It is no secret that the toss plays a crucial role, especially when playing Test cricket in Indian conditions. The wear and tear on the pitch makes any total tough to chase, something we witnessed in Hyderabad as India lost the match by 28 runs. It is not going to be a different story in Visakhapatnam as well where Rohit Sharma-led India look to make a comeback and level the series despite losing the services of their star players Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul due to injuries.
So far, only two Tests have been played at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. In both the Tests, the team winning the toss has benefitted and posted big totals on the board.
The last time, India took on England at the venue was in November 2016. Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first. Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara scored 167 and 119 respectively followed by Ravichandran Ashwin's half-century which helped the posts 455 on the board. India had the upper hand as England's batters struggled against the spin. In the fourth innings, they managed to score just 158 in the run chase of 405.
Three years later, India faced South Africa in Visakhapatnam. Once again, Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first. Rohit made his opening debut in Test cricket. The audition for the opening spot went exceedingly well as Rohit scored 176. His opening partner went one step ahead and scored 215. India put 502/7 on the board before Kohli declared the innings.
While this time, South Africa put up a fight and replied with 431, thanks to centuries from Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock, they faltered in the run chase. India set a target of 395. South Africa were reduced to 8/70 before a half-century from no.10 batter Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy's unbeaten 49 helped them post 191.
When Rohit and Ben Stokes walk out for the coin toss on February 2, both the captains will be hoping that it goes their way as the team batting first will certainly have an added advantage.
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