NEW DELHI: It was around 6.30 PM on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium. India captain Suryakumar Yadav was standing alongside USA captain Monank Patel in the middle. Moments before the toss, Yadav excused himself to greet Rohit Sharma, who was walking past them. Yadav went to Rohit with a question: “Say quickly, should I bat or bowl?” To that, the former captain said: "Are you mad? Field first. It was an off-handed conversation that went viral on social media.
However, it underlines the theme in the tournament so far.
Every team that has won the toss in the 7 PM games so far at the World Cup has opted to bowl first. And with good reason. Whether it is in Sri Lanka or India, the night games under lights mean there is a significant chance of dew coming into play. And teams, more often than not, prefer to chase. Another reason is that seamers usually get some movement early on under lights. This is in contrast to the matches that start at 11 AM and 3 PM. Though it may not seem like much, in 12 day-games, four times teams have opted to bat first. Historical data suggests that the toss does not have a significant say in day games, and it has been no different this season.
Under the Sun, the pitches behave differently, and have something for the bowlers through the course of the game. In turn, it has an overall impact on the scoring rate and the average totals posted during day and night games. In the 12 day games so far, the average first innings total is 170 and the cumulative average total is 159. Whereas, in 7 PM starts, the average first innings score goes up to 184, and the cumulative average total becomes 167.
The margin of difference might seem minimal, but this is where the intangible factors come in. Apart from the start timing, there are other elements such as the difference in quality of oppositions, the kind of pitches each grounds provide, and so on and so forth. For example, pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad have been predominantly flatter so far while the Mumbai surface has had some help for spinners. Similarly, the SSC pitch in Colombo had some assistance for the bowlers, with the ball not coming onto the bat. In the day games, spin generally has a bigger role because there's a chance for some grip off the surface as the Sun beats down on the strip.
Contrary to the build-up to the tournament, where the buzz was all about whether the 300-mark would be breached, different matches have seen different kinds of ebbs and flows so far. It is something multiple players have explained so far.
Australia pacer Nathan Ellis, after the win against Ireland, had spoken about how they expected the pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium to slow down. “I think, in the day games, you don't get that dew factor of an evening which quickens up the pitch, the outfield and makes it harder for the bowlers. You obviously get traffic on the pitches so they're a little bit more tired, potentially a bit slower. I'm expecting some good wickets as well in the night games. Once you get over to India as well, those wickets we're used to over there, the ball flies around small grounds. But yeah, I think you see that here,” he said when asked about the absence of 250-plus totals. Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera also spoke about how pitches have some moisture during the day games, which assists the seamers, while batting gets easier later in the evening.
Cricket is one sport where a significant number of external factors — pitch, weather, dew, etc — have a say in the way the contest goes. And more importantly, not all of it can be controlled or predicted to 100 per cent perfection. Take, for example, how dew was expected to come in at Wankhede in the second innings of the West Indies vs. England match on Wednesday but it stayed away. West Indies skipper Shai Hope, however, said he would have also fielded first had he won the toss. “Wankhede, it tends to be a chasing venue, especially when the shiny ball comes on a bit better. The dew factor was not there today, but usually it gets pretty wet. It's kind of difficult for the spinners to grip the ball in the second innings especially,” he had said.
This is still in the early stages of the tournament and as the World Cup progresses, pitches are expected to tire. When they do, bowlers will have a lot more say