Virat Kohli may have lost 8 consecutive tosses but the one that he won in Leeds raised many eyebrows. Not because the coin came down in his favour but because of his decision to bat first vs England in the 3rd Test.
Well, to be fair to him, conditions did look batting friendly with no grass on the pitch and it being towards the dryer side. And when Joe Root claimed that he was happy to lose the toss as the wicket will get better and better for batting, Virat's decision came under the scanner.
In came Indian batters and faced the wrath of James Anderson. An in form KL Rahul and the struggling pair of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were back in the hut with just 21 runs on the board. Clearly, Kohli's decision to bat first backfired.
English fast bowler Stuart Broad's tweet ignited the debate further. He wrote that Headingley was the best Day 1 ground to bowl at in the country and the pitch will get better & better. Moreover, there won’t be much in it for the seamers from Day 3 onwards.
India however, enjoy a good record in Leeds, having not lost any of its last 3 Tests there. Let's take a look at what happened at the toss in all 3 of those games. The visitors won last 2 tosses at Headingley back in 2002 and 1986 and opted to bat first then as well. Interestingly, India went on to win both those games. Toss in the 1979 Test though was won by England and they too elected to bat. India managed to draw that Test as well.
Everything said and done, going by just history, Virat's decision to bat first in the 3rd Test may not be that bad a call and it was just brilliant bowling by Anderson that rocked India's top order.
Also read: India vs England: Virat Kohli wins the toss after 8 consecutive failed attempts