night debut is set to be a grand affair, with a high-profile guest list. On Day 1, we will see Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ring the ‘Eden Bell’ along with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They won’t be alone, as a litany of sporting stars will be present for the historic match.
Badminton world champion PV Sindhu, chess ace Viswanathan Anand and tennis sensation Sania Mirza are among those to be present. Even actress Rani Mukherji will show up to support the historic match.
During the first 20-minute tea break, former Indian captains and an assortment of sports stars will be taken out on carts as they make rounds alongside the boundary line.
During the 40-minute dinner break, CAB has organised a talk show featuring the 'Fabulous Five' of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman who will talk about the historic 2001 Test win against Australia at the Eden Gardens.
The CAB will also felicitate sports stars including Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, tennis star Sania Mirza, world badminton champion PV Sindhu and six-time boxing world champion MC Mary Kom among others.
This felicitation will also include the first Test team of Bangladesh which took on India in 2000, a game where Ganguly made his debut as Test captain.
There are however lots of questions, doubts and chatter around that certain SG Pink Ball which is also going to make its debut in this Test. The Indian cricket team are going to play with it for the first time in an international game, and the popular opinion is that the pink ball is not going to aid the spinners and also may come in the way of Mohammed Shami bowling his key reverse swing deliveries.
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