Australia's T20I captain, Mitchell Marsh has formed an intriguing pattern in his performance at the coin toss. Amazingly, he has now won 20 tosses in T20 internationals and chosen to bowl (and chase) every time. His run is part of the perspective of the modern T20 game where captains want to know the target and consider dew and pitch conditions at the back end of the game.
Since becoming the Australian captain, they have had great success while chasing with Marsh. The all-rounder is adamant it's not superstition and "not afraid to bat first," but simply believes that bowling first gives his side the best opportunity to control the game.
India faces Australia in the fourth match of the five-match T20I series on Friday at Carrara Oval in Queensland. The series has been evenly poised so far: the first game was washed out, while India and Australia each claimed a win in the next two encounters. Notably, this will be the first T20I India plays at this venue.
In a key update, Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first for the fourth match.
Former England captain Eoin Morgan is the only one to have had an even longer streak, he opted to chase in 23 consecutive T20Is before breaking the streak to step down, demonstrating just how far the ‘chase-first’ school of thought has influenced modern-day captains. Marsh’s methodical approach suggests confidence in his bowlers to build up a match and batters who are capable of chasing anything down. But, as he continues to captain Australia in white-ball formats, you can see his philosophical thought process behind these tosses: use your bowlers to build up an early lead and then let your batters chase everything down later.
