Flat pitches, lush green fast outfields, super bats and improvisations galore. In such a situation what does a captain chose to do when he wins the toss? Set a target or chase one?
Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes
England skipper Eoin Morgan watches all-rounder Ben Stokes bowl during a practice session in Kanpur yesterday. Pic/PTI
Kanpur: Flat pitches, lush green fast outfields, super bats and improvisations galore. In such a situation what does a captain chose to do when he wins the toss? Set a target or chase one?
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That’s the dilemma of the present-day captains. In the recent ODI series, even a score of 350 did not seem safe to defend. After posting 381, centurion in the second ODI against England in Cuttack, Yuvraj Singh was candid enough to say, "these days, a huge score does not guarantee a win. We will need to bowl really well to defend that score." India won that match by just 15 runs. They made a great effort chasing 321 in the last game, falling just six runs short of the target.
On the eve of the first T20I match in Kanpur, England captain Eion Morgan admitted that teams these days are comfortable chasing a target rather than setting one.
"I think it can be an advantage... chasing a target. The unease of posting a score, or knowing what a good score is becoming more and more difficult. It sits really nicely with batting teams, having to chase," said Morgan.
"The level of skills batsmen have shown, the improvement dealing with levels of risk and finding boundaries means batting units or teams in general are quite comfortable knowing what their target is. That’s made it difficult to plan accordingly," the England skipper added.
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