Pink Ball vs Red Ball in Test Cricket: How is pink ball different?

India and Australia lock horns in the second Test of the ongoing five-match Test series between the two teams at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide. The match is a highly anticipated affair among cricket fans as it is a day/night match. A day/night Test is notably played with a pink ball instead of the usual red ball used in Test cricket, which increases the excitement of the game.

The pink ball is known to help bowlers much more than the red ball even more during the night session played under floodlights. Therefore, it is often a daunting task for the batsmen to see the bowlers away under lights, making their stay on the field even more miserable. Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee also recently explained how a pink ball behaves differently from a red ball calling it a Rosé.

AUS vs IND 2nd Test Day 1 Live

The legendary fast bowler recalled how he loved bowling under lights with the white ball and explained how the humidity at night makes the ball mold much more.

“It’s the pink ball test of what I like to call the Rosé. Not quite red, not quite white, right in the middle rose. It definitely swings around a lot more, it shapes around. The pink ball test is under lights, so generally when you play with the lights it’s a little more movement, it’s also cooler at night in terms of heat, it can be a little more humid sometimes, so I really enjoyed it to bowl with the white ball under lights. The pink ball I hear is actually much better. So it would be a lot of fun for the fast bowlers,” Lee said on his Youtube channel.

Who is the highest run scorer for India against the pink ball?

Among Indian batsmen, Virat Kohli is the leading run scorer in pink ball Tests with 277 runs from five matches at an average of 46.16 with one hundred and fifty to his name. Among the bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin is most successful having picked 18 wickets from five matches at an average of 13.83 with best figures of 4/48.

For Australia, Marnus Labuschagne is the leading run scorer in the day/night Tests with 894 runs from nine matches at an average of 63.85 with four hundreds and three fifties to his name. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc is the highest wicket taker with 67 scalps from 13 matches at an average of 18.80 with three five wicket hauls to his name.

With two heavyweight sides set to clash against each other, the pink ball Test promises to be a mouth-watering affair for the cricketing fraternity.