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India hope to create new pink-ball memories, as Australia fight to stay in the series  

December 6, 2024
<a href="https://revsportz.in/author/boria/" rel="author" class="url fn n" itemprop="url"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=32&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e660b408ca5a915f1c718d0cd98a879b?s=64&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' decoding='async'/> <span class="" itemprop="name">Boria Majumdar</span></a>
The Pink Ball for the Adelaide Test (Image: Debasis Sen)

The anticipation of a Test match. One that could have a defining impact on the series. With so much at stake, one has to say this is why you started to watch cricket in the first place. In the city known for Sir Donald Bradman, two teams that have played some of their best cricket against each other in the last decade square up again, where it all started in 2020. The 36 all out shaped Indian cricket. It turned things on its head and since then, India have worn it as a badge of honour each time they have faced Australia. It is once again time for the pink-ball Test, with everything to play for.

To Australia first. They will know that it is their match to lose. They know the conditions better and are masters of the pink ball. They have staged it in Adelaide because it suits them. They have set things up in a manner that India will find it hard. It is their backyard where there are no unknowns. How can a bunch of aliens come here and make them eat humble pie? What will it mean for Pat Cummins and the aura he has been able to build? What about Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne? And Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland?

With millions watching, Australia just can’t lose this one. That’s how high the stakes are, and that’s what brings tremendous pressure in its wake. India are the underdogs and are ready to script their own tale if given an inch. Perth backfired badly and if there is a repeat in Adelaide, it could all go downhill very quickly for Australia.

 

For India, this is the position they wanted to be in. They have two of their best batters back, and two others back in form. They have their all-round option firing and have plenty of options to choose from. A win here, and it could well be that a historic third series win Down Under becomes reality. Five days of intensity is all Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma will ask for. From Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli, and each of the other players who take the field in Adelaide.

In front of a sell-out crowd, the stage is set. Under lights with the pink ball, the theatre is ready for heroes to emerge. Script performances that will be talked about for ages. And that’s what makes Test cricket what it is. Each ball left adds to the spectacle. Wear the bowlers out, force the ball to lose its shine, and protect your wicket at any cost. And if you do that successfully for 25-plus overs, your turn will come. The sun will shine, literally perhaps, and runs will flow.

It is raw combat between bat and ball, and the entire cricket world is waiting in awe. Can Starc match Bumrah, or will Kohli trump Smith one more time? Will Rohit make a memorable comeback or will Cummins silence his critics?

Things are far too close to call, and it will now depend on those one or two superhuman efforts from the best in the business. An innings of a lifetime, or a spell for the ages. Pink it is in Adelaide, with Test cricket at its pristine best.