Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[eaLiTy]

Indian test squad for NZ series lacking a good experienced opener,I guess there will be some changes in the batting order due to this mistake while picking squad.Pujara played well and also vihari and India didn't played very bad since they are almost par with the average first innings score on that ground.And its only 3 day warm up match so we can't expect long innings like 5 day matches.

You cannot judge by the performance of warm up games, they need some time to get familiar with the conditions and India has some good Test players and the middle order is strong on paper and if they can execute that then it will be an entertaining match and both sides will be having quality fast bowlers and only at the day of match we will know about the pitch but i am expecting them to cut the grass as India have a good fast bowling line up.

[mersal]

Indian test squad for NZ series lacking a good experienced opener,I guess there will be some changes in the batting order due to this mistake while picking squad.Pujara played well and also vihari and India didn't played very bad since they are almost par with the average first innings score on that ground.And its only 3 day warm up match so we can't expect long innings like 5 day matches.

You cannot judge by the performance of warm up games, they need some time to get familiar with the conditions and India has some good Test players and the middle order is strong on paper and if they can execute that then it will be an entertaining match and both sides will be having quality fast bowlers and only at the day of match we will know about the pitch but i am expecting them to cut the grass as India have a good fast bowling line up.

Prithvi Shaw and Manyak Agarwal who has been used as openers for this warm up match and both of them were inexperienced IMHO.But in test match having right opening combo is crucial,losing early wickets can change the whole match at the later part.I hope Rahane will open the test matches along with one new player because Kohli will play in the number 4 spot.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Prithvi Shaw and Manyak Agarwal who has been used as openers for this warm up match and both of them were inexperienced IMHO.But in test match having right opening combo is crucial,losing early wickets can change the whole match at the later part.I hope Rahane will open the test matches along with one new player because Kohli will play in the number 4 spot.

I wouldn't call Mayank Agarwal as an inexperienced player. It is true that the number of test matches played by him is in single digits, but he has large number of first class matches to his name and he is a regular for the India A tours. And I would like Virat Kohli to bat at number 3, since he is one of those Indian batsmen who are not afraid of green surfaces.

[mersal]

Prithvi Shaw and Manyak Agarwal who has been used as openers for this warm up match and both of them were inexperienced IMHO.But in test match having right opening combo is crucial,losing early wickets can change the whole match at the later part.I hope Rahane will open the test matches along with one new player because Kohli will play in the number 4 spot.

I wouldn't call Mayank Agarwal as an inexperienced player. It is true that the number of test matches played by him is in single digits, but he has large number of first class matches to his name and he is a regular for the India A tours. And I would like Virat Kohli to bat at number 3, since he is one of those Indian batsmen who are not afraid of green surfaces.

First class players can be very effective on indian pitches but this is overseas series so they need experience as well to get success.Kohli fits well number 3 in any format but Pujara is there he is most effective on one down so I feel Kohli will be playing in Number 4.

[erikalui]

Indian batsmen are always vulnerable on green surfaces. And Virat Kohli was not playing in this match, so there was additional pressure on the batsmen to perform. As I can see from the scorecard, only two of the batsmen scored above 20 (Pujara and Hanuma Vihari). And Scott Kuggeleijn must be feeling ecstatic right now, after nabbing three of the Indian batsmen. I don't think that the selectors can ignore him now, especially in the absence of some of their strike bowlers.

Virat wanted to see how the new boys play and he must have been disappointed watching them get out for 0 and 1. NZ are weak when it comes to test matches so am expecting India to be definitely better than them and 263 doesn't sound good. This warm up match should be a wake up call for the team.

NZ on the other hand have great bowlers like Sodhi and Kuggeleijn. Taylor is missing the test match but don't know if it's good or bad as they need good bowlers more than batsmen. Hope Ishant, Yadav and Jadeja give their best this time.

[ene1980]

Virat wanted to see how the new boys play and he must have been disappointed watching them get out for 0 and 1. NZ are weak when it comes to test matches so am expecting India to be definitely better than them and 263 doesn't sound good. This warm up match should be a wake up call for the team.

NZ on the other hand have great bowlers like Sodhi and Kuggeleijn. Taylor is missing the test match but don't know if it's good or bad as they need good bowlers more than batsmen. Hope Ishant, Yadav and Jadeja give their best this time.

These are the tangibles in the upcoming match between New Zealand and India as the players are coming into this match after a break and the warm up was a disaster for the Indian openers and they are leading the Test Championship table and this series is important to retain the position and hence i am confused on whom to bet on this match, the first innings will determine how the match will go and i might wait for live betting rather than going with the match before the start time.

[mersal]

NZ on the other hand have great bowlers like Sodhi and Kuggeleijn. Taylor is missing the test match but don't know if it's good or bad as they need good bowlers more than batsmen. Hope Ishant, Yadav and Jadeja give their best this time.

I'm sure Ishant and Yadav will be missing the first test match because shami,umrah and Saini all therse pacers are in really good form in this new zealand series so there is no room for other pacer. unless they want four full time pacers.Jadeja is in good form but in test matches he is normally ineffective so is there any chance for Ravi Ashwin to get a spot? He is one of the top ranked test all rounder but didn't get much opportunities in the recent days.

[JSRAW]

Indian squad for upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

- Rohit out due to injury, he was out from ODI series too, Kuldeep Out as well.
- Prithvi Shaw back in test squad after his ban.
- Bumrah entry in the test squad after very long time.
- No update on Ishant's injury but his name is in squad.
- Shubhman Gill and Navdeep Saini are new name in the squad. Recently Gill made many runs against NZ A in New Zealand so now he's reaping the reward.

[Indymoney]

Indian squad for upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

- Rohit out due to injury, he was out from ODI series too, Kuldeep Out as well.
- Prithvi Shaw back in test squad after his ban.
- Bumrah entry in the test squad after very long time.
- No update on Ishant's injury but his name is in squad.
- Shubhman Gill and Navdeep Saini are new name in the squad. Recently Gill made many runs against NZ A in New Zealand so now he's reaping the reward.

For me its very balanced side as they have good batsmen in middle order and with Bumrah now pace attack is also looking very balanced even Ishant Sharma is out so this could be very good series for these two teams with India is favourite but still any body game as New Zealand is capable of doing surprises.

[ene1980]

Indian squad for upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
- Rohit out due to injury, he was out from ODI series too, Kuldeep Out as well.

So Rohit Sharma is not playing the Test series it is an advantage for New Zealand as he is in good form and could change the match if he is able to stay in the crease for a long time.

- Prithvi Shaw back in test squad after his ban.
- Bumrah entry in the test squad after very long time.

It looks like Prithvi Shaw will be in the team opening the innings if Rohit sharma is not playing and i am expecting KL Rahul to open the innings.

- No update on Ishant's injury but his name is in squad.
- Shubhman Gill and Navdeep Saini are new name in the squad. Recently Gill made many runs against NZ A in New Zealand so now he's reaping the reward.

Ishant Sharma is still injured as per reports and he might not be touring New Zealand and Shubhnam Gill might be in the team.

[vella85]

I'm hoping that the test series between New Zealand and India is a lot closer then the T20 and ODI series as it was one sided in both series with each team winning the series easily. New Zealand now have the winning momentum and now they need to carry this on into the test series where they need to improve from the test series against Australia. Playing at home will help New Zealand but I think India will be too strong for them and will most likely win.

[onrise]

I'm hoping that the test series between New Zealand and India is a lot closer then the T20 and ODI series as it was one sided in both series with each team winning the series easily. New Zealand now have the winning momentum and now they need to carry this on into the test series where they need to improve from the test series against Australia. Playing at home will help New Zealand but I think India will be too strong for them and will most likely win.

I would consider it was quote close contest in both T20 & ODI , as last 3 T20 match was easy win for NZ, but India came back strongly and NZ gave up the match and lost it. But yes they made a comeback in ODI series so we can expect that Test match would be very interesting and would last till last day to get the result. Hope to see some lethal bowling from both the teams.

[Vishnu.Reang]

I'm hoping that the test series between New Zealand and India is a lot closer then the T20 and ODI series as it was one sided in both series with each team winning the series easily. New Zealand now have the winning momentum and now they need to carry this on into the test series where they need to improve from the test series against Australia. Playing at home will help New Zealand but I think India will be too strong for them and will most likely win.

On paper at least, India holds a major advantage over New Zealand. India is currently the no.1 ranked test side (as per the latest ICC rankings) and they are far ahead of the no.2 side (Australia). They are ranked #2 in ODI format and #4 in the T20 format. So if we go by this, India should be more comfortable playing test matches against New Zealand, rather than playing ODI or T20.

[Juggy777]

I'm hoping that the test series between New Zealand and India is a lot closer then the T20 and ODI series as it was one sided in both series with each team winning the series easily. New Zealand now have the winning momentum and now they need to carry this on into the test series where they need to improve from the test series against Australia. Playing at home will help New Zealand but I think India will be too strong for them and will most likely win.

On paper at least, India holds a major advantage over New Zealand. India is currently the no.1 ranked test side (as per the latest ICC rankings) and they are far ahead of the no.2 side (Australia). They are ranked #2 in ODI format and #4 in the T20 format. So if we go by this, India should be more comfortable playing test matches against New Zealand, rather than playing ODI or T20.

While you have correctly stated India’s current rankings you have forgotten an important part, that most of their victories came while playing at home, and playing in New Zealand will be a completely different scenario for them hence I feel that this test series will be very difficult for team India. @vella85 I wouldn’t be surprised if New Zealand managed to cause an upset and beat India, because they know the ground conditions better than India and also like you said they have the winning momentum and confidence with them so this series definitely won’t be a one sided contest.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/series_results.html?class=1;id=6;type=team

[erikalui]

Finally something positive to see today with all the bowlers picking wickets and even though Jadeja didn't manage one wicket, his run rate was below 3. The opening partnership is working now with a lead of 87 runs. But still NZ squad may be different for the real test.

Sharma may be out for the first test it seems but Bumrah, Yadav all are doing a good job, especially when Bumrah did not get one wicket in the 3 ODIs.

[mersal]

- Prithvi Shaw back in test squad after his ban.
- Bumrah entry in the test squad after very long time.

It looks like Prithvi Shaw will be in the team opening the innings if Rohit sharma is not playing and i am expecting KL Rahul to open the innings.

FYI,there is no KL Rahul for test squad,they have saha and Pant so Rahane will be opening the innings with shaw or Manyak Agarwal.All bowlers really played well and its surprising that Jaddu didn't get a wicket so he might be the one in bench for the Test match?

[JSRAW]

Indian squad for upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
- Rohit out due to injury, he was out from ODI series too, Kuldeep Out as well.

So Rohit Sharma is not playing the Test series it is an advantage for New Zealand as he is in good form and could change the match if he is able to stay in the crease for a long time.

Unpopular opinion but here you go..

Rohit has big problem staying at crease when ball moves. In limited over (ODI andT-20) cricket batsmen can overcome this technical glitch due to nature of modern cricket, Rohit already done that beautifully. On the another hand Test Cricket is another ball game,you can't cheat in 5 days cricket. Its true that Rohit made shitload amount of run in recent home season ( Test) and he looked very promising as opener but we can't deny the fact that Indian pitches and pitches in SENA countries are very different and he is yet to prove himself in SENA countries as opener, which he didn't.

So not sure if its good for kiwis but its surely bad for Rohit because he really wants to establish himself as Test Batsman, guess he missed the opportunity in this tour.

FYI,there is no KL Rahul for test squad,they have saha and Pant so Rahane will be opening the innings with shaw or Manyak Agarwal.

Rahane is Middle-order batsman so only 0.0001% chance of him opening the inning or lets say not in our lifetime. Indian team has 2 regular opener Shaw-Mayank and if situation demands then Vihari can be a part-opener similar to last year when Indian team toured the Australia.

[onrise]

Finally something positive to see today with all the bowlers picking wickets and even though Jadeja didn't manage one wicket, his run rate was below 3. The opening partnership is working now with a lead of 87 runs. But still NZ squad may be different for the real test.

Sharma may be out for the first test it seems but Bumrah, Yadav all are doing a good job, especially when Bumrah did not get one wicket in the 3 ODIs.

India batting was a problem as if you leave Pujara and Vihari their was no batsman who showed any resistance to stay on the pitch. Though is would not be the exact playing team but still out of this 50% of players or more would be in playing team and I hope batting improves and they can stay on the pitch for longer duration. Considering the bowling happy to see all bowlers picking wicket other than Jadeja and getting them all out and taking 28 runs lead. India second innings have started and and are 59/0.

[pakhitheboss]

Finally something positive to see today with all the bowlers picking wickets and even though Jadeja didn't manage one wicket, his run rate was below 3. The opening partnership is working now with a lead of 87 runs. But still NZ squad may be different for the real test.

Sharma may be out for the first test it seems but Bumrah, Yadav all are doing a good job, especially when Bumrah did not get one wicket in the 3 ODIs.

India batting was a problem as if you leave Pujara and Vihari their was no batsman who showed any resistance to stay on the pitch. Though is would not be the exact playing team but still out of this 50% of players or more would be in playing team and I hope batting improves and they can stay on the pitch for longer duration. Considering the bowling happy to see all bowlers picking wicket other than Jadeja and getting them all out and taking 28 runs lead. India second innings have started and and are 59/0.

India's batting was never an issue, it is sometimes inconsistent. The main issue is balling. With Ishant Sharma ruled out there are very less experienced bowler in the squad. Jadeja is a good bowler but his magic only works sometimes.

[FIFA worldcup]

Finally something positive to see today with all the bowlers picking wickets and even though Jadeja didn't manage one wicket, his run rate was below 3. The opening partnership is working now with a lead of 87 runs. But still NZ squad may be different for the real test.

Sharma may be out for the first test it seems but Bumrah, Yadav all are doing a good job, especially when Bumrah did not get one wicket in the 3 ODIs.

India batting was a problem as if you leave Pujara and Vihari their was no batsman who showed any resistance to stay on the pitch. Though is would not be the exact playing team but still out of this 50% of players or more would be in playing team and I hope batting improves and they can stay on the pitch for longer duration. Considering the bowling happy to see all bowlers picking wicket other than Jadeja and getting them all out and taking 28 runs lead. India second innings have started and and are 59/0.

India's batting was never an issue, it is sometimes inconsistent. The main issue is balling. With Ishant Sharma ruled out there are very less experienced bowler in the squad. Jadeja is a good bowler but his magic only works sometimes.

Is this a 3 days test match as i see  this on cricinfo ? 

Tour Match, India tour of New Zealand at Hamilton, Feb 14-16 2020

If so, this match will be a draw because only one day is left and we have still both the teams to bat.