Chess grandmasters Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen rang the customary bell to kickstart the second day of the ongoing Day/Night Test between India and Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Both the players are in the city for the penultimate leg of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT). On the first day, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee rang the Eden bell.
Team India is playing in their first-ever day/night Test.
The whole city was 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.
Eden is engrossed in a carnival-like atmosphere -- something very different from the usual in red-ball cricket.
India was in a commanding position on the first day of the Pink Ball Test, as Bangladesh, who chose to bat after winning the toss, were dismissed on 106. Even as the hosts lost Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma early in the innings, Cheteshwar Pujara, captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane stabilized the Indian innings to steer the side into the lead.
Among bowlers, Ishant Sharma took his first five-wicket haul at home in 11 years, while Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav took the other five wickets.
During the lunch break on Day 1, a chat session was also organized by the broadcasters which included legendary Indian cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh. This as followed by a lap of honour ahead of the final session of the play, where the aforementioned cricketers were joined by former Indian stars like Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and K Srikkanth, among others.
Athletes from other sports who attended the first day included Abhinav Bindra, P Gopichand, P.V. Sindhu, Sania Mirza and Mary Kom.
Naimur Rahman, Mohammed Mahmudul Hasan, Maharab Hossain, Mohammed Hasibul Hussain, Shahriar Hossain Biddut, Kazi Habibul Bashar and Mohammed Akram Khan are the former Bangladesh cricketers who were present.
