Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee kicked off India's first-ever Day-Night Test by ringing the Eden bell together on Friday ahead of the start of play. Day 1 of the Test, as well as the next three days, are a sellout according to Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly as fans eagerly await the start of a new era in Test cricket.
Hasina earlier arrived in Kolkata on Friday and was received at the airport by Kolkata Mayor and West Bengal Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Firhad Hakim, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das. The Bangladesh PM arrived in a special flight Biman Bangladesh Airlines at the NSC Bose International Airport.
The whole city is wrapped in pink ahead of the pink Test with iconic destinations, buildings and boats all coloured in pink ahead of the momentous occasion. Even sweets turned pink for the glorious occasion ahead of Friday.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and BCCI have arranged a starry affair for the entirety of the first day to make this occasion extra special.
Eden is engrossed in a carnival-like atmosphere -- something very different from the usual in red-ball cricket.
During the Lunch break, there will be a chat show involving the Fab Five -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.
The other former cricketers who have confirmed their presence include S Ramesh, Saba Karim, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Kris Srikkanth, Farokh Engineer and Chandu Borde.
Athletes from other sports will include Abhinav Bindra, P Gopichand, P.V. Sindhu, Sania Mirza and Mary Kom, but chess legends Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen will not be able to turn up.
Naimur Rahman, Mohammed Mahmudul Hasan, Maharab Hossain, Mohammed Hasibul Hussain, Shahriar Hossain Biddut, Kazi Habibul Bashar and Mohammed Akram Khan are the former Bangaldesh cricketers who have confirmed their presence.
Former Bangladesh skipper Aminul Islam, who scored his country's maiden century in Test cricket when they played India in Dhaka in 2000, will not be present at the Eden Gardens on Friday when the CAB felicitates the Bangladesh team which took on Ganguly's men in their maiden Test.
The Tea break will feature an instrumental by Sorendu and Group while the former captains will be taken out on carts making a round of the ground along the boundary lines.
The grand felicitation will happen after the day's play with a performance by Runa Laila, and a cultural programme by music composer Jeet Ganguly.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that Hasina won't be given personal security. Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji will also be in attendance to add glitz to the marquee show.
The eastern Indian city is firmly in the grip of a pink fever and tickets for the first four days have already sold out, as per the BCCI President.
City landmarks are being illuminated in pink to mark the occasion and a ball-shaped pink blimp hovers over the 67,000-capacity stadium.
(With inputs from IANS)
