Pink-ball Test presents risks and possibilities for Bangladesh

As Bangladesh prepare to take on India in their first ever day-night Test match at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium, a festive atmosphere has gripped the city of Kolkata.

Rehearsals for the inauguration ceremony of the Test -- the first to be played under floodlights in South Asia -- began shortly after the players left the field at the end of a practice session. The second and final Test of the series is set to get underway at 1.30 pm on Friday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has flown to Kolkata to watch the historic match and will ring the bell to start proceedings on the first day.

The Tigers are looking to bounce back from a crushing innings defeat in Indore in the first match. But restoring parity in the series against the world's No.1 ranked Test side will present an almighty challenge for Bangladesh by all measures.

India boast five of the world's top 11 Test batsmen in the ICC rankings. In contrast, Bangladesh's highest-ranked batsman sits in 30th place while the visitors' best Test bowler is in 23rd place in the rankings.

Meanwhile, India have won their last three Test matches by an innings with most of their top order registering double hundreds in the previous four matches. Spinners have always been India's strength. But the current crop also has some superb seam bowlers to boot and were a thorn in the Tigers side in the first Test despite missing their pace spearhead Jaspreet Bumrah.

As Bangladesh were dispatched within three days in their firt Test match in India, skipper Mominul Haque faced some tough questions about his team's prospects in Kolkata.

“As a cricketer I cannot say if the match will be over in three days. The presence of grass in the wicket does not guarantee that the match will finish in three days. The ball may turn out to be good because of the hard wicket. The pitch curator mentioned a sporting wicket; I believe a sporting wicket is good for batting.”

The Eden Gardens pitch is likely to have less grass than the Holkar Stadium. But the pink ball may provide an extra advantage for Indian seamers Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma. Batsmen must strictly adhere to a fixed gameplan and maintain concentration throughout to deal with the challenges of the pink ball, according to Indian captain Virat Kohli.

“I’ll play to win when I enter the pitch. We’ll try not to repeat the mistakes we made in the first Test. Our batsmen will do batting in sessions and even the bowlers will try to bowl well in each session.”

On the flipside, the drubbing in the first Test gave the Tigers got two days extra to practice with the pink ball. They used the time to acclimatise themselves with the conditions which, Mominul believes, will have a positive impact on their game.

“We’re looking forward to make the most of any opportunity. We’re excited for the match.”

The excitement surrounding the match has reached a fever pitch in Kolkata with a capacity crowd of 70,000 expected to be in attendance. But Mominul does not believe the anticipation surrounding the match is affecting the players.

“As professional cricketers, we should not be affected by what's happening outside the stadium. We shouldn’t feel pressurised. All we need to do is to perform our duties well.”

“We haven't lost sight of our goal. At the end of the day, all we need to do is play cricket. Everyone is eager to know how the pink ball will turn out. Other than that, we’re just excited about the match.”