Kolkata:Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque won the toss and decided to bat first in the first historic day-night 5-day Test match with pink ball against India at the iconic Eden Gardens here today.
Team India : Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma Bangladesh :Shadman Islam, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque(c), Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Liton Das(w), Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Al-Amin Hossain, Ebadat Hossain
India captain Virat Kohli on losing spin of special coin said " We would have batted first as well. Decent grass cover on it, but it's a hard pitch. With the pink ball there will be something for the first 15 overs. This is another opportunity for us to come and execute our skills. The challenge is to adapt quickly to the ball. It travels fast and it's difficult to control. We are fulfilling a responsibility of debuting with the pink ball. We have the same team."
His Bangladesh counterpart Mominul Haque: said " We will bat first, the wicket is dry and hard, so that's why we want to bat first. It's a brave decision we feel. It's a great opportunity for everyone. Two changes for us."
Hasina arrives in Kolkata to inaugurate India's maiden historic D/N Test at Eden
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport at around 10.30 AM on Friday to inaugurate India's maiden historic Day/Night Test match at the iconic Eden Gardens.Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly received her at the airport.
Indian Cricket is just hours away from embracing the pink revolution when a confident home side takes on Bangladesh.
Virat Kohli and Co remain clear favourites in this match based on their recent form as they steamrolled the visitors in the first match of the series by an innings and 130 runs in Indore.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly convinced both teams to agree to a Day/Night Test match within a week after taking charge.Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has left no stones unturned to make this a grand event and mark it as a milestone in the history of Indian Cricket.
Several leading former cricketers, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, will witness the historic match to be marked with Army paratroopers flying into Eden Gardens to hand over a pink ball each to both skippers before the toss.
This will be followed by the ringing of the customary Eden Bell by the Bangladesh Premier and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Amid the concerns about the twilight, early sunset, dew factor, a jam-packed Eden Gardens will be ready to embrace the historic day today.(UNI)
