From afar, the outcome of the coin toss at this year’s Women’s Premier League (WPL) seems to have had an excessive influence on results.
While the trend of teams batting second winning more games in the slam-bang version isn’t new, 12 of the 14 games in WPL’s third edition witnessing the chasing team prevail suggests that the fate of these franchises is hinging too heavily on a matter of plain luck.
On the eve of the clash against Gujarat Giants (GG) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, though, UP Warriorz coach Jon Lewis stayed away from giving too much importance to the role of the toss.
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Perhaps because it is the only team to win a game batting first this season, against Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru.
“From the results, it seems like the decisive factor. From my point of view, it is not really so. It is about who plays the best cricket. Regardless of what happens with the toss, though it seems like batting second is an advantage, it doesn’t feel to me like the most crucial thing,” Lewis said in the pre-match presser on Sunday.
“We haven’t quite clicked. We have had some individual moments. We have got a lot of power. What I would like is for our team to be slightly more consistent, especially through the middle part of the game. If we do that, I don’t think the toss will be relevant.”
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GG is placed at the bottom of the table with four points after five matches despite beating defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru in its previous fixture.
“The win against RCB was crucial to keep us very much in the competition. Other than DC, it is very even at the moment. Every game is crucial for all teams now,” said Giants coach Michael Klinger.