India's catching standards have taken a beating in the ongoing series against West Indies and we take a look at how many they have dropped in their last two T20I series. 

Vs Bangladesh

1st T20I - Mushfiqur Rahim

Rahim was dropped off the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal in the first T20I by Krunal Pandya and the Bangladesh batsman went on to make an impact in the game which the tourists won. Rahim finished on 60 not out and was adjudged the Man of the Match.

2nd T20I - Liton Das

Soon after the powerplay at Rajkot in the second T20I against Bangladesh, India dropped another catch with Rohit Sharma letting go of Liton Das. Washington Sundar had enticed Das into a slog sweep and three fielders converged before Rohit went for the catch and put it down.

Vs West Indies

1st T20I - Shimron Hetmyer (twice)

Sundar let go of Hetmyer twice in the first T20I. On the first occasion, Chahal was the bowler and Sundar completely misjudged the catch at short fine-leg. The ball was landing in front of him, but he anticipated it to come to him and never made a move. This was in the 16th over and he let Hetmyer off again next over.

Read | From Kohli's stares to Chahar's bad day, talking points from India's win

Deepak Chahar had a slew of catches dropped off his bowling in the first game against the Windies at Hyderabad. Shimron Hetmyer was a beneficiary when Washington Sundar put down another catch at long-on when the West Indian sliced a slog. 

1st T20I - Kieron Pollard (twice)

Rohit Sharma let go of Kieron Pollard twice off successive balls in the first T20I. Poor Deepak Chahar had induced false strokes and Rohit got close to the ball only to let go of it the first time. While that chance was incredibly tough, on the second occasion, the ball went right at him and he parried it over the ropes for six.

1st T20I - Jason Holder

Captain Virat Kohli let go of Jason Holder in the final over at Hyderabad off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and also conceded four runs in the process. He would, however, make amends from the same position - long-off - in the second T20I with a stunning catch. 

2nd T20I - Lendl Simmons

Lendl Simmons was benefited as Washington Sundar put down a dolly at mid-off with Bhuvneshwar Kumar being the bowler. Simmons had miscued the swing and the ball went straight to Sundar who missed a straightforward chance. 

Read | India vs West Indies 2nd T20I: Five things we learned

2nd T20I - Evin Lewis

Two balls after Simmons' drop, Rishabh Pant gave Evin Lewis a life when he was caught wrong-footed as the batsman edged one behind off Kumar. Pant was stuck on his right foot and the ball travelled to his left, making it tough for him.

2nd T20I - Nicholas Pooran

Shreyas Iyer let down Pooran in the late stages of the second T20I as he ran across from long-on and failed to get his fingers onto a catch that went really high. The bowler was yet again Deepak Chahar who had three catches put down off his bowling at Hyderabad.

India have put down as many as 10 catches in their last five T20Is and that's an alarming rate for a top side in this format of the game where each run matters.

Read | India vs West Indies 3rd T20: Openers likely to take centre-stage

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu Sarkar

India are running away with the World Test Championship already and it's only four months since the two-year long league has started. After thumping West Indies in West Indies, South Africa and now Bangladesh at home, India lead the World Test Championship points table with 300 points with six wins in six Test matches.

This could well become 360 points after they complete their now almost certain win at Eden Gardens in the pink ball Test. The next best placed teams in the points table are New Zealand and Sri Lanka with 60 points apiece. That's a margin of 300 whopping points India have in the points table and it nearly assures them a place in the finals of the World Test Championship in 2021.

There's no doubt that India have been the best Test team going around in recent times. That they have managed to win two series with their premier strike bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, missing talks of a different level of domination. But run through the WTC schedule and you can't help but feel the stars are aligned - or were made to align - in favour of India.

Read | The differences between red and pink ball in Test cricket

This is India's WTC draw for this 2019-2021 cycle.

July-August 2019: West Indies in West Indies - 2 away Tests

October-November 2019: South Africa in India - 3 home Tests

November 2019: Bangladesh in India - 2 Tests

February 2020: New Zealand in New Zealand - 2 Tests

December 2020: Australia in Australia - 4 Tests

January-February 2021: England in India - 5 Tests

At first glance, it's pretty much good. They play England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, who are rated among the better teams in Test cricket.

Dig deeper, though, and the problem - which also involves a discussion on the WTC points system - is visible. The World Test Championship points system is such that each series is given 120 points irrespective of the number of Tests. So, a win in a two-match series equals 60 points while a win in a five-match series equals (120/5) 24 points.

India's home Tests and the fairly easy draw involves the series against West Indies away, one home series against Bangladesh and a home series against South Africa, who are pretty much on the decline and not so competent in Asian conditions these days.

That's a total of seven Tests spread across three series at home. One win in the series against West Indies and Bangladesh has given India 60 points. One win in the series against South Africa is 40 points.

Now go to their away fixtures. India don't play Tests at home after the pink ball Test against Bangladesh. The whole of 2020, there are no home Tests for India. They are on supposedly tough tours of New Zealand and Australia before returning home to India to face England in 2021, their last series in the WTC cycle.

Read | A throwback to the best Test thrillers involving the pink ball

The trick here is that of these three series, the only one where India stands to lose their hold in the WTC is the one against New Zealand away from home. Let's see why.

Australia recently went to England to draw the Ashes series 2-2. They were leading the series 2-1 at one point before conceding the final Test although they did take the urn back home.

Now, the Ashes is a five-match series. A win in this series equals 24 points and both England and Australia took 48 points with a win. A draw is one-third the points for a win per the WTC points system. So, both teams shared 8 points apiece for the one drawn game in the series giving both a total of 56 points in the WTC from that series.

Now, the points system does not take into account home or away Tests. So, Australia actually went to England and won two Test matches - aside from managing a draw in another - away from home and return with only 56 points. On the contrary, India thumped Bangladesh at home in the first Test and won 60 points.

Now, India's long series' in the WTC are against Australia - 4 Tests away - and England - 5 Tests at home. Even if India manage to lose two matches each in both the series, they are only missing out on collecting 108 points in all. On the other hand, by beating Bangladesh 2-0 at home, they get 120 points.

It's a fairly easy draw that India have, and also one that will certainly see them make the finals of the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.  

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Indranil Mukherjee

Virat Kohli stamped his authority in the historic pink-ball Test against Bangladesh as the India captain chalked up his 27^th Test century at Eden Gardens on Saturday. It was his 20^th Test century as captain in just 86 innings, as he passed Ricky Ponting on the list, who had 19 centuries to his name.

20th Test century as Captain of India �?br />27th Test century of his career �?br />70th International century �?br />41st international century as captain (joint-most)�?br />1st Indian to hit a century in day/night Test �?a href="//twitter.com/hashtag/KingKohli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#KingKohli pic.twitter.com/q01OKPauOu

�?BCCI (@BCCI) November 23, 2019

Kohli is now only behind Greame Smith, who has 25 Test tons as South Africa captain, albeit in 193 innings. He reached the milestone in 141 innings, incidentally the exact number of innings a certain Sachin Tendulkar took to score his 27^th Test ton.

Most Test 100s as captain:
Graeme Smith 25
Virat Kohli 20
Ricky Ponting 19

Kohli has gone to No.2 on the list today! #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/EOaI6QqLMF

�?ICC (@ICC) November 23, 2019

His latest three-figure score also means that Virat Kohli now has 41 centuries as captain across formats, a record he shares with Ricky Ponting.

It was also his 70^th international century, making him only the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to have that many centuries in international cricket.

During this innings, Kohli also scored 5000 Test runs as India captain, the only one to reach this milestone and also the fastest. Post a lean 2013-14 season, the Delhi lad has been ultra-consistent and this can be seen in his conversion rates.

Kohli is one of the few batsmen to have more Test centuries (27) than fifties, giving him a conversion rate of 55.1%, second only to the great Don Bradman, who had one of 69%. It still puts Kohli above the likes of Matthew Hayden, Younus Khan and Martin Crowe and also famed contemporary, Steve Smith (49.1% conversion rate).

If all of those statistics weren’t enough, Virat Kohli became only the fourth Indian batsman to have Test centuries in India’s premier venues- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Test 100s in all five major Test centres of India - Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru & Delhi

Gundappa Viswanath
Sunil Gavaskar
Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli#INDvBAN #PinkBallTest

�?Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) November 23, 2019

Needless to say, Kohli is also India’s first centurion in a Day/Night Test, and he achieved the feat exactly 13 years after his debut First-class game, a milestone he shares with Delhi and India teammate, Ishant Sharma.

Nov 23, 2006 - Virat Kohli makes his First-Class debut

Nov 23, 2019 - Virat Kohli becomes India's 1st centurion in a D/N Test match. [This is also Kohli's maiden D/N FC match]#INDvBAN

�?Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) November 23, 2019

 

Both Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma made their first-class debut in the same match. [Delhi vs Tamil Nadu]

- Ishant Sharma took the 1st 5-fer haul in a D/N Test for India
- Virat Kohli scored the 1st century in a D/N Test for India#INDvBAN

�?Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) November 23, 2019

Featured image courtesy: Twitter/ @ICC

Skipper Virat Kohli said Thursday he welcomed the "buzz" around India's grand day-night Test debut but said pink-ball matches should not become a regular occurrence.

India begin their pink-ball journey against Bangladesh on Friday in Kolkata, with the first four days sold out, contrasting with daytime Tests in India when crowds are often sparse.

"This can be a one-off thing. It should not in my opinion become a regular scenario, because then you are losing out on that nervousness of the first session in the morning," Kohli told reporters at Eden Gardens.

"The entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that the batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler trying to get a batsman out."

But he added: "It's great to create more buzz around Test cricket."

Read | The differences between red and pink ball in Test cricket

Day-night Tests, aimed at increasing crowds and TV audiences for the longer format, were successfully introduced in 2015 when Australia played New Zealand in Adelaide.

England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies have all played at least one day-night Test.

But until now, India have kept away, with its cricket board last year refusing to play a day-night Test in Adelaide.

"Obviously, we wanted to get a feel of pink-ball cricket. Eventually it had to happen," said Kohli.

- 'Heavy hockey ball' -

India lead the two-match series 1-0 after thrashing Bangladesh at Indore inside three days -- to largely empty stands.

A striking spectacle is planned for the start of the Test on Friday -- it is also Bangladesh's pink-ball debut -- with Bangladesh's prime minister and the local state chief minister set to begin proceedings by ringing the stadium bell.

Read | India vs Bangladesh: What to expect from the historic day-night Test

Kohli said the occasion reminded him of the 2016 World Twenty20 clash with arch-rivals Pakistan at Eden Gardens, which witnessed a host of big names in attendance including Imran Khan, former cricketer and now Pakistan's prime minister.

India's star batsman said that he found a few challenges facing the pink ball compared with the red ball used in regular daytime Tests.

"The one thing that surprised me was the fielding sessions. How in the slips the ball hit your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball," Kohli said.

"It really felt like that on the hand and it's definitely because of the extra glaze of the ball. It's definitely much harder, and it felt a little heavier."

Kohli also said evening moisture will play a big part in Indian conditions despite the game scheduled to run from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm (0700 to 1430 GMT).

Read | A throwback to the best Test thrillers involving the pink ball

"Spoke to the match referee yesterday. It's something we'll have to speak about and discuss as we go along in the game. You can't really predict how much mopping or how much cleaning of the dew is required at which stage."

Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque said the biggest challenge would be to play the pink ball under lights.

"The glaze of the ball under the light may make it tricky for the batsmen," Mominul told reporters.

"Fielders will also find it challenging. Skill-wise, batsmen must be focused 100 percent each and every ball."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibgyangshu Sarkar

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Tuesday banned former national team fast bowler Shahadat Hossain for three years after he assaulted a teammate in a match.

The temperamental Shahadat was reported by umpires after he was seen to slap and kick a teammate during a National Cricket League match on Sunday.

The national federation imposed a five-year ban but suspended two years of the punishment. Shahadat, who admitted a charge of "physical assault", was also fined 300,000 taka ($3,540), the board said.

The 33-year-old bowler condemned the ban as "too harsh" and said it would effectively end his controversial cricket career.

Shahadat attacked young bowler Arafat Sunny Jr during a game between Dhaka and Khulna after an argument over how to shine the ball, a board official said.

"Considering his past behaviour we decided to punish him for five years. The last two years of his ban will remain suspended," said BCB technical committee chief Minhajul Abedin.

Shahadat, who played 38 Tests and 51 one-day internationals for Bangladesh, spent nearly two months in detention in 2015 after he and his wife were accused of torturing an 11-year-old girl they employed as a maid.

The couple originally went into hiding after police raided their house in September 2015 when the girl alleged they had beaten and tortured her.

Police said that one of the girl's hands had been burnt with a hot cooking implement.

Shahadat and his wife were cleared however when the case came to trial.

The bowler told AFP the showdown with his teammate "happened in the heat of the moment" and denied that he slapped or kicked Arafat.

"I only pushed him, I did not hurt him. But I agree it's a mistake. As a Test player I should not have done this. I will appeal," Shahadat said.

"A five-year ban is too harsh for me. I would have accepted a six-month ban or some fine."

"My mother is a cancer patient. She stopped eating after the news. If I am banned for five years it will take away my livelihood," he said.

Shahadat also hit the headlines in 2018 when he allegedly beat a rickshaw driver for hitting his car in Dhaka.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Munir uz Zaman

India will become the last major cricketing nation to enter the pink-ball Test era Friday after long resisting innovations to the five-day format.

The second Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata will be a day-night affair -- partly played under floodlights, and with a pink ball rather than red for better visibility.

Day-night Tests, aimed at increasing crowds and TV audiences for the five-day games, were successfully introduced in 2015 but India has balked at joining the party.

India's new cricket chief Sourav Ganguly had to work hard to convince both teams to play under floodlights but he has now arranged a grand spectacle at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Virat Kohli's India appear in little danger of losing the ground-breaking fixture, as they already lead the two-match series 1-0 after a crushing win in Indore.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has kept away from day-night Tests since the first pink ball game in Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand in 2015. It refused to play a Test under lights in Australia last year.

England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies have all played at least one day-night Test but the BCCI, by far the richest and most powerful board in world cricket, dodged it, reportedly due to a negative player feedback.

It echoes India's resistance to the Decision Review System, which it belatedly embraced years after the technology had become standard in other countries.

Despite the delayed introduction, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar told AFP that the future is bright for pink-ball games.

"When day-night cricket started not many thought it would be successful but look at the huge following it has now, so there's no reason to believe that day night Test cricket won't be successful too," said Gavaskar.

"The only thing I feel is that the stats for pink-ball Test cricket should be separately maintained from red-ball cricket.

"Similarly for limited-overs cricket also the stats should be separate for red-ball and white-ball, or some sort of distinction made so that future generations can know what was what."

Dew diligence

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will ring the bell at the start of the game at Kolkata's famous Eden Gardens ground.

Kohli said the change of colour will test the batsmen as the pink balls behave differently than the red ones used in day-time Tests.

"The pink-ball Test is going to be exciting, will be a challenge for the batters. With the older ball, it doesn't swing that much so the bowlers will have a challenge," Kohli said after their opening win.

"We're just happy to be among the first to play pink-ball cricket for India."

India have experimented with pink balls in domestic cricket, including a club game in Kolkata. But not many players in the current squad are used to the new balls, which were tested during hurriedly organised net sessions during the first Test.

But Gavaskar said Kohli's team -- which leads the world Test championship table and is aiming to secure a 12th straight series win at home -- can conquer any facet of the game.

"This is a magnificent Indian team which can find a way to win even if they are playing on the snow in Iceland or sand in the Sahara desert," said Gavaskar.

"So it does not matter whether any of the players have played earlier with the pink ball or not."

Former Australia umpire Simon Taufel said "adaptability" will be key for players and officials when the colour of the ball will appear to change during twilight.

"We need to adapt just like everybody else. I stood in a pink-ball trial at Lord's and it was different," Taufel told AFP.

"Because colour is light and when you put that pink ball through broad daylight, through twilight period and under lights the colour changes."

The match will be played from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm (0700 to 1430 GMT), avoiding the worst of the dew that hits the region in winter months.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Indranil Mukherjee

India have finally joined the bandwagon and will play a day-night pink-ball Test match at Kolkata against Bangladesh on November 22. While eight of the first 10 major Test teams have all played a pink-ball Test, India and Bangladesh are late to the party and will play their maiden one.

While we saw a three-day finish in Indore, all eyes right from the beginning were always on the Kolkata Test with the day-night affair promising much. But, what can we actually expect from the pink ball Test?

More pace domination

India’s pace bowlers took 14 of the 20 Bangladesh wickets to fall in the first Test at Indore. In the South African series, India’s pace bowlers dominated South Africa’s own and returned with much better number’s than their famed counterparts. It showed one thing. India are no longer dependent on spin at home with the kind of pace bowling attack they have. It also means another thing. India needn’t just produce dust bowls at home to beat visiting sides. South Africa got a taste of it, so did Bangladesh at Indore. But at Kolkata, a pace-dominant venue in the last few years, it could be even more telling. The pink ball swings and seams around a lot more than it’s red counterpart and we could see India’s pacers thriving again.

Read: The differences between red and pink ball in Test cricket

More crowds

The whole purpose of the day-night Test was to bring in the crowd. With matches set to start post noon and the third session to be played under lights, office-goers and school students have a better chance of catching some live-action even if the games are played on weekdays. This is a far cry from the case in normal Test matches. For instance, in India, a normal Test match starts at 9.30 am and ends by 5 pm which is basically office timings. This affects the crowd coming to the stadium to attend the matches. The day-night Test will mean that crowds can catch more live action. So it’s more profitable for the hosts, for the stadiums and the broadcasters. A win-win for all parties. At Kolkata, where we generally see a large crowd, the day-night Test could witness a full-house. Sourav Ganguly’s influence as BCCI President could also mean we will have some celebrity guests in the house.

Different team strategies

Both teams have little experience of the pink ball. Ravichandran Ashwin said that it sometimes looks like an orange ball while Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane acknowledged that it swung a lot more than the conventional red ball. With the conditions vastly different and the dew and floodlights becoming a factor aside from the whole new variant of the ball, we could see varied team strategies. The nightwatchman could be adopted more with batting under lights being a huge headache. The third session is when the pink ball moves around a lot more than in the first two sessions. So under lights, we could see the pacemen operating more, which means saving their energy for the final burst by using them in short spells earlier on. Similarly, a slew of strategies might change as we arrive at Kolkata for this historic Test match.

Read: Battered Bangladesh must learn from India demolition, says captain

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu Sarkar

Bangladesh have won just four Test matches overseas in their 19-year history of playing Test cricket. That is a huge ignominy for a team that prides itself on being a Test nation. Their wins have come against West Indies (twice in 2009, but with the players revolting, West Indies were fielding a second-string side), once in Zimbabwe in 2013 and once in Colombo in 2017.

Bangladesh's Test wins away from home
Opposition	Ground	Year	Margin
West Indies	Kingstown	2009	95 runs
West Indies	St George's	2009	4 wickets
Zimbabwe	Harare	2013	143 runs
Sri Lanka	Colombo (PSS)	2017	4 wickets

Over the years, Bangladesh’s batting has been cited as a major weak point for them. Their batsmen faltered at Indore too in the first Test against India when they were bowled out for a 150 in the first innings. A glance at the home and away batting records of Bangladesh, however, shows little difference.

At home, since 2015 they average 27.91, while overseas that number drops to 23.66. There is a 4.25-run difference, but again in this same time frame, teams like India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have a bigger difference in home and away averages. A look at the batsmen and their overseas and home numbers also paint a different picture than what is commonly presumed.

Bangladesh batsmen home and away averages since 2015 (Players who played Indore Test in yellow)
Player	Average home	Average away
Imrul Kayes	29.6	20
Liton Das	22	23.62
Mahmudullah	43.84	27.36
Mominul Haque	43.8	16.75
Mushfiqur Rahim	31.37	47.53
Shadman Islam	39	21.5
Shakib Al Hasan	38.05	46.28
Soumya Sarkar	16.55	41.71
Tamim Iqbal	46.05	35.45
Mohammad Mithun	26.6	14.83

Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan and Soumya Sarkar all average better overseas than at home. So if batting isn’t the issue, we have to look someplace else. With the ball, Bangladesh have often been found wanting abroad. While their four Test wins have all come powered by their potent spin attack, the same attack hasn’t been effective often enough. This also explains why they haven’t won as many games overseas as they would have liked to.

Team	Away average	Home average
Australia	27.39	29.98
Bangladesh	56.53	30.85
England	36.77	27.03
India	26.02	23.71
New Zealand	37.39	28.44
Pakistan	33.5	27.97
South Africa	32.69	22.62
Sri Lanka	37.81	30.82
West Indies	43.48	29.47
Zimbabwe	37.53	50.09

This table (stats since 2015) shows that Bangladesh have the worst bowling average for teams outside home since 2015. They average 56.53 while striking at a poor rate of 89.6, both easily the worst in the world since 2015.

The pace against spin difference is also evident. While the spinners average 28.22 at home since 2015, outside Bangladesh, those numbers go to 51.87. With pacers, it is poor both at home and away �?an average of 52.8 at home and 62.44 away from home.

Bangladesh bowlers in away Tests since 2015
Players	Wickets	Average	Strike Rate
Mehidy Hasan Miraz	29	57.68	88.2
Shakib Al Hasan	25	34.48	67
Abu Jayed	14	32	54.1
Mustafizur Rahman	12	44.58	77.5
Taijul Islam	10	73.3	113.4
Subashis Roy	9	51.66	83.2
Kamrul Islam Rabbi	7	60.42	90.8
Taskin Ahmed	7	97.42	132.8

Among the bowlers, Shakib and Abu Jayed are the only two bowlers to have decent numbers overseas with the ball. Jayed showcased that with a good showing at Indore while Shakib is unavailable for the next few years owing to a ban.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Indranil Mukherjee

India and Bangladesh are set to play their maiden day-night Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata starting this Friday. It is set to be a historic moment for both teams, with the move being seen as one to increase fan engagement for Tests in the cricket-crazy countries.

While this may be a first for the Asian powerhouses, the concept of pink-ball Tests has existed for four years. The first day-night pink-ball Test was played between traditional rivals, Australia and New Zealand, at the Adelaide Oval in 2015. There have been 11 Tests which have used pink balls since, and four of them have seen innings victories.

Interestingly, every pink-ball Test has thrown up results, though that can be attributed to reasons more than just the change in colour of the ball. Nonetheless, we take a look at some of the thrillers that pink-ball Tests have thrown up over the years.

Australia vs New Zealand | Adelaide 2015

The pink-ball made its debut in a Test match with a bang. Trans-tasman rivals, Australia and New Zealand played the third Test of their series at the Adelaide Oval, which has now become Australia’s designated day-night Test venue along with The Gabba. New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first but the move did not work out too well. They managed to put up a laboured 202 on the board, with the help of Tom Latham’s fighting half-century and some handy contributions from the lower order.

Australia did not do too well either, making only 224 with then captain, Steve Smith and wicket-keeper, Peter Nevill making fifties. Only some late hitting from Lyon and Starc helped them take a narrow 22-run lead in the first innings. The Kiwis�?second-innings was marginally better. They scored 208 even as Josh Hazlewood snared six wickets, including three of the top four. The burst gave the Aussies a 187-run target, but it was anything but easy.

They made a brisk start before Joe Burns fell with the score at 34. Wickets fell at regular intervals when the Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, put on a 46-run stand for the fifth wicket to effectively seal the game. Both of them fell in the space of 15 runs though, and Australia lost Peter Nevill too but luckily by then, the score was at 185, and Peter Siddle ensured Australia emerged the winner in the landmark Test.

Pakistan vs West Indies | Dubai 2016

The second-ever pink-ball Test also saw a good contest but the scene had shifted to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was the first Test of the series and it also saw Babar Azam and Mohammad Nawaz make their Test debuts for Pakistan. Pakistan won the toss and batted first, and the decision was vindicated by their batters, especially Azhar Ali. Post a 215-run opening partnership with Sami Aslam, the opener kept batting and eventually brought up a triple-century in 469 balls, with Pakistan declaring immediately after at a mammoth 579/3.

West Indies posted 357 in response with fifties from Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels, with Yasir Shah picking up a fifer to give Pakistan a 222-run lead after the first innings. Pakistan’s second essay embodied their inconsistency as the team fell like ninepins while searching for quick runs. They were bowled out for 123, with only four players entering double figures. It gave the Windies 346 to chase, and they sensibly went for the defensive option of surviving for a day-and-a-half.

First innings�?half-centurion, Darren Bravo made a fighting century, stitching important partnerships along the way with Roston Chase and skipper, Jason Holder. However, once Bravo fell, Pakistan quickly ran through the tail to win a game that they had jeopardized on their own.

Read: The differences between red and pink ball in Test cricket

Australia vs Pakistan | Brisbane 2016

Pakistan were part of another thrilling pink-ball Test, though this time they were on the receiving end of a loss, against Australia at The Gabba. The hosts won the toss and predictably batted first. Skipper Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb scored magnificent centuries, and aided by Matt Renshaw’s 71 and some late-hitting by Nathan Lyon, they put up 429 in their first innings. Pakistan capitulated in response, with only Sarfaraz Ahmed showing some semblance of a fight with a half-century as the Asian nation folded for 142.

The Aussies batted again, and this time, Khawaja and Smith helped themselves to fifties while Handscomb provided the finishing touches as they declared on 202/5, giving Pakistan a near-impossible 489 to chase down. And they almost did. They lost Sami Aslam and Babar Azam early before Azhar Ali and Younis Khan scored fifties to steady the innings a bit. The duo fell within 20 runs off each other, and add to it the wickets of Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Pakistan were tottering at 220-6.

However, Pakistan found their hero in No.6, Asad Shafiq who batted out of his skin, putting up 98 for the seventh wicket with Mohammad Amir and a further 66 with Wahab Riaz for the eighth as he brought up a wonderful fourth-innings century. Shafiq continued hitting after his ton but could not deal with a rising bouncer from Starc as he fell for a heroic 137. Yasir Shah was the last man to be dismissed with the score at 450, meaning Pakistan fell short of a record chase by 40 runs.

West Indies vs Sri Lanka | Bridgetown 2018

A low-scoring Test is an exciting game more often than not and the fact that it came with a pink-ball made it even better. Jason Holder won the toss for West Indies and told his batsmen to make merry on a fresh pitch. They did not quite respond to his call, though. Devon Smith was dismissed in the first over, and four more batsmen followed him to the pavilion soon, with them struggling at 53-5.

Wicket-keeper, Shane Dowrich and skipper Jason Holder rescued the team with counter-attacking fifties. The duo shared a 115-run stand for the sixth wicket before the team eventually folded for 204. Sri Lanka performed even worse, with no batsman managing a half-century. The closest to that score was Niroshan Dickwella, who top-scored with 42 but it was not enough with the team scoring only 154.

West Indies outdid themselves in the second innings, with only four batsmen making it to double-digits as they racked up a grand total of 93, giving Sri Lanka 143 to chase in the fourth innings. Holder once again took responsibility, this time with the ball, picking five wickets to leave Sri Lanka limping at 81-6, before the Pereras, Kusal and Dilruwan prevented further damage, putting on 63 for the seventh wicket and ensuring Sri Lanka won a low-scoring thriller.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Paul Ellis

After seeing his side demolished by India, Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque said the players have tough lessons to learn from the world's top Test side if they are to compete on an international level.

Bangladesh were bowled out for 213 on Saturday bringing defeat in the first Test inside three days by a humbling innings and 130 runs after India had amassed 493-6 in their first innings.

Mominul took a calculated risk in choosing to bat first after winning the toss and did not reckon with India's pace attack, led by Mohammed Shami, who took three wickets Saturday.   

"They can learn everything from the India attack. Working with the old ball or new ball," a heartbroken Mominul told reporters.

Pace man Abu Jayed was a rare bright spot in the Bangladesh bowling attack, taking four wickets, including Indian captain Virat Kohli for a duck.

Mominul acknowledged that his side's batting had also let them down. Only Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored 43 and 64, posed a threat to the Indian bowlers.

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"The (Indian) bowling attack was challenging. It would have been easier for the rest of the batting line-up if the openers played out the first 15 to 20 overs."

Mominul added that it was possible Mushfiqur could be promoted up the order from his current number-five position for the second game starting Friday, which will be the first day-night Test in India.

Mominul said the result could only get better.

"I don't think we will face more swing than we did today," Mominul declared. "I think today was good practice. The pink ball will be challenging, but we must take it positively."

The opening match was Bangladesh's first in the new world test championship currently led by India. Mominul feels the tournament can only help Bangladesh's standing.

"We have to play a lot of Test matches. You can see in the last seven months we have played only two Tests," said Mominul, who insisted Bangladsh would have been left on the Test sidelines without the championship that guarantees a minimum number of games.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Indranil Mukherjee