India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has revealed how he uses a pink ball and red ball to his advantage.
While the red balls are the earliest type of balls used in competitive cricket, a pink ball is not too old. In was in November 2015 when Australia and New Zealand first played with the pink ball at Adelaide Oval. Since then a total of 21 such matches, including women's cricket, have taken place to date.
Given that only few games have been played with the pink ball so far, neither the batsman nor the bowlers have got accustomed to playing with it. More than bowlers, it has troubled the batsman who have already complained about the visibility issue and are still exploring the methods to excel in the day-night matches.
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When questioned about how he uses the pink-ball to his advantage, speedster Bumrah said: “When we play with the red ball, the first session is very crucial because there is some moisture in the wicket. There is some help for us in the first session.
“Here (in pink-ball games) it goes the other way round. In the afternoon, there is not a lot of help for the fast bowlers and the wicket is also dry, so there is no lateral movement but as soon as the evening comes, the temperate goes down, there is some coolness in the air so the ball starts swinging and if the ball is relatively new, it does something, it seams around and its bounce is also increased.
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“So we analyse that and try to use it to our advantage. Whenever the ball is swinging, pitch the ball up and take advantage of the swing, use your skills, use different angles. And when the swing goes down, pull your length back and bowl tighter lines."
Bumrah finished the day-night Test match against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru with figures of 8/47, including a fifer in the first innings. Notably, it is also his first five-wicket haul on home soil.
Meanwhile, India comfortably won the game by a 238-run margin as Sri Lanka got bundled out for 208 runs in pursuit of 447-run target.
