India and Bangladesh, the two participating nations in the first-ever Day-Night Test, were initiated into the innovative version with fanfare, made special by the presence of government heads from either side of the border.
Eden Gardens, which had filled almost to the capacity, presented an electrifying setting for the visiting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as they set the pink ball Test rolling by sounding the starting bell.
They were also introduced to the teams by the respective captains Virat Kohli and Mominul Haque, accompanied by an illustrious group including the Indian Board president Sourav Ganguly, his Bangladesh counterpart Nazmul Hazan.
The 60,000-strong spectators were in for a full dose of entertainment during the intervals.
At the first break, there was a panel discussion featuring Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh — each of whom had a special story to tell about the momentous Test win against Australia win in 2001. They reminisced about the best moments of their careers, at the centre of the Stadium.
The next interval saw a galaxy of stars descending on the venue. The stands went up in a roar as Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Kumble, Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Farokh Engineer, Kapil Dev, along with the stars of women’s cricket Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj and Shanta Rangaswamy were taken around the ground in golf carts.
