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New Kookaburra ball poses new challenge to Tigers' batters

December 01, 2022 00:00:00


The Bangladesh batters have had a tough time facing the new batch of Kookaburra balls as they prepare to face India in the three-match ODI series, starting on December 04, reports Cricbuzz.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had introduced the new Kookaburra balls in the recently-concluded Bangladesh Cricket League one-day version to provide the cricketers with an opportunity to get accustomed to the ball ahead of the home series against India. However, it was found that batters who are likely to represent the national team struggled playing with it.

With a slightly pronounced seam and more movement and bounce on offer, it produced the kind of effect that the Dukes ball would. Minhajul Abedin, Bangladesh's chief selector, admitted to the online sports portal that the batters would need to be a bit more cautious initially.

"It's not that it is unplayable (new Kookaburra balls) but we need to be bit more cautious initially because you have to get adjusted with its bounce, which seems to be a bit more than what it was with the older Kookaburra balls," said Minhajul.

Barring Mohammad Naim, who hit three half-centuries, most of the other mainstays struggled in the tournament. Naim echoed Minhajul's sentiments and added that he just wanted to stay at the wicket and decided to curb his aggressive instincts.

"This ball is certainly different from the previous one and it bounces a bit more so you have to take some time. I think we lost three to four early wickets in a couple of matches and at that point, I decided to stay and do what was required," Naim, who scored 210 runs in four innings at an average of 52.50 in BCL told the online sports portal.

"The previous Kookaburra ball had plain seam while this one (new Kookaburra) is a bit straighter. Apart from that, this ball takes a bit more time to get old. So obviously you have to take your time in the middle to get settled before going for your shots. It's not like you can go and whack the ball from the start because the behaviour of the ball is a bit different," he said.

The full-strength India side, with Rohit Sharma as skipper and Rahul Dravid as coach, will arrive in Bangladesh on December 1 to play three ODIs along with two Tests, part of the World Test Championship, from December 14-18 and December 22-26.

The opening two ODIs will be played at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka respectively on June 04 and 07, while the last game of the one-day series will be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on November 10. The opening Test will be played at Chattogram on the same venue while India will play their series-concluding second Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.


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