Why Pink Ball Skids More Than Red Ball, Here's The Answer

The debate over the pink ball, batsmen's ability in handling it on Indian pitches, and the ideal surface is sure to gain momentum after the third Test, a day-nighter, between India and England end

Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) marketing director Paras Anand told on Friday: "It (pink ball) will definitely skid more because it has more shine on it."

The pink ball, he explained, is prepared differently from the red ball when it comes to colouring. The pink ball has two layers of base colour and four layers of pink pigment and a coating of lacquer. The red ball, on the other hand, has only a coating of lacquer over dyed leather.

None of the Indian cricketers, barring those who have played Test cricket in the last two games, have played first-class with the SG pink ball. The one used for Duleep Trophy games on experimental basis was the Kookaburra.

Former India and Bengal pace bowler, Ashok Dinda, who has played first-class matches with the pink ball in Duleep Trophy says it has more shine.

"I can't say much about the SG pink ball as we played with the Kookaburra pink ball. With red ball we can get reverse which we don't get with the pink ball. You can't make the pink ball reverse because it is a bit hard and the shine lasts much longer (because of extra coating). It also doesn't seam as much as the red ball," says Dinda. "However, pink or red, you need to bowl in the right areas."