Indore: India batsman Ajinkya Rahane has said that he and few of his teammates practised with pink balls at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to prepare for the historic day/night Test against Bangladesh.

India will play their first-ever day/night Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens from November 22. This is part of the two-Test series. The first game is in Indore from Thursday (November 14).

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Ahead of the series opener at Holkar Stadium, Rahane spoke about their preparations for the day/night Test. Also, NCA director and batting legend Rahul Dravid helped Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja them at the nets.

“At the NCA, we had two practice sessions with the pink ball. One during the day, and the other during the night. For me, it was exciting as playing with a pink ball is different altogether. Our goal was to see how the ball behaves. We had a word with Rahul Dravid as well, but right now the focus is on the Indore Test,” Rahane said on Tuesday (November 12).

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“You have to think about one match at a time. Even for the bowlers, playing with the pink ball is different. At the NCA, Shami and Jadeja were there. But as I said, we have to stay in the present. I have not played with the pink ball, and I practiced with it for the first time at the NCA,” he added.

When asked whether dew can impact the day-night Test, Rahane replied that no one can give a sure answer for now, and the conditions will be known when the team starts practicing in Kolkata.

“See generally in ODI games, when dew comes in, it gets better for the batting side. But I do not know when it comes to the pink ball, how it will play. We will have to wait and see. We will have practice sessions in Kolkata and we will assess how things go," Rahane said.

Talking about his ODI comeback, the right-hander said, “I just need to play well in the Test matches, keep scoring runs and I am confident that I will be back in the ODI side. It is all about self-belief and being confident. Staying in the present will help me, if I contribute to the side's cause in Tests, I am sure I will be back in the ODI squad.”

This Test series is part of the ICC World Test Championship and Rahane said each game is important.

“Bangladesh is a very good team. They play as a unit, we focus on our strengths rather than thinking about opposition. With the Test championship, every match is important. We are focusing on the Indore Test right now. I thought we played really well against South Africa, but as a side, we stay in the present and we do not take any opponent lightly,” Rahane said.