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Toss is the boss in India
Pitches in India deteriorate so quickly that winning the toss plays a crucial role in winning the match.
- Anjali Doshi
- Updated: October 18, 2008 05:18 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Bangalore:
"The Pitch cracks up as the game progresses, which is not ideal if you lose the toss, but I'm sure things would have been different if we had won the toss and batted first. I'm sure things would have been different," said India skipper Anil Kumble.
Winning the toss gives any team in India a high probability of winning the game especially if that team is India who have the quality spinners to extract the most mileage from the track.
A total of 23 Tests have been played in India in the last five years and only two times in those five years has a team chosen to field first after winning the toss. Both times that decision was taken by India - in Mohali against Pakistan in 2005 when Akmal and Razzak put on 186 runs to deny India a win, and the last instance of being brave resulted in India losing to England in Mumbai.
"It's always made a difference. It's not the first time, but now we have Kumble accepting it. I have always maintained that wickets make a big difference. Conditions also play a big role. Conditions in India especially deteriorate so quickly that the toss becomes vital for you to win a Test match," feels former cricketer Ajay Jadeja.
So Kumble has to pray not just for his quick recovery but also for better luck with the toss in the rest of the series.
It's a famous saying in cricket, when you win the toss always bat first, but if you have a doubt then think for a bit and still bat first. Obviously that saying holds true in India most of all with the toss truly being the boss. This fact was reconfirmed with Anil Kumble admitting that the Bangalore Test would have had a different end if India had won the toss."The Pitch cracks up as the game progresses, which is not ideal if you lose the toss, but I'm sure things would have been different if we had won the toss and batted first. I'm sure things would have been different," said India skipper Anil Kumble.
Winning the toss gives any team in India a high probability of winning the game especially if that team is India who have the quality spinners to extract the most mileage from the track.
A total of 23 Tests have been played in India in the last five years and only two times in those five years has a team chosen to field first after winning the toss. Both times that decision was taken by India - in Mohali against Pakistan in 2005 when Akmal and Razzak put on 186 runs to deny India a win, and the last instance of being brave resulted in India losing to England in Mumbai.
"It's always made a difference. It's not the first time, but now we have Kumble accepting it. I have always maintained that wickets make a big difference. Conditions also play a big role. Conditions in India especially deteriorate so quickly that the toss becomes vital for you to win a Test match," feels former cricketer Ajay Jadeja.
So Kumble has to pray not just for his quick recovery but also for better luck with the toss in the rest of the series.
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