BENGALURU: On March 9, 1996, as floodlights bathed the M Chinnaswamy stadium, it marked a new beginning for the venue. It was the first day/night cricket match hosted by the city and India won that World Cup quarterfinal match against Pakistan by 39 runs.
Twenty-six years later, the iconic stadium is being readied for another slice of history - its maiden day/night Test match. The second Test between India and Sri Lanka to be played from March 12-16 was on Tuesday confirmed as a pink-ball contest by the BCCI.
This will be the third ever D/N Test in the country after Kolkata hosted the first in 2019 against Bangladesh followed by Ahmedabad in February 2021 (against England).
With Covid-19 restrictions in place, the Karnataka State Cricket Association is hoping the situation will improve and maximum spectators will be allowed to witness the landmark contest.
"As an association, we are excited to be hosting a pink-ball day/night Test match. We would like to make it a memorable experience for the players as well as fans. We will approach the state government to discuss crowd capacity. Hopefully the Covid-19 cases will recede and normalcy will return. Then we can have maximum spectators at the M Chinnaswamy stadium," KSCA secretary Santosh Menon said.
On the preparedness of the association to host the match, Menon explained, "Having installed the unipole high-mast floodlight towers recently, we are well prepared. The new lighting system provides much higher lumens suitable for HD broadcast and also provides more uniform lighting across the playing area, making the match a good experience for the players and spectators alike. We have already tested the lights in KSCA league matches and they are working well."
The state association will also look at promoting social causes during the match, revealed Menon.
"We view this match as an opportunity to give back to society and would like to have CSR activities during the match for government school students, jawans and children in orphanages," he added.
