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It didn’t work out well for South Africa in Adelaide, but don’t be surprised if either Australia or Pakistan make a bold declaration in the day-night Test that starts on Thursday.
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis ended his side’s innings at 9-259 late on day one of the recent Adelaide Oval clash. It was the fourth time in the history of the sport that a captain had declared on day one.
David Warner was unable to open, as he had been off the field, and the visitors’ star-studded attack had 12 overs with the pink ball under lights.
South Africa couldn’t engineer a breakthrough. Usman Khawaja, forced to open in the absence of Warner, went on to produce the greatest Test knock of his career and earn man-of-the-match innings.
The ploy backfired on that occasion but Australia skipper Steve Smith and Pakistan counterpart Misbah-ul-Haq both suggested the pink ball requires some creative thinking.
“If you look at all the pink ball stats that have come out, most wickets have been lost in that final session,” Smith said.
“So I guess it adds another dimension to the game. Captains have to be switched on and possibly figure out different times to have a crack.
“It might be about going out and trying to score a little bit quicker to get 10 overs with the new ball under lights, because we’ve seen it can do quite a lot (at night).”
Australia have won both day-night Tests at Adelaide Oval, defeating New Zealand last year and South Africa this year.
Pakistan faced West Indies in the only other day-night Test to date, which was hosted by Dubai in October.
Misbah’s side were rolled for 123 in their second innings during that game, having tried to up the run-rate and increase their lead quickly.
“It depends how the conditions (are) in the middle,” Misbah said of how much the pink ball changes tactics.
“Because sometimes if you feel that the ball is doing a lot, especially the new ball under lights, that can just force you to put the opposition in.”
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