IIEST is the first college in country, opting for pink ball across formats.

IIEST is the first college in country, opting for pink ball across formats.
JHIMLI MUKHERJEE PANDEY / TNN / Updated: Jan 22, 2020, 14:47 IST
Times of India, 20 January 2020

This is perhaps a first for college cricket in India.
All matches at IIEST, Shibpur, this season will be played with the pink ball. One match was played over the weekend and there are several lined up that will see some of the best campuses participate in the second oldest engineering campus in the country.
Interestingly, the first match was played at ‘Oval’ — one of the two cricket fields at IIEST (formerly BE College) — that the British had prepared for their entertainment, modelled on The Oval at Kennington, the UK. The other field is called ‘Lords’.

A resolution in favour of the pink ball was taken keeping in mind the current craze and also because a few day & night matches have been planned. The T20 match that was played over the weekend, though, was a day match between IIEST and the Indian Institute of Architects, West Bengal. IIEST won the match.

“We first decided to introduce the pink ball for just one match to see how it goes. Looking at the success of the match, the sports and games society of the institute decided that all the matches this season on campus will be played with the pink ball,” said Sougata Majumdar, general secretary of the society. The resolution states that all rules mentioned by the Board of Control of Cricket in India regarding the usage of the pink ball will be adhered to.

Captain of the IIEST team Shounak Ghosh said a lot of brainstorming went into the decision. “We read and deliberated a lot on the topic. Certain facts tilted the case in favour of the pink ball. For example, the use of lacquer instead of wax to give the pink ball its shine is an important factor. This helps the pink ball retain its shine longer. Moreover, the pink ball swings better in the first 20 overs compared to the red one,” he added.

The authorities are just as excited as the players at the ‘timely’ introduction of the pink ball. “Cricket specialists claim that the pink ball will bring the culture of day and night Test matches back. We wanted to be part of the pink ball excitement that has gripped everyone since the first such Test in the country was played at Eden Gardens,” said Debabrata Majumdar, dean of IIEST students’ affairs.

** Source: The Times of India