Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[John Abraham]

Biggest issue right now with India in tests is that they are missing a player like Pant who can score freely with a crazy high strike rate which is why Australia shouldn't be underestimated in their upcoming series against India.

The strike rate doesn't really matter in a test match. Right? But, yes. Playe like Rishab can change the game. As you all know he is unable to play due to the injury. I hope he will recover soon and come back to the field.

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[Iranus]

South Africa or India have the best chances to take the second spot in my opinion. Am expecting South Africa to whitewash the Windies, India to draw or barely win against the Australians and NZ to win against the Lankans.
India need to give it their best since Australia are decimating everything in their way these days. Exciting stuff.

Even right now things are very interesting but for me most chances we will have India in final for the second time and then a good interesting final between Australia and India at The Oval which will be favourable for the Australia because mostly India is struggling here.
South Africa can whitewash to West Indies and New Zealand will be winner at home against Sri Lanka which could be ended for the both teams because most chances India will be won against Australia without any big trouble things looking positive for them at home for this series even Australia is also having positive results in last few series which bring them to the top of the WTC league table.

I wish we see the final between Australia and India in the test championship. When India is in the final of any ICC tournament it creates more hype, it creates more business and it creates more viewership as the cricket is more popular in India as compare to any other country.
With 15 matches, Australia are on the top at the moment followed by India who are at 58.93 points.  Surprisingly Srilanka are at number three spot with 53.33 points.

Honestly, I am not sure how others feel about Sri Lanka's chances of being one of the finalists in the world test championship, but I personally believe they have a good chance of doing well in this tournament.

Additionally, Sri Lanka still has a few important matches left to play. As a result, I do not think there is any way other teams can underestimate Sri Lanka. In the most likely scenario, we will be able to see a final between Australia and India. But that is still not very certain. It is possible that other teams will have a chance as well. And as long as there is a chance, there is a way in cricket.

[posi]

Biggest issue right now with India in tests is that they are missing a player like Pant who can score freely with a crazy high strike rate which is why Australia shouldn't be underestimated in their upcoming series against India.

The strike rate doesn't really matter in a test match. Right? But, yes. Playe like Rishab can change the game. As you all know he is unable to play due to the injury. I hope he will recover soon and come back to the field.

Rishab Pant is a great player. The strike rate does not matter for the Test format. However, batting with a good striker rate at critical moments makes it easier to win the match. On the other hand, if the pitch is not conducive to batting, scoring runs quickly can give a decent target. And so India needed a batsman like Rishab Pant. As India has been facing some problems with the batting line-up for a long time. India needed an experienced player like Pant against an experienced team like Australia. It will be very difficult for India to win against Australia.

[n0ne]

Biggest issue right now with India in tests is that they are missing a player like Pant who can score freely with a crazy high strike rate which is why Australia shouldn't be underestimated in their upcoming series against India.

The strike rate doesn't really matter in a test match. Right? But, yes. Playe like Rishab can change the game. As you all know he is unable to play due to the injury. I hope he will recover soon and come back to the field.

Rishab Pant is a great player. The strike rate does not matter for the Test format. However, batting with a good striker rate at critical moments makes it easier to win the match. On the other hand, if the pitch is not conducive to batting, scoring runs quickly can give a decent target. And so India needed a batsman like Rishab Pant. As India has been facing some problems with the batting line-up for a long time. India needed an experienced player like Pant against an experienced team like Australia. It will be very difficult for India to win against Australia.

Winning against Australia is tough, and Australia too have the same mentality. Winning against India isn't an easy thing as they do with other countries. Rishab Pant is out due to the accidental rest. To be part of the team it takes time. There will be alternate to fill the position. According to me it is time to find the good in new players as getting opportunity is really difficult thing among the politically influenced selection.

[pakhitheboss]

The Indian government not happy with news channels covering the accident news of Rishab Panth. The government stated that Rishabh Pant coverage distressing: Govt asks channels to follow code. I also personally do not like the way most news channels & social media covered this accident. They were trying to increase their TRP & clicks by constantly focusing on this news. They should have let the man rest and recover rather making money out of it.

[Sithara007]

The Indian government not happy with news channels covering the accident news of Rishab Panth. The government stated that Rishabh Pant coverage distressing: Govt asks channels to follow code. I also personally do not like the way most news channels & social media covered this accident. They were trying to increase their TRP & clicks by constantly focusing on this news. They should have let the man rest and recover rather making money out of it.

There is no doubt that Rishabh Pant was driving well over the limit and that caused the accident. It will be better for the government not to encroach on the freedom of speech and let the media channels decide on their own content, unless they break the criminal laws of the country. I wish him a speedy recovery, but at the same time this is a lesson for everyone who drives rashly and endangers the lives of others on the road. Just because he is a cricketer, that doesn't mean that the speed limits are not applicable for him. If it was some ordinary person, then already a dozen lawsuits would have been filed against him.

[wiss19]

Honestly, I am not sure how others feel about Sri Lanka's chances of being one of the finalists in the world test championship, but I personally believe they have a good chance of doing well in this tournament.

Additionally, Sri Lanka still has a few important matches left to play. As a result, I do not think there is any way other teams can underestimate Sri Lanka. In the most likely scenario, we will be able to see a final between Australia and India. But that is still not very certain. It is possible that other teams will have a chance as well. And as long as there is a chance, there is a way in cricket.

Four teams in the race for the final two spots with Australia is surely having their seat confirm after winning against West Indies and South Africa and now three teams are fighting hard with most chances we will have India as other team but still things can change like South Africa and Sri Lanka can upset their opponents for the interesting end of this WTC 2023 round but with the current form and quality mostly peoples love to have Australia vs India final because both teams are having good quality and top players those can compete with each other in this format.

Sri Lanka and South Africa having good performance in past but sadly right now both are facing problems and their current form and quality is also not good to compete with Australia so things looking good for the two top ranked teams to compete with each other in final.

[JSRAW]

Aussies are geared up for BGT and announced their squad for the upcoming India tour.

4 spinners in the squad led by Lyon. Todd Murphy is 22yo and considered second best spinner in Australia, next 2 spinners are Agar and Swepson.

Apart from that they also have 1 part timer offie Travis head, maybe add another part timer Marnus in the list.

[Iranus]

Four teams in the race for the final two spots with Australia is surely having their seat confirm after winning against West Indies and South Africa and now three teams are fighting hard with most chances we will have India as other team but still things can change like South Africa and Sri Lanka can upset their opponents for the interesting end of this WTC 2023 round but with the current form and quality mostly peoples love to have Australia vs India final because both teams are having good quality and top players those can compete with each other in this format.

Sri Lanka and South Africa having good performance in past but sadly right now both are facing problems and their current form and quality is also not good to compete with Australia so things looking good for the two top ranked teams to compete with each other in final.

Eventually, it is going to be Australia versus India in the final of that test cricket championship. And it is going to be very interesting to see if India can actually win the test championship title this time. I am not saying that Australia is going to be an easy opponent for India. It is actually quite the opposite. But recently India has good performance against Australia in Australia. That is why I am confident that India might actually win against Australia if both of these teams reached the finals.

India doesn’t have a good amount of competition right now. But I do not think that is going to be a major problem for India. I believe India will be able to reach the finals.

[Sithara007]

Aussies are geared up for BGT and announced their squad for the upcoming India tour.

4 spinners in the squad led by Lyon. Todd Murphy is 22yo and considered second best spinner in Australia, next 2 spinners are Agar and Swepson.

Apart from that they also have 1 part timer offie Travis head, maybe add another part timer Marnus in the list.

When was the last time any of the Australian spinners were able to make an impact in India? Do you really expect Todd Murphy to do something that even Shane Warne couldn't manage? Australian spin attack is being led by Nathan Lyon, whom I consider one of the most sub-standard bowlers in test cricket right now. I have seen Agar and Swepson bowling in franchise T20 as well as in international cricket and don't think that they have the ability to bother the Indian batsmen. And this is the first time that I am hearing about Todd Murphy. He has played just 7 first class matches till now.

I noticed that they have included Lance Morris and Scott Boland in the squad. These two may come in handy with their pace (even in dead tracks). And the top order looks solid, with Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green likely to make use of the batting friendly conditions.

[Juggy777]

Aussies are geared up for BGT and announced their squad for the upcoming India tour.

4 spinners in the squad led by Lyon. Todd Murphy is 22yo and considered second best spinner in Australia, next 2 spinners are Agar and Swepson.

Apart from that they also have 1 part timer offie Travis head, maybe add another part timer Marnus in the list.

When was the last time any of the Australian spinners were able to make an impact in India? Do you really expect Todd Murphy to do something that even Shane Warne couldn't manage? Australian spin attack is being led by Nathan Lyon, whom I consider one of the most sub-standard bowlers in test cricket right now. I have seen Agar and Swepson bowling in franchise T20 as well as in international cricket and don't think that they have the ability to bother the Indian batsmen. And this is the first time that I am hearing about Todd Murphy. He has played just 7 first class matches till now.

I noticed that they have included Lance Morris and Scott Boland in the squad. These two may come in handy with their pace (even in dead tracks). And the top order looks solid, with Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green likely to make use of the batting friendly conditions.

@Sithara007 I agree as I too don’t expect Australia’s spinners to make much impact in India, but if Indian’s dish out a completely spin friendly track then it doesn’t hurt Australia to include more spinners in the hope that their spin bowlers get lucky and pick few wicket's. Lastly I wonder will team India risk making pitches for their fast bowler’s, because they have quality fast bowler’s too but the risk is that the Australian bowler’s can exploit it to their advantage and then go on to win the match.

[JSRAW]

Aussies are geared up for BGT and announced their squad for the upcoming India tour.

4 spinners in the squad led by Lyon. Todd Murphy is 22yo and considered second best spinner in Australia, next 2 spinners are Agar and Swepson.

Apart from that they also have 1 part timer offie Travis head, maybe add another part timer Marnus in the list.

When was the last time any of the Australian spinners were able to make an impact in India? Do you really expect Todd Murphy to do something that even Shane Warne couldn't manage? Australian spin attack is being led by Nathan Lyon, whom I consider one of the most sub-standard bowlers in test cricket right now. I have seen Agar and Swepson bowling in franchise T20 as well as in international cricket and don't think that they have the ability to bother the Indian batsmen. And this is the first time that I am hearing about Todd Murphy. He has played just 7 first class matches till now.

I noticed that they have included Lance Morris and Scott Boland in the squad. These two may come in handy with their pace (even in dead tracks). And the top order looks solid, with Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green likely to make use of the batting friendly conditions.

Todd Murphy might be new but it could be a blessing in disguise for him.

I'm not much worried about their frontline spinners but our track record tells us that Indian batters throw their wicket against part-timers.

Our top order needs to step up this time and not rely on middle-lower order much, top order have a habit of putting extra pressure on middle/lower order and we don't have Pant this time so no one is there to tonk bald Aussie spinners. If Rohit is fit to play then we are safe at top, Puji is looking okay and Koach showing some sign of form ( we might get lucky if he gets a couple of knocks in feb). I have faith in Iyer and lower order against any spin attack and Jaddu should be a match fit too then we are all set with Ashwin and Axar batting at 8 and 9 numbers, this is one mighty lower order and i dare to say the best against spin.

SENA countries exploit the subcontinent's team weakness so India should focus on rank turners no matter what, that's an Aussie weakness so exploit it and if Aussie overcomes their weakness then props to them and we'll have cracker series.

 

[BobK71]

Biggest issue right now with India in tests is that they are missing a player like Pant who can score freely with a crazy high strike rate which is why Australia shouldn't be underestimated in their upcoming series against India.

The strike rate doesn't really matter in a test match. Right? But, yes. Playe like Rishab can change the game. As you all know he is unable to play due to the injury. I hope he will recover soon and come back to the field.

Rishab Pant is a great player. The strike rate does not matter for the Test format. However, batting with a good striker rate at critical moments makes it easier to win the match. On the other hand, if the pitch is not conducive to batting, scoring runs quickly can give a decent target. And so India needed a batsman like Rishab Pant. As India has been facing some problems with the batting line-up for a long time. India needed an experienced player like Pant against an experienced team like Australia. It will be very difficult for India to win against Australia.

Winning against Australia is tough, and Australia too have the same mentality. Winning against India isn't an easy thing as they do with other countries. Rishab Pant is out due to the accidental rest. To be part of the team it takes time. There will be alternate to fill the position. According to me it is time to find the good in new players as getting opportunity is really difficult thing among the politically influenced selection.

These two countries are well known as the great power of cricket. They are each other's biggest rivals in any format. The recent performance of these two countries is also very appreciable. India's performance in yesterday's India vs Sri Lanka match surprised everyone. They will do well in T20,ODI matches as well as Test matches this time. But even after surviving a major accident, Rishab Pant needs a lot of time to come back to the team. If he could have stayed in the team, the current Indian team would have become much stronger.

[Sithara007]

Todd Murphy might be new but it could be a blessing in disguise for him.

I'm not much worried about their frontline spinners but our track record tells us that Indian batters throw their wicket against part-timers.

Our top order needs to step up this time and not rely on middle-lower order much, top order have a habit of putting extra pressure on middle/lower order and we don't have Pant this time so no one is there to tonk bald Aussie spinners. If Rohit is fit to play then we are safe at top, Puji is looking okay and Koach showing some sign of form ( we might get lucky if he gets a couple of knocks in feb). I have faith in Iyer and lower order against any spin attack and Jaddu should be a match fit too then we are all set with Ashwin and Axar batting at 8 and 9 numbers, this is one mighty lower order and i dare to say the best against spin.

SENA countries exploit the subcontinent's team weakness so India should focus on rank turners no matter what, that's an Aussie weakness so exploit it and if Aussie overcomes their weakness then props to them and we'll have cracker series.

Among the Australian part-timers, they have wicket takers in Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. I haven't seen Travis Head bowling in test matches and don't know how good he is. I would give the benefit of doubt to Murphy, Swepson and Agar, since I don't think that they have much experience in sub-continental wickets. But Lyon is going to be a disaster. I won't be surprised if India gets to mammoth totals of 500-600 against the Australian bowlers. The outcome of the match will depend on the performance of the Indian bowlers. If they are able to bowl out Australia, then we will get a result. Else it will be another boring bilateral series with large number of drawn matches.

[JSRAW]

Todd Murphy might be new but it could be a blessing in disguise for him.

I'm not much worried about their frontline spinners but our track record tells us that Indian batters throw their wicket against part-timers.

Our top order needs to step up this time and not rely on middle-lower order much, top order have a habit of putting extra pressure on middle/lower order and we don't have Pant this time so no one is there to tonk bald Aussie spinners. If Rohit is fit to play then we are safe at top, Puji is looking okay and Koach showing some sign of form ( we might get lucky if he gets a couple of knocks in feb). I have faith in Iyer and lower order against any spin attack and Jaddu should be a match fit too then we are all set with Ashwin and Axar batting at 8 and 9 numbers, this is one mighty lower order and i dare to say the best against spin.

SENA countries exploit the subcontinent's team weakness so India should focus on rank turners no matter what, that's an Aussie weakness so exploit it and if Aussie overcomes their weakness then props to them and we'll have cracker series.

Among the Australian part-timers, they have wicket takers in Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. I haven't seen Travis Head bowling in test matches and don't know how good he is. I would give the benefit of doubt to Murphy, Swepson and Agar, since I don't think that they have much experience in sub-continental wickets. But Lyon is going to be a disaster. I won't be surprised if India gets to mammoth totals of 500-600 against the Australian bowlers. The outcome of the match will depend on the performance of the Indian bowlers. If they are able to bowl out Australia, then we will get a result. Else it will be another boring bilateral series with large number of drawn matches.

Marnus and Smith are leggies so they are not big threat, also both of em are meme characters when they start bowling.

Travis head is alright and can do some serious damage for part timers. On Indian pitches, accuracy is more lethal than turn and a balanced off spinner can do this if he's disciplined with his line.

Lyon is the same bowler in every condition with same average and SR so it's fine, he ridiculously accurate tho.

[Naficopa]

Todd Murphy might be new but it could be a blessing in disguise for him.

I'm not much worried about their frontline spinners but our track record tells us that Indian batters throw their wicket against part-timers.

Our top order needs to step up this time and not rely on middle-lower order much, top order have a habit of putting extra pressure on middle/lower order and we don't have Pant this time so no one is there to tonk bald Aussie spinners. If Rohit is fit to play then we are safe at top, Puji is looking okay and Koach showing some sign of form ( we might get lucky if he gets a couple of knocks in feb). I have faith in Iyer and lower order against any spin attack and Jaddu should be a match fit too then we are all set with Ashwin and Axar batting at 8 and 9 numbers, this is one mighty lower order and i dare to say the best against spin.

SENA countries exploit the subcontinent's team weakness so India should focus on rank turners no matter what, that's an Aussie weakness so exploit it and if Aussie overcomes their weakness then props to them and we'll have cracker series.

Among the Australian part-timers, they have wicket takers in Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. I haven't seen Travis Head bowling in test matches and don't know how good he is. I would give the benefit of doubt to Murphy, Swepson and Agar, since I don't think that they have much experience in sub-continental wickets. But Lyon is going to be a disaster. I won't be surprised if India gets to mammoth totals of 500-600 against the Australian bowlers. The outcome of the match will depend on the performance of the Indian bowlers. If they are able to bowl out Australia, then we will get a result. Else it will be another boring bilateral series with large number of drawn matches.

Marnus and Smith are leggies so they are not big threat, also both of em are meme characters when they start bowling.

Travis head is alright and can do some serious damage for part timers. On Indian pitches, accuracy is more lethal than turn and a balanced off spinner can do this if he's disciplined with his line.

Lyon is the same bowler in every condition with same average and SR so it's fine, he ridiculously accurate tho.

This series is going to be an interesting one between Australia and India as both of them are equally good teams as far as test series is concerned.  But again test format shows a whole new side of a player  as sometimes experienced players fail to perform in test format .

[Sithara007]

Marnus and Smith are leggies so they are not big threat, also both of em are meme characters when they start bowling.

Travis head is alright and can do some serious damage for part timers. On Indian pitches, accuracy is more lethal than turn and a balanced off spinner can do this if he's disciplined with his line.

Lyon is the same bowler in every condition with same average and SR so it's fine, he ridiculously accurate tho.

Total of 4 tests - to be played in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamshala and Ahmedabad. Out of the 4 venues, only Dharamshala can be considered as a ground where spinners don't get any undue advantage. Other three will be dustbowls by the time the match starts. Or the BCCI may decide to prepare sporting wickets, given that their pacers have performed well recently. Too early to predict the performance from Australian spinners at this point, but I am not expecting any miracles and I expect majority of the wickets to be taken by their pacers (irrespective of the pitch condition).

[JSRAW]

Marnus and Smith are leggies so they are not big threat, also both of em are meme characters when they start bowling.

Travis head is alright and can do some serious damage for part timers. On Indian pitches, accuracy is more lethal than turn and a balanced off spinner can do this if he's disciplined with his line.

Lyon is the same bowler in every condition with same average and SR so it's fine, he ridiculously accurate tho.

Total of 4 tests - to be played in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamshala and Ahmedabad. Out of the 4 venues, only Dharamshala can be considered as a ground where spinners don't get any undue advantage. Other three will be dustbowls by the time the match starts. Or the BCCI may decide to prepare sporting wickets, given that their pacers have performed well recently. Too early to predict the performance from Australian spinners at this point, but I am not expecting any miracles and I expect majority of the wickets to be taken by their pacers (irrespective of the pitch condition).

Dustbowls are good as Green Tops. Batters need to grind on both surfaces that's how test cricket becomes competitive.

After 2016 India somehow cracked a green top formula with its pace attack/bench strength and it's only fair that SENA countries should learn their art on Dustbowl too.

Dharamshala is good for seamers but only on patches, last time Kuldeep rattled the Aussie on the same track. Delhi and Ahmedabad should favor the spin but i do have my reservation on Nagpur, hope it's not a flat deck.

Indian pacers like Shami/Yadav will do good for sure, my money is on Yadav.

[JSRAW]

Aussies are geared up for BGT and announced their squad for the upcoming India tour.

4 spinners in the squad led by Lyon. Todd Murphy is 22yo and considered second best spinner in Australia, next 2 spinners are Agar and Swepson.

Apart from that they also have 1 part timer offie Travis head, maybe add another part timer Marnus in the list.

Now it's BCCI's turn.. team for first 2 tests (4 test series)

Bloody hell!! KL Rahul is VC again, which means he'll play the first 2 tests for sure and he'll open with Rohit.

KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan are 2 wicket keepers. The former is ahead and likely to make his debut.

Jadeja is back in the squad but his fitness status is still not clear. SKY's name is surprising considering there are a bunch of guys breaking tons of records in Ranji.

[Sithara007]

^^^ Squad looks OK for me. I would still prefer Ishan Kishan ahead of KS Bharat. Kishan is in terrific form and he was unfairly treated by Rohit Sharma as Shubman Gill was selected instead of him. BCCI has persisted with Mohammed Siraj, however I would have liked then to provide one or two chances to Umran Malik (his bowling style is more suitable to test format). One disappointment is that Abhimanyu Easwaran has been dropped without getting any chances to represent India. BTW, I don't know why Jaydev Unadkat is in the team.