With the series tied at 1-1 and a place in the World Test Championship final on the line, India take on England in the third Testtoday onFebruary 24. The all-important Test match will be a day-night clash, which will be played with the pink ball at the world’s largest stadium, Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
As the action moves to Ahmedabad for the remaining two Test fixtures, former England spinner and full-time pundit Monty Panesar is of the opinion that pink ball will neutralise Team India’s home advantage and the hosts should be wary about its challenge in the third Test match.
Panesar in an interview told Times of India, that the pink ball will largely help the pacers than spinners and that it will offer a lot of swing and reverse swing, which would trouble the hosts batsmen. ‘The pink ball is going to swing and seam at some stage,’ as it is not like the red ball. The SG pink ball in comparison of its red version ‘moves in the air, it reverses’ and it is sure to ‘neutralise’ the hosts home advantage. ‘Whether this Indian team can hold their nerve when the ball moves in the air or reverses and not panic?’, the former spinner added.
He also highlighted that India doesn’t have fond memories with the pink ball and went on to recall their dreadful outing against Australia in their previous pink-ball Test match. The Virat Kohli led-side registered their lowest-ever Test score of 36 at Adelaide in 2020. Panesar asserted that the Indian team should be wary of challenges posed by the likes of James Anderson and Jofra Archer in the upcoming one-off day-night Test clash.
The upcoming India vs England third Test will be the first between both sides with the pink-ball Test. India played their maiden pink-ball Test in 2019 against Bangladesh, while played their maiden day-night Test match at home against West Indies in 2017.
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