The excitement around the historic Pink Ball Test to be played from Nov 22, at one of cricket’s most iconic venues, the Eden Gardens, has reached fever pitch. Star Sports Network will begin broadcast as a run-up to the #PinkBallTest as early as on November 21, 2019. Cricket fans and viewers alike can tune-in across the Star Sports Network to enjoy engaging and innovative content.
Fan favourite programmes like - ‘Follow the Blues’, ‘Game Plan’ and the flagship pre and post-show ‘Nerolac Cricket Live’ will feature the Star Sports panel of experts who will deliver deep insights to create excitement amongst the fans in the build-up to the start of the test match. As part of the content line up, Ajinkya Rahane who is expected to play the historic test, will speak about playing the pink ball. Star Sports has curated segments on the making of pink ball including an interesting documentary – “17 times to get the colour right”.
One of the most-watched pre-game shows, ‘Game Plan’ will feature VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Sanjay Bangar and Aakash Chopra who will talk about the challenges of playing the pink ball especially under lights. A key point that will be discussed at length will be what to expect out of the pink ball and how different it will be for the players playing in the first-ever day and night test in India.
Viewers will be able to watch how the players go through their preparations and make the necessary adjustments to account for the movement of the Pink Ball and the weather during the all-important net practice live.
In addition, Star Sports 1 Bangla will be providing Kolkata fans a unique cricketing experience by hosting a cultural extravaganza for the first-ever ‘Pink Ball’ match. Cricket fans across the country will witness a cultural utsab live on Star Sports 1 Bangla only for the India vs Bangladesh test match in Kolkata. As fans will witness the first ever Day and Night Test Match, Star Sports 1 Bangla will ensure that the content remains engaging and keeps fans glued to the Test Match over the course of all five days or till the match comes to a close. Special segments as part of the pre-show of Nerolac Cricket Live will include a series of iconic spots in Kolkata that celebrate the bond between India and Bangladesh will also be shown to bring a cultural flavour to the programme.
List of special programmes on the network
Show |
Description |
Channels |
Day |
Game Plan: Pink Ball Special |
This will feature a detailed analysis and preview of the test match, how the pink ball is made, how to face the pink ball under lights etc. |
8 AM on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi |
21st November, Thursday |
Follow the Blues |
This will feature the coverage of the Indian Teams’ net session under the lights in Eden Gardens with our experts previewing the match from the venue |
5 PM on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi |
21st November, Thursday |
Best of Select Dugout |
NA |
10:00 PM on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 2 |
21st November, Thursday |
Match Point |
Discussion about the 2nd test match |
9:30 AM on Star Sports Network |
Day after the 2nd test between India-Bangladesh |
Follow the Blues |
Indian teams’ journey through the second test |
9:00 AM on Star Sports Network |
Day after the 2nd test between India-Bangladesh |