Last Update on: November 20th, 2023 at 03:36 pm
Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram made a bold claim after the final of the ICC World Cup 2023. He urged the governing body to quash off the toss in the knockouts of tournaments, saying that it shouldn’t decide the game.
Australia thumped India in the final of the ICC World Cup 2023 by 7 wickets. While it was a clinical effort from them with both bat and ball, the conditions also played a huge role. The Pat Cummins-led side won the toss and opted to field first, which worked quite well.
Batting in the day was quite difficult as the pitch was very slow and India could manage just 240 runs. However, things changed drastically as under the lights the ball came pretty well to the bat and batting became easy, of which the Australian batters took advantage and won the game by 7 wickets.
Wasim Akram said that both India and Australia worked hard to reach the final and to see a toss deciding the game annoyed him the most. He highlighted how wi different countries, conditions change with time. Replying to Sportskeeda, he explained:
“I want that during these knockout games such as quarterfinals and semifinals…. Toss shouldn’t make a difference. In Australia, this matters because the seam movement starts at night. But here in the subcontinent, the batting gets easier (in the evening) because of the dew.“
“Both teams Australia and India have worked hard to reach the final. It should be a fair chance for both sides. The game shouldn’t be decided on a toss. That’s what annoys me most of the time.”
Australia must have planned against every batter for field placements – Wasim Akram
Australia were spot on with the field in the game, which saved quite a few runs for the team. They were electric on the field and made run-making hard for India.
Wasim Akram heaped rich praise on Australia for their fielding in the game, saying that they officially saved 25 runs. He added:
“Obviously they must have planned against every batter for field placements in a particular situation. They officially stopped 25 runs, if we add these 25 runs (to the total) then it could be around 265-270, which is a lot of pressure in the final.”
“That’s why fielding is so important. I’ve been saying this for the last 20-30 years. In batting and bowling, you need talent but fielding comes through fitness and hard work.”
India and Australia will be next seen in action when they will take on each other in the T20I series, starting on 23rd November.
