Pink-ball Test leaves behind clear answers and unanswered questions
The dust (and dusk) has settled on a historic occasion at Eden Gardens as India crushed Bangladesh in two-and-a-half days in the first-ever pink-ball Test held in the country by an innings and 46 runs. The Virat Kohli-led side set some records along the way in characteristically triumphant fashion. Here's a look at some conclusions and some unresolved enigmas that were raised by the Test.
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Marketing is king
Make a no mistake, the Test received an amazing response from the cricket-crazy Kolkata faithful and that owes a lot to the astute marketing done by a canny BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and his team. From the city turning pink to the one-off encounter part of a mini-series having its own mascots, to dignitaries and legends turning up for the occasion, the pink-ball Test had it all. And the crowd, houseful on all days, lapped it all up gleefully.
The broadcasters joined the bandwagon in forthright fashion and we saw experts and commentators making a 'pink' statement on all days of the game.
Imagine if this was just a 'normal' Test between the Indian juggernaut and the hapless Bangladeshis still trying to find their feet in Tests, albeit years after their debut... oh so boring!
Eden remains magical
As Virat Kohli stroked past the bowler for an immaculate on-driven boundary, the amphitheatre reverberated with rapturous applause under the lights. The cricket was decidedly one-sided but the spectacle was one to behold. The passion on show from the crowd and the sights and sounds evoked by the match proved Eden's special status in Indian cricket's annals once again.
Virat the master
Day or dusk, red or pink, King Kohli seems unstoppable. During a beautifully-crafted 136 that was studded with 18 boundaries, Kohli became the first India batsman to score a hundred in a day-night Test and deservedly so. Kohli has added oodles of maturity and dedication to his prodigious talent and is a project that has a long way to go still as he makes and breaks records with disdain. With India in the midst of the inaugural World Test Championship, Kohli's form over the next two seasons will be crucial in India's quest for the title.
Men in Blue- A brilliant Test team
India have won seven Tests in a row, four of them innings victories against opponents they toyed with. Their three-pronged pace attack featuring the likes of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami (with Jasprit Bumrah in the wings) is becoming ferocious by the day. The pace, guile and technique demonstrated by the trio in the Test was consistently admirable and they will be a force to reckon with against stronger opposition anywhere in the world.
India have two quality spinners and a rejuvenated wicketkeeping great in Wriddhiman Saha as well as a traditionally-strong batting line-up buoyed by the arrival of Mayank Agarwal. All in all, they are the best Test side in the world and the pink-ball Test reinforced that fact.
Visibilty issues?
Questions, though, remain. Wickets fell like nine pins for both sides as day turned to night, batsmen were hit on the head with alarming alacrity and Liton Das, who looked in good touch, had to be substituted due to one such blow. Is the pink ball as clearly visible during dusk as the red under sunlight? The jury is still out on that and commentators are coming to blows regarding the same.
Whether or not this is the future of the format- especially in the subcontinent- will depend a long way on this conundrum.
Wrong opposition?
The gulf in class was palpable from the word go. Bangladesh were just not good enough to last five days, let alone challenge this elite Indian team. The cricket was dominant from one side, hapless from the other, and staid for the neutrals. The conclusion was foregone in the first 25 overs itself and despite all the hullabaloo, memes and jokes regarding Bangladesh's prowess at this level put the game as a cricketing spectacle under a cloud. Time and again the Bangladeshi batsmen took their eyes off the ball as it thudded into their life-saving helmets, one wonders whether the pink-ball Test should have been held back for a better, stronger adversary or whether this was all part of the plan, a facile win, a carnival without tension, the loss of action for two and a half days the only glitch.