Former India player turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels that it would be helpful for India if they lose the toss in the much-awaited final of the inaugural World Test Championship against New Zealand which is all set to start in Southampton on Friday. However, we usually see that the teams which win the toss before the match gets the advantage as well but Manjrekar feels that it won’t really be a disadvantage for India if they lose the toss in the final.
“The toss is an interesting thing. Players, when they go for the toss and there are overcast conditions and expect it to be there for the first couple of hours. They look at the pitch that has a nice, healthy cover of grass. No pitch in England would be devoid of grass. Some would be dry but there would be grass. So when you look at the overcast conditions, you’re tempted to bowl first, especially a team like India, with no match practice and batting being a little vulnerable,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
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Meanwhile, in the last six Tests at Southampton, five times the captain has chosen to bat first after winning the toss. On three out of those five times, the team that batted first won as well, while no side has won a Test while batting second at the Ageas Bowl too.
“I don’t think toss is going to be crucial. If you win the toss and bat really well, that’s a different matter. But if India lose, that will be ideal for them because they’d want to do the right thing and bat first. So I just hope for Virat Kohli’s sake that they lose the toss. Of late, in Test cricket, losing tosses have won plenty of matches so it’s not the deciding factor,” Sanjay Manjrekar concluded as well.
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Meanwhile, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has recently said that batting could be a concern for India in red-ball cricket in England. However, the former captain also stated that they will have to work hard when they play in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final and the five-match Test series against England in August as well. Sourav Ganguly further added that Virat Kohli’s team will have to put up 300-350 runs in England to put pressure on the Kiwis as well.
