On September 30, when the second Test of the New Zealand series will start at Eden Gardens it will be the first time since the 1964-65 series, when John Reid-led New Zeeland played a Test at this historic venue. 51 long years have passed on since that match.
That’s why it’s a big occasion for Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and they want to celebrate the Kiwi’s return to Eden during the Test. But as the latest reports have suggested that there will be no day-night Test, CAB seems a bit bowed down. However, the atmosphere still remains positive.
The proposed first ever day-night Test in India during New Zealand’s tour looked to have been postponed, after the fixtures were published on BCCI’s official website.
The Indian board on Tuesday announced fixtures and venues for the tour that includes three Tests and five ODIs, beginning with the first Test on September 22.
It had been earlier announced that one of the three Tests of the series will be a day-night affair, but the start time of all three Tests on the board’s website shows a day-time start at 9:30 a.m.
The anticipation around the possibility of a day-night Test had built up after Eden Gardens tested the pink-ball cricket in a domestic match between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore clubs.
However, CAB still remains hopeful about their chances of hosting India’s first ever day-night Test this year against the Kiwis.
“It is still three months to go for the match and we are hopeful about it. As you know, recently we had a trial with the pink ball in our Super League final and it was a successful one. The batsmen and fielders had no issues sighting the ball. The shine of the ball remained for a long period. Besides, the pink ball also attracted a lot of crowd.” Joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya said in a recent interview.
Recently, there were reports suggesting the pink Kookaburra can become deadly under grassy pitch and it’s been the most significant reason why BCCI don’t exactly want to face a New Zealand team with some lethal pacer in a day-night Test.
Meanwhile, ruling out this speculation, the junior Dalmiya mentioned that the ball can sustain under ‘not so grassy’ wickets as well.
He is hopeful that BCCI will be able to convince the cricketers and the New Zealand Cricket board to play the much-anticipated day-night Test in Kolkata in the coming series.
“I am hopeful that the BCCI will manage to convince their counterpart in New Zealand Cricket to play a day-night Test at Eden,” Dalmiya revealed.
Though he also mentioned that irrespective of a day-night or a day Test, CAB will make the occasion a memorable one.
“New Zealand will be playing a Test match at Eden almost after 51 years. So it will be a special occasion and whether it is a day-night Test or not we are taking all the initiatives to make it a memorable one,” he further said.