ICC World Cup IND vs PAK: Babar and Rohit differ in opinion on dew's impact

India skipper Rohit Sharma and Pakistani captain Babar Azam had different views on dew's role in mega clash between the arch-rivals on Saturday, October 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad

Dew, and hence the role of the toss, has been the talk of the town before the mega India-Pakistan clash on Saturday, 14 October at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The two captains—India's Rohit Sharma and Pakistan's Babar Azam—had varying opinions about how dew and toss could impact the game. Check India vs Pakistan live score and match updates in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023
 

While Rohit feels that dew doesn't play much role as nearly 75 per cent of the game is done before it arrives, Babar said that the chasing team gets the benefit of batting under the lights. His team chased down a record total against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, 10 October at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

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"Honestly, I don't know how much of a factor it (dew) is going to be, because in Delhi, we were expecting dew to come in. It didn't come. In Chennai as well, it was after probably 30 overs. So, you're done with 75 per cent of the game by then. So, I don't think the toss is going to play a massive factor," said Rohit in the pre-match press conference on Friday, 13 October in Ahmedabad.

"It is what the team is comfortable doing, whether it is chasing, posting a total, whatever that is. You know, whatever the team is comfortable doing, we try and do that," added the Indian captain.

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Babar Azam, on the other hand, said, "I think in all the matches we have seen, the toss is vital because under the lights the pitch behaves well. There was a little dew (during their practice session), but I don't know. We will ask the umpire if there will be a spray or not for dew. But last night there was dew. Under the lights, the weather plays a role."

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Has the chasing team been favoured by dew, actually?

In the nine matches that have been played so far under lights, the team chasing the total has won five matches. In two matches where the chasing team did not win, South Africa posted a mammoth 428 in the first innings in Delhi, and Australia completely collapsed in the second innings in Lucknow. The other two matches featured the Netherlands, who are not fancied to get past stronger teams like Pakistan and New Zealand easily.

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Thus, dew has actually made it easier for the team batting second.