Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Bitcoin Smith]

Kuldeep didn't do anything wrong and bowled exceptionally well in the last test so it'd be unfair for management to drop him, only because batters are not doing their job and they want to strengthen their batting lineup. The top order and middle order need to step up and score some runs for a change. How many times do they want number 7-8-9 to save their bum? The lower order has been doing heavy lifting for the last 3-4 years with the ball and bat.

Also if it's not a spinning track then bring Jurel as he's handy with the bat but we never know what management is thinking as the Rohit-Dravid duo is following a defensive strategy.

I would still prefer Kuldeep to be in the playing XI because finger spinners are wicket takers and in flat wickets like Rajkot they might needed him badly even if one or two partnership builds up.

And I am really concerned about Rohit's test form too because it's depleted completely and he has to step up like what he did in WC then only the middle order might regain their confidence. If Iyer is not playing I strongly prefer Pujara to be played but as said Team management is looking for the future talents but they failed to make it in the Balanced way.

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[Sithara007]

I would still prefer Kuldeep to be in the playing XI because finger spinners are wicket takers and in flat wickets like Rajkot they might needed him badly even if one or two partnership builds up.

And I am really concerned about Rohit's test form too because it's depleted completely and he has to step up like what he did in WC then only the middle order might regain their confidence. If Iyer is not playing I strongly prefer Pujara to be played but as said Team management is looking for the future talents but they failed to make it in the Balanced way.

Akash Deep  maybe making his debut and that means that two pacers will be in the playing XI (Akash and Jasprit Bumrah). For the spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are almost certain to be included. And this creates uncertainty for Kuldeep Yadav (also Washington Sundar is in the squad as well). In case Ravindra Jadeja is not fit, then he may get a chance. And I don't understand your post about Pujara. He is not even in the squad. Iyer maybe replaced by either Rajat Patidar or Sarfaraz Khan.   

[JSRAW]

~snip~.

A lot of drama regarding Kohli's absence for the remainder of the series. AB de Villiers was forced to apologize, after Kohli fans targeted him for claiming that Virushka's "second child is on the way". He made the claim through YouTube, and offered the apology in the same platform itself. BCCI is also quite tightlipped. Official statement claims that Kohli will be absent for "personal reasons". Kohli and Anushka were supposed to attend the pran prathistha function in Ayodhya Sriram Mandir (22nd January), but they withdrew at the last minute citing the same reason. 

IMO BCCI is doing alright on keeping its lips sealed and not leaking any sort of news, considering Indian media's hunger for TRP is never ending affair and respecting someone's personal space is an alien concept to them. 

~snip~

I would still prefer Kuldeep to be in the playing XI because finger spinners are wicket takers and in flat wickets like Rajkot they might needed him badly even if one or two partnership builds up.

And I am really concerned about Rohit's test form too because it's depleted completely and he has to step up like what he did in WC then only the middle order might regain their confidence. If Iyer is not playing I strongly prefer Pujara to be played but as said Team management is looking for the future talents but they failed to make it in the Balanced way.

Small correction; Kulee is a wrist spinner, not off spinner.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Indian batting lineup is in a transition period and management has moved on from Pujara-Rahane and there is virtually no chance for comeback. Although there might be a slight possibility of some window opening for Away BGT but again for this, all new guys need to perform badly.

After Pujara-Rahane, a discussion on Rohit will come up if he keeps failing with the bat. He has 2 years of test cricket left at best anyway, given he's in form.

[fuguebtc]

I would still prefer Kuldeep to be in the playing XI because finger spinners are wicket takers and in flat wickets like Rajkot they might needed him badly even if one or two partnership builds up.

And I am really concerned about Rohit's test form too because it's depleted completely and he has to step up like what he did in WC then only the middle order might regain their confidence. If Iyer is not playing I strongly prefer Pujara to be played but as said Team management is looking for the future talents but they failed to make it in the Balanced way.

Small correction; Kulee is a wrist spinner, not off spinner.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Indian batting lineup is in a transition period and management has moved on from Pujara-Rahane and there is virtually no chance for comeback. Although there might be a slight possibility of some window opening for Away BGT but again for this, all new guys need to perform badly.

After Pujara-Rahane, a discussion on Rohit will come up if he keeps failing with the bat. He has 2 years of test cricket left at best anyway, given he's in form.

I think this should be a pretty easy situation to think about. If you think you will need the spin of Kuldeep Yadav more you should go for him. Or if you think that you will need the the all-round performance of Jadeja, along with his great fielding you go for him.

But then you will have to sacrifice the wrist spin. Honestly, I think as this is the test format it will be better if they go for the wrist spinner. He will definitely be more useful. If this was a shorter format, I would have said Jadeja would be more useful.

[Bitcoin Smith]

Akash Deep  maybe making his debut and that means that two pacers will be in the playing XI (Akash and Jasprit Bumrah). For the spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are almost certain to be included. And this creates uncertainty for Kuldeep Yadav (also Washington Sundar is in the squad as well). In case Ravindra Jadeja is not fit, then he may get a chance. And I don't understand your post about Pujara. He is not even in the squad. Iyer maybe replaced by either Rajat Patidar or Sarfaraz Khan.   

If I am not wrong the squad announced is only for the first two matches and the remaining three matches we will see some changes in the squad that is why I said Pujara might be considered due to the absence of Virat.

Small correction; Kulee is a wrist spinner, not off spinner.

After Pujara-Rahane, a discussion on Rohit will come up if he keeps failing with the bat. He has 2 years of test cricket left at best anyway, given he's in form.

My bad, I've made mistake.

Already we can see discussions about Rohit on social media from former cricketers but he has the remaining three matches to prove his form for the test format. Or it is the time to bring new captain for the test format which is also indeed to make great transition.

[JSRAW]

^^ I believe he would get next 2 home series as well to come back in form and even if he doesn't then there is a high possiblity of management sticking with him because atm there is no captaincy option, unless they go back to kohli. It'd be wonderful but very unlikely.

[Bitcoin Smith]

^^ I believe he would get next 2 home series as well to come back in form and even if he doesn't then there is a high possiblity of management sticking with him because atm there is no captaincy option, unless they go back to kohli. It'd be wonderful but very unlikely.

What about Bumrah? He is at his prime, and it's long due from team India to have a bowler as a captain.

Bumrah showed his skill in India as well as in SENA even in his short test career, and it looks like he definitely interested in Leading MI after Hitman and that is why he emote heart Break when Pandya announced as the next captain.

[JSRAW]

^^ I believe he would get next 2 home series as well to come back in form and even if he doesn't then there is a high possiblity of management sticking with him because atm there is no captaincy option, unless they go back to kohli. It'd be wonderful but very unlikely.

What about Bumrah? He is at his prime, and it's long due from team India to have a bowler as a captain.

Bumrah showed his skill in India as well as in SENA even in his short test career, and it looks like he definitely interested in Leading MI after Hitman and that is why he emote heart Break when Pandya announced as the next captain.

Tricky one IMO.

He's a good candidate for captaincy but he's kind of fragile and prone to injury. If he's not playing any T-20-ODI then he could be a good asset as captain for team India but the way the ICC tourney popping up every year and considering the Indian team's FTP it's tough for a fast bowler.

[Jateng]

New Zealand and South Africa both are good team. They have popular batsman as well as skillful bowlers. But new Zealand New Zealand won by 281 runs. Winning difference was huge. South Africa failed to perform good in batting and bowling because their cricket board didn't sent experienced players in their squad to play with new Zealand. Most of South African players in squad, are newbie who played 2/3 Test matches only. So what could we expect from them while their experience players are busy to playing in SA20 (T20 franchise cricket tournament). Otherwise maybe new Zealand were won also but run difference hadn't a huge like 281 runs. But i must say, contribution of Kane Williamson and youngster Rachin Ravindra, is unforgettable and Rachin Ravindra would be another legend in upcoming days in new Zealand cricket history.

South Africa give poor performance in First test match they all out 162 runs in first inning of match and in second inning they scored 241 runa and lost this match by huge margin. New Zealand lead the series by 1-0 after winning the first match against South Africa. I think South Africa will bounce back in second test match that start from 13 February and they will try to win this match and level the series.

[Bitcoin Smith]

^^ I believe he would get next 2 home series as well to come back in form and even if he doesn't then there is a high possiblity of management sticking with him because atm there is no captaincy option, unless they go back to kohli. It'd be wonderful but very unlikely.

What about Bumrah? He is at his prime, and it's long due from team India to have a bowler as a captain.

Bumrah showed his skill in India as well as in SENA even in his short test career, and it looks like he definitely interested in Leading MI after Hitman and that is why he emote heart Break when Pandya announced as the next captain.

Tricky one IMO.

He's a good candidate for captaincy but he's kind of fragile and prone to injury. If he's not playing any T-20-ODI then he could be a good asset as captain for team India but the way the ICC tourney popping up every year and considering the Indian team's FTP it's tough for a fast bowler.

Fast bowlers are more prone to injury than other players but if he is appointed as vice captain then he should be the one to look for future, or it's just unfair on the player who is giving everything and still not considered as someone who can lead from the front. Workload management is very tricky because BCCI is forcing players to play most matches as possible but considering his age and his current form, if he manages to balance his form and workload in this year then I am sure he will be one.

Another fact: Bumrah joined an elite club

The second player from Asia to reach no.1 ranking in all the formats, and the one is King Kohli.

[Publictalk792]

South Africa give poor performance in First test match they all out 162 runs in first inning of match and in second inning they scored 241 runa and lost this match by huge margin. New Zealand lead the series by 1-0 after winning the first match against South Africa. I think South Africa will bounce back in second test match that start from 13 February and they will try to win this match and level the series.

I agree that South Africa didn't play well in the first test match. They only scored 162 runs in the first innings and lost by a big difference. It's disappointing. But I also think that South Africa can do better in the second test match. They have a talented team and have shown in the past that they can perform well under pressure. I hope they look at their mistakes from the first match and come up with a better plan for the second test. It's important for them to tie the series and feel confident again. I'm excited to see a competitive and fun match between South Africa and New Zealand.

[elevates]

snip..

I don't know whether Jadeja would be playing tomorrow or not as it depends on his fitness. Wicket preparation depends on the curator but yes it is generally a batting track. Kuldeep is an extremely good spinner what he lacks is the ability to bat which is fulfilled by Jadeja. I do agree it all depends on the kind of wicket and accordingly the team management can choose the right amount of bowlers. I think Jurel should be given a chance as Bharat is not doing good in this series previously Rohit did say that he will give chance to all players in the team.

[JSRAW]

^^ Even the skipper and Coach are clueless lol

Tricky one IMO.

He's a good candidate for captaincy but he's kind of fragile and prone to injury. If he's not playing any T-20-ODI then he could be a good asset as captain for team India but the way the ICC tourney popping up every year and considering the Indian team's FTP it's tough for a fast bowler.

Fast bowlers are more prone to injury than other players but if he is appointed as vice captain then he should be the one to look for future, or it's just unfair on the player who is giving everything and still not considered as someone who can lead from the front. Workload management is very tricky because BCCI is forcing players to play most matches as possible but considering his age and his current form, if he manages to balance his form and workload in this year then I am sure he will be one.

Another fact: Bumrah joined an elite club

The second player from Asia to reach no.1 ranking in all the formats, and the one is King Kohli.

Call it unfair or whatever, it's just that management is clueless on the captaincy matter. They are so clueless that they are not sure if they want to rest Bumrah or not. It's a big giveaway don't you think?

At one point they were looking at Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul but both lost their form and also had some problems with the fitness. KL made a good comeback and if he keep showing enough consistency with the bat then i believe they will hand over captaincy to him.

[cryptoWODL]

New Zealand vs South Africa 2nd Test match

The South African team is touring New Zealand to play a comprehensive series of two Test matches against New Zealand. There has already been one match in this Test series where New Zealand defeated South Africa miserably by a huge margin of 281 runs. As a result, the New Zealand team is now leading the series 1-0 after winning one match against South Africa.

The second Test match between New Zealand and South Africa is going to start tomorrow in Hamilton. South Africa and New Zealand announced their squads for the second Test match. Like the first test match, the New Zealand squad is very strong in the second test match but the South African squad is very weak in comparison. South Africa's players look like they will be defeated by New Zealand in the second Test as well as they have no bright players in this series.

[JSRAW]

New update on the squad:  KL Rahul is ruled out for the 3rd test. Paddikal is his replacement.

Things got so bad that BCCI had to roll out a dictate that if any player is free, they are required to play in Ranji or Domestic cricket.

After becoming IPL riches, lots of players started ignoring their respecting state boards and hardly make themselves available but not anymore, given everything goes well.

BCCI mandates player participation in next round of Ranji Trophy matches

[MusaPk]

Things got so bad that BCCI had to roll out a dictate that if any player is free, they are required to play in Ranji or Domestic cricket.

After becoming IPL riches, lots of players started ignoring their respecting state boards and hardly make themselves available but not anymore, given everything goes well.

BCCI mandates player participation in next round of Ranji Trophy matches

BCCI made it for mandatory for players who are fit and not on national duty to play Ranji trophy. We all know who well IPL pays to player, how about Ranji trophy? Do they have some attractive packages for participants or not. Players these days are not willing to play domestic crikcet due to T20 leagues where you earn more by playing shorter games compared to 4 days game at domestic level.

[JSRAW]

Things got so bad that BCCI had to roll out a dictate that if any player is free, they are required to play in Ranji or Domestic cricket.

After becoming IPL riches, lots of players started ignoring their respecting state boards and hardly make themselves available but not anymore, given everything goes well.

BCCI mandates player participation in next round of Ranji Trophy matches

BCCI made it for mandatory for players who are fit and not on national duty to play Ranji trophy. We all know who well IPL pays to player, how about Ranji trophy? Do they have some attractive packages for participants or not. Players these days are not willing to play domestic crikcet due to T20 leagues where you earn more by playing shorter games compared to 4 days game at domestic level.

Ranji recently gave a raise to the domestic circuit. For Ranji, Paygrade is between 40k INR - 60 K INR per day (4 day match). Paygrade depends on the experience and those fellas sitting out get half the amount, again on the experience they have.

In comparison to IPL, it's not much but overall pay is quite decent and they can make 10-20 Lakh INR from just Ranji, apart from that there are other tournaments as well like Vijay Hajare trophy (ODI) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T-20)

[Bitcoin Smith]

New update on the squad:  KL Rahul is ruled out for the 3rd test. Paddikal is his replacement.

Things got so bad that BCCI had to roll out a dictate that if any player is free, they are required to play in Ranji or Domestic cricket.

After becoming IPL riches, lots of players started ignoring their respecting state boards and hardly make themselves available but not anymore, given everything goes well.

BCCI mandates player participation in next round of Ranji Trophy matches

I feel it's good update because the players who are actively performing and not getting chances due to the star players of IPL can be navigated to some extent. But still it's good to form second stride team with more importance like they were in the past so if someone is injured then they can simply replace the player with who can be close to their playing style whether it's batting or bowling but what is happening now is kind of chaotic if one player injures and team combination has to be completed shuffled to fine right one.

[MusaPk]

Ranji recently gave a raise to the domestic circuit. For Ranji, Paygrade is between 40k INR - 60 K INR per day (4 day match). Paygrade depends on the experience and those fellas sitting out get half the amount, again on the experience they have.

In comparison to IPL, it's not much but overall pay is quite decent and they can make 10-20 Lakh INR from just Ranji, apart from that there are other tournaments as well like Vijay Hajare trophy (ODI) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T-20)

This is nothing for player that is part of National team and has high bids in IPL. Anyone who is not part of National team can play that to get attention of selectors. One more thing BCCI must do is to allow its domestic players to take part in T20 Leagues around the world. This will give opportunity to domestic players to earn good money and get exposure. BCCI must recognise that not every domestic player can make it to IPL.

[Compromise me]

South Africa give poor performance in First test match they all out 162 runs in first inning of match and in second inning they scored 241 runa and lost this match by huge margin. New Zealand lead the series by 1-0 after winning the first match against South Africa. I think South Africa will bounce back in second test match that start from 13 February and they will try to win this match and level the series.

You are right ,south Africa team play not well, South Africa did not meet the run target of New Zealand first innings in both their innings.
If we check the record of these two teams, New Zealand is much ahead of the South African team due to its more experience and more match winning.

New Zealand scored 690 runs in their two innings and South Africa scored only 411 runs in their two innings.The run difference is huge but I hope South Africa will improve their batting performance skills now.