The excuses are flying thick and fast from India in the wake of their World Cup final capitulation to Australia with former Test batter Sanjay Manjrekar claiming the pitch and the toss of the coin were two of the main factors in the surprise result.
Writing for The Hindustan Times, he also claimed that “India are still the best 50 overs team in the world, just that they don’t have the World Cup to show for it”.
Pat Cummins has been lauded for his bold decision to bowl first after winning the toss and while Manjrekar praised him for making the right call, he claimed it was “a win-win” situation while throwing in a dig at Australia’s ball-tampering past by saying the pitch had a “sandpaper like top” which helped them produce reverse swing.
“The pitch was tacky, a bit rough on the top and likely to turn from ball one, so Australia wasn’t really taking a huge risk by going against the cliché of putting runs on the board in the big game,” wrote Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs for India from 1987-96.
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“They knew their pacers would get some lateral movement in the afternoon, plus the sandpaper like top meant that reverse swing could come into play with Mitchell Starc as one of the best exponents of it in the world in their side; also, the slower balls were going to be a great option to go to if nothing else worked.
“If dew comes in later, batting was bound to get easier, the ball wasn’t going to turn as much, plus the slower ball as a lifesaver for the seamer when nothing works was not going to be an option.
“It was actually a ‘win-win’ scenario for the team bowling first. After that it was all about execution.”
Manjrekar offered compliments for Australia’s “champion DNA” and Travis Head’s brilliant century but tempered his praise by ripping into the groundstaff for the surface they prepared.
“India losing the toss, for me was huge factor, all of us who saw the pitch before the match felt that it just gave the weaker team, Australia, more ammunition.
“India losing the toss, for me was huge factor, all of us who saw the pitch before the match felt that it just gave the weaker team, Australia, more ammunition.
“To put it simply, the 10/10 India was beaten by the conditions first and then by a team who when it mattered, had individuals who dug deep to find the champion within.”