Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[vella85]

We are just under 2 hours from the first day of the Boxing day test match. I'm interested to see if India can bounce back after scoring their lowest test score ever, I think they will as when new players come into the team it can freshen up the team and add something different. I'm also hoping that the weather holds up as today is perfect but the rest of the days there is rain forecast. Looks like the pitch has a tinge of green which should suit the pace attacks from both teams so it will be interesting to see what the captain who wins the toss decides to do, bat or bowl first.

[7788bitcoin]

Australia won the toss and elected to bat and it is going to be interesting to see how the young India team will cope up with the pressure and including two spinners is surprising and Ravindra Jadeja returns to the squad. Who will be opening for India along with Mayank Agarwal.

Another series is going on and Pakistan won the toss and choose to field and they had a good start by picking up two wickets. If the Pakistan batsman can perform then it will be interesting if not another one sided encounter like the above series .

[eaLiTy]

4 changes in the Indian squad, Australia going unchanged. From here Indian team performance can only go up as they just need to score 37 runs. 

The team has changed completely with four changes and this time India will cross the target  . Ravindra Jadeja is included in the team and i am expecting him to bat longer and expecting Rishabh Pant to hold on to the catches behind the stumps  .

Bumrah and Umesh Yadav share the new ball and lets see how long this match goes. I hope to see a good match and Shubman Gill making a debut century as well.

[Sithara007]

It looks like India is off to a good start. At one point, Australia was struggling at 38/3, with Steve Smith out for a duck. Now Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head are slowly rebuilding the innings, but the fall of one more wicket will put them in a lot of pressure. India should aim to get Australia restricted below 250. First innings lead is going to be very important in this match.

[pakhitheboss]

135/5 it seems Australian players are struggling. Indian bowlers have taken quick 5 wickets and if they can take a couple of more then they can restrict Australia within 200.

The problem area is India's batting if they perform like last match then then a total of 200 will be big for them.

[onecall123]

135/5 it seems Australian players are struggling. Indian bowlers have taken quick 5 wickets and if they can take a couple of more then they can restrict Australia within 200.

The problem area is India's batting if they perform like last match then then a total of 200 will be big for them.

Exactly, It's very early to say what's going to happen. For me, I have to watch Indian innings but full control by Indian bowlers up until this point. If the problem continues on Indian batting side then it appropriate to say that Aussies have already scored quite good runs on the scoreboard.

[bryant.coleman]

135/5 it seems Australian players are struggling. Indian bowlers have taken quick 5 wickets and if they can take a couple of more then they can restrict Australia within 200. The problem area is India's batting if they perform like last match then then a total of 200 will be big for them.

Surprisingly, Ashwin has taken two out of the five wickets. It is possible that India could restrict Australia to a sub-200 score. If that happens, then they will be probably able to get a first innings lead. Ajinkya Rahane is having a very good start to his captaincy in this series. But during the first test also, India lost the match despite taking the first innings lead. They should avoid making the same mistake.

[JSRAW]

135/5 it seems Australian players are struggling. Indian bowlers have taken quick 5 wickets and if they can take a couple of more then they can restrict Australia within 200. The problem area is India's batting if they perform like last match then then a total of 200 will be big for them.

Surprisingly, Ashwin has taken two out of the five wickets. It is possible that India could restrict Australia to a sub-200 score. If that happens, then they will be probably able to get a first innings lead. Ajinkya Rahane is having a very good start to his captaincy in this series. But during the first test also, India lost the match despite taking the first innings lead. They should avoid making the same mistake.

Ashwin turning out to be main bowler here. He took the lead in the first game and repeating same here as well, his today's figures are excellent. About captaincy so far everything going good but inning is not finished yet. Again wrap the tail cheaply and don't give them a inch.

[mersal]

135/5 it seems Australian players are struggling. Indian bowlers have taken quick 5 wickets and if they can take a couple of more then they can restrict Australia within 200. The problem area is India's batting if they perform like last match then then a total of 200 will be big for them.

Surprisingly, Ashwin has taken two out of the five wickets. It is possible that India could restrict Australia to a sub-200 score. If that happens, then they will be probably able to get a first innings lead. Ajinkya Rahane is having a very good start to his captaincy in this series. But during the first test also, India lost the match despite taking the first innings lead. They should avoid making the same mistake.

Ashwin turning out to be main bowler here. He took the lead in the first game and repeating same here as well, his today's figures are excellent. About captaincy so far everything going good but inning is not finished yet. Again wrap the tail cheaply and don't give them a inch.

India bowled out OZ just for 195, amazing performance again by Indian bowlers so now its time for the OZ pacers to do the same since they got their first wicket just for none but after that Gill is holding on the crease and also looking in good touch.Hope India won't do the same mistakes what OZ did earlier this day.

Currently India is at 28/1 and still 6.3 overs remaining for the day, hope they won't lose any more wickets.

[7788bitcoin]

Ashwin turning out to be main bowler here. He took the lead in the first game and repeating same here as well, his today's figures are excellent. About captaincy so far everything going good but inning is not finished yet. Again wrap the tail cheaply and don't give them a inch.

I am amazed at the way Ashwin was able to extract dip and turn in the first day which is usually not the case and the terrible battle between Ashwin and Steve Smith where he is a bunny to Ashwin in multiple innings. Disappointing day for Australia and i expected them to score a good total  but India bowled really well and the match depends on their batsman and if they can play a good innings then we can see the match extended till the final day.

[JSRAW]

Ashwin turning out to be main bowler here. He took the lead in the first game and repeating same here as well, his today's figures are excellent. About captaincy so far everything going good but inning is not finished yet. Again wrap the tail cheaply and don't give them a inch.

I am amazed at the way Ashwin was able to extract dip and turn in the first day which is usually not the case and the terrible battle between Ashwin and Steve Smith where he is a bunny to Ashwin in multiple innings. Disappointing day for Australia and i expected them to score a good total  but India bowled really well and the match depends on their batsman and if they can play a good innings then we can see the match extended till the final day.

Very happy with the bowling department especially Ashwin-Siraj. Gill is also looking good but they still need to be very careful against the Aussie attack, they are not dummy and will fight back for sure. Indian team shouldn't forget that, at series opener they were ahead of opposition but batting let them down. They can't afford to repeat same mistake.

[mersal]

Ashwin turning out to be main bowler here. He took the lead in the first game and repeating same here as well, his today's figures are excellent. About captaincy so far everything going good but inning is not finished yet. Again wrap the tail cheaply and don't give them a inch.

I am amazed at the way Ashwin was able to extract dip and turn in the first day which is usually not the case and the terrible battle between Ashwin and Steve Smith where he is a bunny to Ashwin in multiple innings. Disappointing day for Australia and i expected them to score a good total  but India bowled really well and the match depends on their batsman and if they can play a good innings then we can see the match extended till the final day.

Very happy with the bowling department especially Ashwin-Siraj. Gill is also looking good but they still need to be very careful against the Aussie attack, they are not dummy and will fight back for sure. Indian team shouldn't forget that, at series opener they were ahead of opposition but batting let them down. They can't afford to repeat same mistake.

Hope India won't repeat the same mistake like what happened in the 3rd day of first match. Opening pair is looking a big issue for Inida in the test matches, so they need to find someone who can carry the innings no matter who is the opponent, will it be Rohit Sharma in the future test matches?

[eaLiTy]

Very happy with the bowling department especially Ashwin-Siraj. Gill is also looking good but they still need to be very careful against the Aussie attack, they are not dummy and will fight back for sure.

Ajinkya Rahane was impressive as a captain and he made the right bowling changes and giving the ball to Ashwin early and he repaid the confidence bestowed upon him by picking the wickets of Matthew Wade and Steven Smith and then bringing in Mohammed Siraj who bowled exceptionally well by moving the ball in both directions.
On looking at the scoreboard of 195 runs for Australia as a team, it reminded me of Virender Sehwag who scored 195 runs in the boxing day match in 2003 . A coincidental tribute to one of the greatest Test opening batsman in world cricket.

[onrise]

As expected, if OZ win toss, will bat first. Bumrah and Ashwin changed the course of game towards their direction and picked up important wickets very early in the innings which dint allowed them to build partnership. From India side, Pujara wicket tomorrow is crucial as he can hold on one end for entire day and if he can get good partner from other end then India might be able to take some lead in first innings else may get wrapped up early.

[JSRAW]

~edited out~
will it be Rohit Sharma in the future test matches?

He should be available for selection from 3rd test but his selection depends on the current openers form also.

Very happy with the bowling department especially Ashwin-Siraj. Gill is also looking good but they still need to be very careful against the Aussie attack, they are not dummy and will fight back for sure.

Ajinkya Rahane was impressive as a captain and he made the right bowling changes and giving the ball to Ashwin early and he repaid the confident bestowed upon him by picking the wickets of Matthew Wade and Steven Smith and then bringing in Mohammed Siraj who bowled exceptionally well by moving the ball in both directions.

True! I am wondering what would happen with Virat's leadership if India manage to win the series under Ajinkya. Virat already facing bit of backlash in the limited overs.

[onrise]

Between Pakistan and NZ, at EOD NZ are 222/3 and Williamson is batting on 94. Taylor was fantastic but could not convert into century and was out at 70. AT one point they were 13/2 but then Taylor and Williamson partnership helped them to come out of that trouble.

In another test match between SL VS SA, SL batting first are going strong with 340/6. Chandimal was out at 85, De Silva is retired hurt on 79.

3 test matches starting on same day. Will be an exciting cricketing time ahead.

[mersal]

~edited out~
will it be Rohit Sharma in the future test matches?

He should be available for selection from 3rd test but his selection depends on the current openers form also.

Mayank Agarwal and Shaw are young talented batsmen with no doubts but when the team is struggling and also they recorded one of the worst ever test records for team India then it is better to go with one of the best ODI opening batsmen for a very long time. Kohli also missing out on the match I hope Sharma will take a spot which will surely give a boost for the team India in the batting as well.

[Iranus]

~edited out~
will it be Rohit Sharma in the future test matches?

He should be available for selection from 3rd test but his selection depends on the current openers form also.

Mayank Agarwal and Shaw are young talented batsmen with no doubts but when the team is struggling and also they recorded one of the worst ever test records for team India then it is better to go with one of the best ODI opening batsmen for a very long time. Kohli also missing out on the match I hope Sharma will take a spot which will surely give a boost for the team India in the batting as well.

Mayank Agarwal is a very talented player. But he is yet to play well on the Australian pitch. I don’t think he’s experienced enough yet to play on this kind of pitch. Rohit Sharma is much better as his replacement. Rohit Sharma is an experienced player and capable of playing good innings on any type of pitch.

[UmerIdrees]

Between Pakistan and NZ, at EOD NZ are 222/3 and Williamson is batting on 94. Taylor was fantastic but could not convert into century and was out at 70. AT one point they were 13/2 but then Taylor and Williamson partnership helped them to come out of that trouble.

Pakistan started well but they drop a lot of catches. Williamson is playing and not out at  94 courtesy of the our fielders who dropped his two catches.
I would say that the pakistani fielders let them down. When you drop catches, the moral of the team drops and the match tilt in the favor of other team.

[ene1980]

Between Pakistan and NZ, at EOD NZ are 222/3 and Williamson is batting on 94. Taylor was fantastic but could not convert into century and was out at 70. AT one point they were 13/2 but then Taylor and Williamson partnership helped them to come out of that trouble.

This match is going well as expected even though they lost couple of early wickets, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor put on a 120 runs partnership and now Henry Nicholls is giving a good partnership and it will be a big challenge for Pakistan and i am expecting the match to be over within the final day.

In another test match between SL VS SA, SL batting first are going strong with 340/6. Chandimal was out at 85, De Silva is retired hurt on 79.

I was expecting South Africa to dominate the match and they even picked up early wickets but then they started to build partnership and they are now on a comfortable position

3 test matches starting on same day. Will be an exciting cricketing time ahead.

I made a parlay of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa winning the matches but only New Zealand is performing according to my expectation  .