Pink Ball Test: 5 Things You need to know about Day-Night Test in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium

The India versus England Day and Night Test match will begin today. The match is being played at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium. This is only the third Day and Night Test that the Indian team has ever played. The Day and Night Tests are played with a pink ball. Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) has manufactured the pink ball which will be used in this test match.

The first-ever Day and Night Test that India ever played was at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata back in 2019. India had defeated Bangladesh in that Test. The next time the Indian team played a Day and Night Test was in December 2020 in Adelaide. This match turned out to be a disaster for the Indian side as they were bowled out by the Australians for just 36 runs. India ultimately lost the Test match by 8 wickets. A Kookaburra pink ball was used for this match.

Today, India will be playing against England in the third Test of the ongoing test series between the two sides. The SG pink ball being used for this Test was manufactured in Meerut according to The Times of India.

Here are five things you should know about the Pink Ball and Day and Night Tests:

• The pink ball was first used in an England versus Australia women's One Day International (OD) match in 2009. It was a trial run for the pink ball
• A first-class match between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago in Antigua was played using a pink ball. After this, other countries also started experimenting with the pink ball, according to the daily
• The First Day and Night Test match to use a pink ball was in 2015. Australia had played against New Zealand.
• The pink ball is easier to spot at night and under stadium lights than the classic red ball which is used in most matches.
• The SG pink ball has a black seam around it. It also has an extra coating of lacquer in order to make it maintain colour and shine longer.

Also read: Motera Stadium in Gujarat renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium