cricket

Updated: Nov 19, 2019 11:46 IST

Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was on the receiving end of some fine banter from opener Shikhar Dhawan and captain Virat Kohli after he posted a picture of himself on social media with the pink ball. India and Bangladesh are scheduled to play a historic Day-Night Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting Friday. The hosts lead the two-match series 1-0 after their comprehensive innings and 130-run victory at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

Also Read: More shine and swing, upright seam: The science behind pink ball

Ahead of the second Test, Rahane put up a picture on social media where he is posing with the pink ball. Rahane’s post read: “Already dreaming about the historic pink ball test.”

To this, Dhawan replied: “Sapney mein pic khich gayi.” Skipper Kohli too joined in the fun and he lauded Rahane for his pose and wrote: “Nice pose jinksy”.

The Mumbai batsman is scheduled to land in the city on Tuesday morning along with skipper Virat Kohli. The hosts are already top of the ICC World Test Championship chart with 300 points from six matches, recording wins in all six of them.

Also Read: ‘Bad call, will leave Shah Rukh Khan a message’: Yuvraj on KKR’s move

The second Test match will be played with a pink SG ball and this will also serve as a trial for the pink balls as well as the BCCI. The Kookaburra pink balls were used in the Duleep Trophy earlier.

“The lateral movement is big, actually a lot than the red ball,” Rahane had earlier told reporters in Indore. “Adjustment-wise, I’m sure everyone will adapt very quickly. We are used to playing different formats - after T20s we play Tests. It’s just the mindset, technical skills will play a role. Mentally if you can adjust to the pink ball, then it’ll be good.”

Rahane did not want to be drawn into comparisons as he has not experienced the Kookaburra ball.

Also Read: VVS Laxman names ‘India’s biggest match-winner he played with’

“We played against spinners in Bangalore, and they were getting good revs on the ball. Yes, the shine is completely different to the red ball, but it’s very hard to compare with SG ball and the Kookaburra ball. “I’ve never played with the pink ball. And what I’ve heard from other people is that the Kookaburra ball is actually really easy for the batsmen. But what we saw in Bangalore and played in Bangalore is that the SG ball was doing a bit for the fast bowlers. For spinners, it is difficult but it is very hard for me to say right now about Kookaburra and SG ball.”