Playing with the pink kookaburra in Australia would be different from facing Bangladesh: Cheteshwar Pujara.

Key Points: 

• India has already entered Australia and is working hard on the net ahead of the first ODI that takes place in Adelaide on November 27.
• So far, India only played a day-night test towards Bangladesh last year in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
• It would be a different challenge to play with a pink ball as it also varies in pace and bounce.
• The twilight period is more difficult than other times, but you get used to it when you play more and practice more.

India has already entered Australia and is working hard on the net ahead of the first ODI that takes place in Adelaide on November 27. Cheteshwar Pujara is not part of the limited-overs team, but in the upcoming Test series, he will be a key player. In the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, Pujara already has his sights fixed on the challenge of facing Australia.

The opening test in Adelaide would be a day-night match, and it will not be an easy task to bat against the pink kookaburra during the dusk session, Pujara told PTI news agency.

So far, India only played a day-night test towards Bangladesh last year in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. The Virat Kohli-led side would have an innings and 46 runs to win the match. But Pujara knows stuff in Australia would be different.

It would be a different challenge to play with a pink ball as it also varies in pace and bounce. In Australia, we’ll be playing pink kookaburra (against Bangladesh, it was the Pink SG Test). It’ll be completely different,’ said the batsman.

The 32-year-old additionally added that with the pink kookaburra under lights, the Indian team will have to collectively plan to face the task, which can only arise if the team understands and acknowledges how things will be different.

As a team and as individuals, you have to understand and embrace it as early as possible and get used to it (pink ball and lights). With the pink ball, there would be a bit of a difference,’ he said.

The twilight period is more difficult than other times, but you get used to it when you play more and practice more. It’s going to take a while,” Pujara signed off.

Meanwhile, following a coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide, where the first test is scheduled to be played next month, Australia’s cricket series against India has been thrown into confusion again.

On Monday, as their provincial governments closed borders with South Australia, players from Western Australia as well as Tasmania states who recently returned home from domestic games in Adelaide were ordered into home isolation.