Border-Gavaskar Trophy: The pink ball can be a little bit unpredictable at times: Steve Smith ahead of Adelaide Test against India | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: After losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener by 295 runs in Perth, Australia’s Steve Smith stated that he is concentrating on adjusting to the pink-ball Test match against India in Adelaide.
As teams struggle to adapt to pink-ball cricket, the second Test of the five-match series between Australia and India is a highly anticipated day-night Test. Australia bowled out India for just 36 in the second innings, which is still their lowest Test total, to win the final and only pink-ball Test between the two teams by eight wickets.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
It will be difficult for batsmen to get used to switching from day to night, according to Smith, who appeared out of touch in Perth with scores of 0 and 17.
“Yeah, pink ball. So it can be challenging at different times of the day or night, depending on where you bat and the situation of the game and ball, and all those kinds of things. So just being really switched on. The pink ball can be a little bit unpredictable at times. So yeah, just being really focused,” Smith said in the video posted by Star Sports.
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Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, too acknowledged the difficulties of using the pink ball, stating that the state of the ball will determine how quickly the game progresses.
“I think, you know, all the basics. Stay the same really. Sometimes the game go at different paces as the ball gets older and softer or is hard, but outside of that it’s Test cricket,” Cummins noted.
Travis Head, an Australian batsman who has amassed two hundred and three fifties in eight pink-ball Test matches, expressed his excitement about the chance to play in front of the lights.
Head made 89 runs in the second innings of the last Test match against India, but he was unable to get any help from other batsmen, as Australia fell for 238 when chasing 534.
“It can be a tough wicket to bat on. Obviously, the drop in wicket, you gotta score in different ways. I think it suits me. Obviously, I have batted there a lot. So been nice to get some runs in the last couple of years there and try to do the same again this year. It’s always a nice week for me. It’s relaxed. It’s when I’m in my own bed. I got a lot of friends and family. I got a lot of mates that come watch, and it’s just a good feel for the week. So, I’ll be looking forward to that,” Head said.
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