Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly
It was a show to remember at Eden Gardens. Over 40000 people flocked to the venue on each day of the historic day-night Test between India and Bangladesh making the show and the initiative a hit. And after the match, India's head coach Ravi Shastri thanked BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for "putting up this show" and "leaving no stone unturned" in the preparation for the historic Test match.
"Hats off to Sourav and CAB for putting up this show because they didn't leave any stone unturned. The crowd responded magnificently and it really was a fabulous occasion," Shastri told IANS.
India won the Test match by an innings and 46 runs in Kolkata to not just win the series 2-0 but also extended their lead atop to 360 points in the ICC World Test Championship. The win was India's record fourth consecutive innings win that led to their 12th straight series win at home.
Talking about the match and the SG pink ball, Shastri reckoned that it requires a bit more studying.
"How the pink ball can retain its shine, its texture will be the test in the future. The match has now given you the pluses and minuses. I feel the ball will take some time. It will take some time for the manufactures to get the right kind of ball so that people can see that ball in the night and how it gets affected once there is dew. In the twilight session the ball moved a lot and in the last session it just came onto the bat and it started losing its colour. How that can be changed and how the pink ball can maintain everything like the red ball will be the challenge," he explained.
Shastri also talked about Ganguly's appointment as the BCCI president and mentioned that he could not be happier seeing a former cricketer heading India's cricket body at such a crucial juncture.
"I think it is fantastic. I was one of the first to congratulate him when he became the President because I was delighted that more important than anything a BCCI was back in place to put Indian cricket where it belongs both on and off the field. And I was even more delighted that a cricketer should be at the helm at this important phase of Indian cricket.
"And Sourav having been a fabulous player and captain and been around as an administrator, him becoming the President adds a lot of value," he added.
