Asia Cup 2022: “Teams that lost most tosses in Super 4s are not in the finals” - Sanjay Manjrekar make observation about toss factor after India’s exit
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the role of the toss factor in T20 cricket following the Men in Blue’s early exit from the Asia Cup 2022.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma lost the toss against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4s stage of the tournament. India were asked to bat first on both occasions but failed to defend their totals.
Taking to Twitter, Manjrekar wrote:
“Fact that cannot be ignored in this Asia Cup - Teams that lost most tosses in super 4s are not in the finals. India lost all 3. Afghanistan 2.”
Babar Azam and Dasun Shanaka, the skippers of both Asia Cup finalists, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, chose to bowl first and successfully won their first two Super 4s matches.
The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that T20 cricket needs a fairer method to rule out the toss factor. He continued:
“Hence spin of the coin cannot decide who gets a very significant advantage. T20 Cricket needs to explore a fairer method.”
Fact that cannot be ignored in this Asia cup - Teams that lost most tosses in super 4s are not in the finals. India lost all 3. Afghanistan 2. Hence spin of the coin cannot decide who gets a very significant advantage. T20 Cricket needs to explore a fairer method.
India, however, won their last Super 4s match against a relatively weaker team in Afghanistan despite losing the toss on Thursday (September 8)
“India still a formidable T20 team” – Manjrekar backs India ahead of T20 World Cup
Manjrekar feels that the Indian batting unit failed to deliver against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. However, he predicted this will not be the case heading into the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Manjrekar wrote on Twitter:
"India still a formidable T20 team. Batting not clicking in the second half of the innings won’t be a recurring thing."
India still a formidable T20 team. Batting not clicking in second half of the innings won’t be a recurring thing.
The Men in Blue will next be in action in T20I action in two series against Australia and South Africa. Rohit Sharma and Co. will look to address their weaknesses as they begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup.
Mohali will host the first T20I against Australia on Tuesday (September 20). The action will then shift to Nagpur and Hyderabad for the second and third T20Is on September 23 and 25, respectively.
The T20I series against South Africa will kick off in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28. The second T20I will be played in Guwahati on October 2 and will be followed by the last T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on October 4.