India and New Zealand clash in the WTC Final at The Ageas Bowl from June 18.
Ahead of the mega ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final between India and New Zealand in Southampton, former Indian batsman and renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has highlighted the importance of losing the toss for the Indian cricket team at The Ageas Bowl.
In the common consensus, whoever team wins the toss, starts the match with an advantage, but Manjrekar doesn’t think it will be the case for Team India in the WTC 2021 Final against New Zealand, starting on Friday (June 18) at The Ageas Bowl.
He believes that it would be ideal for India if they lose the toss against New Zealand in the WTC Final given “no match practice and batting being a little vulnerable” for the big clash in Southampton.
Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo: “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.”
In the last six Tests at Southampton, the captain winning the toss opted to bat first five times and the batting first team won three times while no side has won a Test batting second at the Ageas Bowl.
Read Also: WTC 2021 Final: WATCH - Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli catch up ahead of WTC Final
However, Manjrekar doesn’t think toss is going to be crucial in the WTC 2021 Final as he feels if Virat Kohli loses the toss, it wouldn't be a “deciding factor” for India as many teams have won the Test match after losing the toss, but he hopes India lost the toss for the skipper’s sake.
He signed off by saying, “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 loses, 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.”
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)