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 and former ODI player Mohammad Kaif claiming the pitch and the toss of the coin were two of the main factors in the surprise result.
Speaking on Star Sports, Kaif claimed that “the Indian team is still the best team on paper.”
“I can never accept that the best team has won the World Cup.”
While Manjrekar was more reserved writing for The Hindustan Times, he echoed Kaif’s proclamation, claiming 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.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
“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.”
CPM
Roar Rookie
The irony is that the used the word “sandpaper” get it?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Poor Michel
Jay37
Roar Rookie
Nice try! At the toss Rohit Sharna said he would have batted first if he’d had won the toss. Also, IR must be said that if an Australian would make such excuses and say they would have won if the pitch was different or if we’d won the toss would be absolutely embarrassed! 6x WC trophies is no fluke!
BBR
Roar Rookie
I believe France are the best rugby team in the world atm. Normally I would agree that you have to win the major title to be considered the best and when it comes to cricket there’s no doubt in my mind that Australia are the best. . Not in rugby however, while SA won they were beneficiaries of most of the marginal refereeing decisions in the 3 knockout games. France and NZ should have been awarded crucial penalties that would have won them their games against SA but weren’t. Hence why I can’t call SA the best, because they weren’t dominant and had to rely on some generous refereeing to get over the line.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
I reckon the fast bowlers are pretty close as well. Bumrah and Shami had outstanding consistent tournaments whereas the Aussie fast bowlers only really came good in the finals. Comparing Maxwell and Jadeja is difficult. Maxie can be outstansing with the bat but inconsistent and serviceable with the ball. Jadeja can contribute match winning efforts with both ball and bat. And the Indian top 6 had outstanding tournaments. Making comparisons between a lot of them is difficult.
Rossi
Roar Rookie
Agree except for Smith being equal to Kohli in ODIs, Kohli is far better than Smudge in Ltd overs
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Inglis didn't have 17 sundries against his name before ten overs were over.
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Absolutely. According to the ICC, India tops the rankings in Tests,ODIs and T20s. Except that they lost the Test Championship and now the World Cup, to Australia. Rankings sometimes mean diddly-squat.
Andrew
Roar Rookie
Yes, and the fact their curator prepared the sandpaper, which turned out to be way more effective for us than our Bunnings special.
Andrew
Roar Rookie
Does this series not count. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2022-23-1348637/india-vs-australia-3rd-odi-1348658/full-scorecard Seems like the best Indian team vs a Lesser Aus team........on paper at least. Shame you have to play on pitches though.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
It comes down to who is the best team on the day - who prepared the best and who executed the best - and Australia beat India fair and squarely on both counts. Perhaps after 10 straight wins India were a little complacent and turned up expecting to win - just that slight loss of edge can contribute to a loss if the opposition seizes the initiative.
CW Moss
Roar Rookie
Rugby rankings another way of looking at it. RSA 94.54 IRE 90.57 NZL 89.80 FRA 87.81
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
Indeed, although I wonder if there are some trends within countries or specific venues.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
I didn’t think we were the best at all, and I was proven wrong - but you can’t argue with the World Cup, losing a couple of bilateral series isn’t on the same level.
Emydura
Roar Rookie
India complaining about the pitch that they prepared. Oh, the irony. Manjrekar says the toss was critical to the result. But India were going to bat anyway. The toss was irrelevant to the result of the match.
Neverred
Roar Rookie
The best team on paper? Obviously not on sandpaper. Rank bad losers.
Ben Pobjie
Expert
I think India is the best ODI team in the world. This is not the first time it has been demonstrated that being the best team in the world doesn’t entitle you to a World Cup.
Ben Pobjie
Expert
Sanjay is the son of a star: his dad Vijay was one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket when the country was struggling to find its feet in test cricket. No doubt difficult for Sanjay growing up in his dad’s shadow.
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
In 1983 India beat West Indies in a big upset in the ODI final. I wonder what Manjrekar's view on that game was? Was it the wicket or the toss in 1983? History doesn't view poor losers in a very good light.
Macca
Roar Rookie
Over the last 7 or 8 years India have been quick to get rid of experienced quality players and replace them with shiny new things. It didn't work on Sunday.