Who gives a toss?

The MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai has hosted eight one-day internationals so far, of which four have been day-night matches. India have a 50% win record in the four ODIs they have played here.

New Zealand's only ODI here - a quarter-final match of the 1996 World Cup against Australia - was a high-scoring game with two memorable batting performances. Chris Harris smashed 130 off just 124 balls as New Zealand amassed 286, but Australia found their man for the moment in Mark Waugh, whose beautifully paced 110 took his team to a six-wicket win with more than two overs to spare.

Past record suggests that the toss doesn't have much of a bearing on the result of a day-night match at Chennai. In the four games played under lights, captains winning the toss have won two and lost two. Also, batting first seems as good an option as batting under lights, with both options achieving a success rate of 50%.

The first ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium was also the most thrilling of the eight played here so far. In a league match of the 1987 World Cup, Australia scored 270 and scraped through by one run after India's middle and lower order fluffed their lines and made a mess of an excellent start provided by the top three. In fact, Chennai has been a particularly favourable ODI venue for Australia, who have won all four matches.

India's other defeat here came courtesy a stupendous effort by Saeed Anwar, whose 194 - still the highest score in an ODI - allowed Pakistan to notch up 327. Rahul Dravid led India's reply with 107 - the only Indian centurion at Chepauk - but Pakistan still eased to a 35-run win.

Sachin Tendulkar, in the throes of a horror run with the bat, hasn't had as much success in ODIs in Chennai as he has had in the Tests. In three one-dayers, Tendulkar has scored just 80 runs, 68 of them coming in one match against England in 2001-02.