Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Sithara007]

Surprisingly it's an excellent start for the Lankans if we take into account how quickly subcontinent teams go into survival mode whenever they tour New Zealand.

Kusal Mendis in particular smacked Wagner all around the ground. Wagner with his usual short ball tactics didn't trouble Mendis at all.

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Uff finally Mendis is gone.

LOL.. Wagner went for 30 runs in his 3 overs and the New Zealand captain didn't had the courage to bring him back on. So far out of the 40 overs completed so far, Tim Southee and Matt Henry bowled a combined total of 29. And these two picked up all the wickets that fell so far. With Kusal Mendis gone, responsibility is in the shoulders of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. Anywhere around 250+ would be a decent total, given the pace-friendly conditions at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Anything above 300 would give Sri Lanka an advantage.

BTW, I am more focused on the 4th match of the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, which will take place today at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Australian side looks rejuvenated, under the captaincy of Steve Smith. And I guess they are likely to go with one pacer + 3 spinners combinations, similar to what they did in Indore. For Rohit Sharma as the captain, winning today's match is crucial. But I guess the 4th test is even more crucial for players such as Cheteshwar Pujara (given that he is included in the playing XI).

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[pakhitheboss]

I am suprised once again that after winning the toss NZ decided to bowl first. I am not sure what strategy are being implemented by the team management. The start that Srilanka got surely states that NZ tactics did not go as planned. Srilanka has only lost 3 wickets scored 190+ runs and would easily score 300+ by the end of day 1. If they don't lose wickets in quick succession.

The last test match of BGT would start today. I am pretty much excited for it. Australia after a change of captainship has played exceptionally well in the last test matche. They know that India would try to give their 100 percent in order to win this match and qualify for the test world cup. I am sure they would try their level best to stop India. The big problem with India has been unreliable batting. If they are able to work on it then it would be very hard for Australia to defeat India.

[CryptoBuds]

Surprisingly it's an excellent start for the Lankans if we take into account how quickly subcontinent teams go into survival mode whenever they tour New Zealand.

Kusal Mendis in particular smacked Wagner all around the ground. Wagner with his usual short ball tactics didn't trouble Mendis at all.

-------
Uff finally Mendis is gone.

LOL.. Wagner went for 30 runs in his 3 overs and the New Zealand captain didn't had the courage to bring him back on. So far out of the 40 overs completed so far, Tim Southee and Matt Henry bowled a combined total of 29. And these two picked up all the wickets that fell so far. With Kusal Mendis gone, responsibility is in the shoulders of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. Anywhere around 250+ would be a decent total, given the pace-friendly conditions at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Anything above 300 would give Sri Lanka an advantage.

Sri Lanka batted well enough. With the help of Karunaratne's 50 and Mendis' 87 runs, Sri Lanka collected 196 runs after losing 3 wickets at the end of 49 overs. This is quite a good collection.
Mathews and Chandimal are now batting. Two very experienced batsmen. If they are able to extend their partnership then Sri Lanka has the potential to collect 400 runs. But if they can get more than 350 then it will be good enough to fight against New Zealand.
I don't like any bowler's performance today except Tim Shouthee. New Zealand's bowlers need some more controlled bowling.

[Sithara007]

Sri Lanka batted well enough. With the help of Karunaratne's 50 and Mendis' 87 runs, Sri Lanka collected 196 runs after losing 3 wickets at the end of 49 overs. This is quite a good collection.
Mathews and Chandimal are now batting. Two very experienced batsmen. If they are able to extend their partnership then Sri Lanka has the potential to collect 400 runs. But if they can get more than 350 then it will be good enough to fight against New Zealand.
I don't like any bowler's performance today except Tim Shouthee. New Zealand's bowlers need some more controlled bowling.

Yeah.. now Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are batting well and the 4th wicket partnership has already crossed 50 runs. The problem for New Zealand is that two of their pacers (Blair Tickner and Neil Wagner) are completely out of form and haven't settled yet. So far they have gone for more than 6 runs per over (in case of Wagner, at 10 runs per over). The absence of Jamieson is having a huge impact on the effectiveness of the Kiwi bowling. Also, Trent Boult used to be a crucial member, until he decided to give preference to T20 franchise leagues over test format.

[Juggy777]

Sri Lanka batted well enough. With the help of Karunaratne's 50 and Mendis' 87 runs, Sri Lanka collected 196 runs after losing 3 wickets at the end of 49 overs. This is quite a good collection.
Mathews and Chandimal are now batting. Two very experienced batsmen. If they are able to extend their partnership then Sri Lanka has the potential to collect 400 runs. But if they can get more than 350 then it will be good enough to fight against New Zealand.
I don't like any bowler's performance today except Tim Shouthee. New Zealand's bowlers need some more controlled bowling.

Yeah.. now Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are batting well and the 4th wicket partnership has already crossed 50 runs. The problem for New Zealand is that two of their pacers (Blair Tickner and Neil Wagner) are completely out of form and haven't settled yet. So far they have gone for more than 6 runs per over (in case of Wagner, at 10 runs per over). The absence of Jamieson is having a huge impact on the effectiveness of the Kiwi bowling. Also, Trent Boult used to be a crucial member, until he decided to give preference to T20 franchise leagues over test format.

@Sithara007 Srilanka are in a strong position as they have lost just 4 wickets and have already scored 257 runs, plus the match was stopped due to rains which means their spinners will benefit when they start to bowl. Lastly if they can cross 400+ runs and pick some early wickets then I feel that New Zealand will be under pressure, and probably go on to lose the game too.

[KennyR]

Sri Lanka batted well enough. With the help of Karunaratne's 50 and Mendis' 87 runs, Sri Lanka collected 196 runs after losing 3 wickets at the end of 49 overs. This is quite a good collection.
Mathews and Chandimal are now batting. Two very experienced batsmen. If they are able to extend their partnership then Sri Lanka has the potential to collect 400 runs. But if they can get more than 350 then it will be good enough to fight against New Zealand.
I don't like any bowler's performance today except Tim Shouthee. New Zealand's bowlers need some more controlled bowling.

Yeah.. now Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are batting well and the 4th wicket partnership has already crossed 50 runs. The problem for New Zealand is that two of their pacers (Blair Tickner and Neil Wagner) are completely out of form and haven't settled yet. So far they have gone for more than 6 runs per over (in case of Wagner, at 10 runs per over). The absence of Jamieson is having a huge impact on the effectiveness of the Kiwi bowling. Also, Trent Boult used to be a crucial member, until he decided to give preference to T20 franchise leagues over test format.

@Sithara007 Srilanka are in a strong position as they have lost just 4 wickets and have already scored 257 runs, plus the match was stopped due to rains which means their spinners will benefit when they start to bowl. Lastly if they can cross 400+ runs and pick some early wickets then I feel that New Zealand will be under pressure, and probably go on to lose the game too.

Sri Lanka have lost its 5^th wicket. Score of Sri Lanka is 262 runs with De Silva and Dickwella on the crease we can expect the score to the maximum of 350 runs. New Zealand playing in its home ground always have advantage and surely New Zealand won't fall easier. As said some early wickets would pressure up the New Zealand players performance. If Williamson is able to make some score the match turns to be more interesting.

[Sithara007]

At one point, it looked as if Sri Lanka may be able to get to somewhere around 400. But they have lost some quick wickets and now it may be difficult for them to even get to 300. The issue for New Zealand is that two of their mainstream bowlers have failed completely (Blair Tickner and Neil Wagner). This in turn is putting a lot of pressure on the other two bowlers (Tim Southee and Matt Henry). Fortunately for them, Michael Bracewell as the 5th bowler has preformed credibly and he has picked up the wicket of Niroshan Dickwella.

And back in Ahmedabad, Australia has got a very good start. They are at 72/1 after 22 overs, with Usman Khawaja showing a lot of patience and grit. Travis Head was more aggressive, but then Ashwin got him a few overs back. Given how the Australian middle and lower order collapsed in the previous matches, I don't have much expectations from them. If they get to 250, then it will give them a chance.

[noormcs5]

Sri Lanka have lost its 5^th wicket. Score of Sri Lanka is 262 runs with De Silva and Dickwella on the crease we can expect the score to the maximum of 350 runs. New Zealand playing in its home ground always have advantage and surely New Zealand won't fall easier. As said some early wickets would pressure up the New Zealand players performance. If Williamson is able to make some score the match turns to be more interesting.

If Srilankan's are able to score 350 runs it will be a good start for them in the test match. Having run on the board is always an advantage no matter if the opposition is strong and playing at their home ground. Srilanka ideally will want to bat out the remaining overs for the day and will want to start again tomorrow morning.
It will be interesting to see how NewZealand team will come up to chase this total. Right now the odds for NZ is 1.65 and Srilanka 3.45 but it can quickly change too.

[JSRAW]

The Lankans did lose a couple of wickets in quick succession but i reckon end of the day they are in a good position. Touching the 350 mark shouldn't be tough task and i suppose this looks good 1st inning score?

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IndvsAus

Fair to say it's a shared session.

Aussies were looking good in the first hour of play but they somehow lost the momentum in the second hour thanks to Ash and Shami. Thick boy Yadav was very unlucky when Bharat dropped the dolly. Bharat the keeper is not having a nice game so far, he looked nervous. Anyway, this looks like a good batting track and Australia needs to score big in the first inning, maybe close to 400.

[laurenB7742]

Sri Lanka have lost its 5^th wicket. Score of Sri Lanka is 262 runs with De Silva and Dickwella on the crease we can expect the score to the maximum of 350 runs. New Zealand playing in its home ground always have advantage and surely New Zealand won't fall easier. As said some early wickets would pressure up the New Zealand players performance. If Williamson is able to make some score the match turns to be more interesting.

If Srilankan's are able to score 350 runs it will be a good start for them in the test match. Having run on the board is always an advantage no matter if the opposition is strong and playing at their home ground. Srilanka ideally will want to bat out the remaining overs for the day and will want to start again tomorrow morning.
It will be interesting to see how NewZealand team will come up to chase this total. Right now the odds for NZ is 1.65 and Srilanka 3.45 but it can quickly change too.

Sri Lanka batted very well. After losing 6 wickets at the end of the first day, their collection was 305 runs. It was very good batting on such a pitch. It will not be difficult for Sri Lanka to collect up to 350 runs. Except for Niroshan Dickwella, every batsman in the team played reasonably well. Today too the match was interrupted due to rain. If the match is not delayed due to rain in the coming days then we will get a chance to enjoy a competitive test match. Although New Zealand is a strong team, it will be difficult for them to beat Sri Lanka in this match.

[BobK71]

Sri Lanka have lost its 5^th wicket. Score of Sri Lanka is 262 runs with De Silva and Dickwella on the crease we can expect the score to the maximum of 350 runs. New Zealand playing in its home ground always have advantage and surely New Zealand won't fall easier. As said some early wickets would pressure up the New Zealand players performance. If Williamson is able to make some score the match turns to be more interesting.

If Srilankan's are able to score 350 runs it will be a good start for them in the test match. Having run on the board is always an advantage no matter if the opposition is strong and playing at their home ground. Srilanka ideally will want to bat out the remaining overs for the day and will want to start again tomorrow morning.
It will be interesting to see how NewZealand team will come up to chase this total. Right now the odds for NZ is 1.65 and Srilanka 3.45 but it can quickly change too.

Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets but it looks pretty good now. Yes, whether at home or not, if the team collect more runs, it will be difficult for the opposition. New Zealand pitch is usually favor Batsmen. In that case the New Zealand batsmen will also try their best to score big and there will be more chances of their success. If Sri Lanka manage to score some more runs with their four wickets then the match could be quite exciting.

[Sithara007]

The Lankans did lose a couple of wickets in quick succession but i reckon end of the day they are in a good position. Touching the 350 mark shouldn't be tough task and i suppose this looks good 1st inning score?

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IndvsAus

Fair to say it's a shared session.

Aussies were looking good in the first hour of play but they somehow lost the momentum in the second hour thanks to Ash and Shami. Thick boy Yadav was very unlucky when Bharat dropped the dolly. Bharat the keeper is not having a nice game so far, he looked nervous. Anyway, this looks like a good batting track and Australia needs to score big in the first inning, maybe close to 400.

The 7th wicket partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kasun Rajitha is taking the match rapidly out of New Zealand. And it is not surprising. You can't compete in test cricket with just 2 bowlers. New Zealand bowling attack is effectively reduced to two bowlers (plus the part timer Michael Bracewell), because the other two pacers are completely useless. I won't be surprised if Sri Lanka gets to a total of 400. In the other test match, Australia seems to have wasted the advantage they had. With Marnus Labuschagne gone, they are on backfoot now.

[mm2543363580]

Sri Lanka have lost its 5^th wicket. Score of Sri Lanka is 262 runs with De Silva and Dickwella on the crease we can expect the score to the maximum of 350 runs. New Zealand playing in its home ground always have advantage and surely New Zealand won't fall easier. As said some early wickets would pressure up the New Zealand players performance. If Williamson is able to make some score the match turns to be more interesting.

If Srilankan's are able to score 350 runs it will be a good start for them in the test match. Having run on the board is always an advantage no matter if the opposition is strong and playing at their home ground. Srilanka ideally will want to bat out the remaining overs for the day and will want to start again tomorrow morning.
It will be interesting to see how NewZealand team will come up to chase this total. Right now the odds for NZ is 1.65 and Srilanka 3.45 but it can quickly change too.

Sri Lanka lost 6 wickets but it looks pretty good now. Yes, whether at home or not, if the team collect more runs, it will be difficult for the opposition. New Zealand pitch is usually favor Batsmen. In that case the New Zealand batsmen will also try their best to score big and there will be more chances of their success. If Sri Lanka manage to score some more runs with their four wickets then the match could be quite exciting.

Sirlanka did pretty good on day 1 against Newzealand,  crossing 300 with 4 wickets still in hand is a good first innings.  They can easily cross 400 with this pace on day 2 and that would be a task for newZealand in trail as Kiwis are bit weak in test format than in other formats.

[Sithara007]

Australia seems to be doing OK, but still not in a comfortable position. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja are showing no undue haste and they are playing very patiently against Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India has plenty of bowling options, as they included two pacers and three spinners for this match. Australia are at 105/2 after 42.0 overs. Still it needs to be seen whether they can get to 250-300, since their middle order crumbled during the first three matches. For India, Ashwin is the trump-card. Other bowlers haven't troubled the Australian batsmen so far.

[KennyR]

Australia seems to be doing OK, but still not in a comfortable position. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja are showing no undue haste and they are playing very patiently against Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India has plenty of bowling options, as they included two pacers and three spinners for this match. Australia are at 105/2 after 42.0 overs. Still it needs to be seen whether they can get to 250-300, since their middle order crumbled during the first three matches. For India, Ashwin is the trump-card. Other bowlers haven't troubled the Australian batsmen so far.

Khawaja and Smith are in good form. Khawaja reached his half century and the partnership between the two reached 50. Indian bowlers are trying the best, and unable to make break between the wicket. According to the present situation, Australia could easily reach 300+ runs based on the score coming from this pair. Possibly the first innings will move to the second day.

[Vaskiy]

South Africa vs West Indies, the innings of South Africa have ended at 320 runs. The partnership between Markram and Zorzi is the highest (67 runs). Further no big partnership got built, however the team have managed to score 320 runs. Mayers and Joseph have taken 3 wickets each. Braithwaite and Chanderpal to open the innings. Good partnership is required to level the first innings score of South Africa.

[Minor Miner]

Australia seems to be doing OK, but still not in a comfortable position. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja are showing no undue haste and they are playing very patiently against Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India has plenty of bowling options, as they included two pacers and three spinners for this match. Australia are at 105/2 after 42.0 overs. Still it needs to be seen whether they can get to 250-300, since their middle order crumbled during the first three matches. For India, Ashwin is the trump-card. Other bowlers haven't troubled the Australian batsmen so far.

Khawaja and Smith are in good form. Khawaja reached his half century and the partnership between the two reached 50. Indian bowlers are trying the best, and unable to make break between the wicket. According to the present situation, Australia could easily reach 300+ runs based on the score coming from this pair. Possibly the first innings will move to the second day.

Khawaja and Smith are batting well. Khawaja is unbeaten on 63 and Smith on 34. However, I will say that I have no confidence in Australia's performance. If these two wickets fall, it will be very tough for Australia to collect 300 runs. But Khawaja and Smith are batting very responsibly. Australia's current run rate is only 2.5. If this pair lasts long, it is possible for Australia to collect 400 runs. Ashwin, Axar Patel and Jadeja are not doing much. Because the two Australian batsmen are able to deal with the spinners quite well. Ashwin bowled 18 overs out of which 7 overs were maidens.

[Vaskiy]

Australia seems to be doing OK, but still not in a comfortable position. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja are showing no undue haste and they are playing very patiently against Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. India has plenty of bowling options, as they included two pacers and three spinners for this match. Australia are at 105/2 after 42.0 overs. Still it needs to be seen whether they can get to 250-300, since their middle order crumbled during the first three matches. For India, Ashwin is the trump-card. Other bowlers haven't troubled the Australian batsmen so far.

Khawaja and Smith are in good form. Khawaja reached his half century and the partnership between the two reached 50. Indian bowlers are trying the best, and unable to make break between the wicket. According to the present situation, Australia could easily reach 300+ runs based on the score coming from this pair. Possibly the first innings will move to the second day.

Khawaja and Smith are batting well. Khawaja is unbeaten on 63 and Smith on 34. However, I will say that I have no confidence in Australia's performance. If these two wickets fall, it will be very tough for Australia to collect 300 runs. But Khawaja and Smith are batting very responsibly. Australia's current run rate is only 2.5. If this pair lasts long, it is possible for Australia to collect 400 runs. Ashwin, Axar Patel and Jadeja are not doing much. Because the two Australian batsmen are able to deal with the spinners quite well. Ashwin bowled 18 overs out of which 7 overs were maidens.

Yeah, Australia's middle order isn't strong enough to score good. In the lower order I believe on Handscomb and Green to add some runs. We can't expect things to be same everytime. Spinners were trying hard to pick few wickets, but Khawaja and Smith are getting strong. Once after the tea break we can expect few wickets. If that doesn't happen the innings will go till tomorrow's session.

[mm2543363580]

South Africa vs West Indies, the innings of South Africa have ended at 320 runs. The partnership between Markram and Zorzi is the highest (67 runs). Further no big partnership got built, however the team have managed to score 320 runs. Mayers and Joseph have taken 3 wickets each. Braithwaite and Chanderpal to open the innings. Good partnership is required to level the first innings score of South Africa.

West Indies is having difficulties in chasing as they have already lost 4 wickets on 73 runs , the trail is 320 and if they keep on loosing wickets like this they'll end up all out before 200 . And South Africa will have an edge in this test too.

[JSRAW]

Tough day for Indian bowlers, at times they were pretty good and kept things very tight and it showed in the first 2 sessions and the first half of 3rd session. Although very poor with both new balls.

The second new ball and Green's quick 49 and his partnership with Khwaja changed the momentum completely and now Australians are in the driving seat. The first beautiful 100 for Australia in this series and it's Khwaja, today he went into Pujaramode.

If the pitch starts deteriorating on 2nd or 3rd day then it would be tough for India. Let's hope it's not going Chennai's way (Ind vs Eng).