Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[KennyR]

What a coincidence, today it was the birthday of Rahul Dravid who is named wall of India for his strong play against any bowlers at test matches. On his birthday one more player showing his ability that equals his performance is really a big surprise gift for him. This is the first match after 1980 in which Indian team have faced 131 overs in the second innings of the game.

[1714731871]

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[1714731871]

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[teosanru]

^^ @Royse777 I told you so... Although it was bumpy ride and both teams gave it all. On 4th day I thought I was going to lose but damn Indian team pulled it off.

The experts here - what do you think of me and my relationship in India tour of Australia LOL

Not an expert 

Sydney is batting track so I am expecting draw there and the last game at Gabba should go in favor of Australia as this is their stronghold.

Why does Australia continue to pin it's hopes on players like David Warner, out for a duck (or close to it) then he's hurt his arm/shoulder fielding a mediocre slow ball.

I picked up odds of ~3.4:1 for the third test ending in a draw.

Because their openers were struggling and they had to drop Burns from the team, Wade did okay as opener but he's also left arm batsman similar to David Warner so they moved him to down the order as Warner can't bat at middle order. Warner was their best option and solid opener when playing in Australia, that's why he was preferred although he was not 100% for the game, he was slow on the field too due to injury.

--snip--

They must be beating the shit out of Paine in the dressing room and rightly so..

Well a great performance by India today but I am sad about Jadeja. If Jadeja would have been fit India definitely would have looked for a win today. It was the fear of exposing the tail that stopped them to a draw because I think the number of runs Vihari and Ashwin did not run was enough to narrow down the gap to 40-50 runs. But Pant has muted his critics for quite some time and he definitely will be very much in the playing XI unless he isn't fit. But fitness is becoming a pretty big issue now. Jadeja is a pretty important trump card for India, especially with his bat. If India could still win the next match with more than half a dozen major players injured this series would be the ever best performance by India in Australia. Moreover, that tag of over-dependence on Kohli is also something India would get rid off.

[pakhitheboss]

^^ @Royse777 I told you so... Although it was bumpy ride and both teams gave it all. On 4th day I thought I was going to lose but damn Indian team pulled it off.

The experts here - what do you think of me and my relationship in India tour of Australia LOL

Not an expert 

Sydney is batting track so I am expecting draw there and the last game at Gabba should go in favor of Australia as this is their stronghold.

Why does Australia continue to pin it's hopes on players like David Warner, out for a duck (or close to it) then he's hurt his arm/shoulder fielding a mediocre slow ball.

I picked up odds of ~3.4:1 for the third test ending in a draw.

Because their openers were struggling and they had to drop Burns from the team, Wade did okay as opener but he's also left arm batsman similar to David Warner so they moved him to down the order as Warner can't bat at middle order. Warner was their best option and solid opener when playing in Australia, that's why he was preferred although he was not 100% for the game, he was slow on the field too due to injury.

--snip--

They must be beating the shit out of Paine in the dressing room and rightly so..

Well a great performance by India today but I am sad about Jadeja. If Jadeja would have been fit India definitely would have looked for a win today. It was the fear of exposing the tail that stopped them to a draw because I think the number of runs Vihari and Ashwin did not run was enough to narrow down the gap to 40-50 runs. But Pant has muted his critics for quite some time and he definitely will be very much in the playing XI unless he isn't fit. But fitness is becoming a pretty big issue now. Jadeja is a pretty important trump card for India, especially with his bat. If India could still win the next match with more than half a dozen major players injured this series would be the ever best performance by India in Australia. Moreover, that tag of over-dependence on Kohli is also something India would get rid off.

I still do not know what went wrong in the last test but I was expecting a win when Panth was on the field. I thought that if he could have stayed a little longer, India could have win the match. I also did not expect a lot from the tail enders as Jadeja was not playing. Anyways next match is crucial now for both the teams.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

Speaking of fitness, Bumrah might miss the Brisbane test due to abdominal strain. Team management don't want to risk him as England tour is coming up. Jadeja already ruled out of Brisbane test, including first 2 test against England.

Next team selection is going to be very easy.. Ravi Shastri and Rahane might tell " You all are playing" that's it.  

That's my team for last game.

Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Rahane
Mayank (He should bat at number 5 as he's not in good touch)
Pant (He should do the WK because of team balance)
Ashwin
Shardul Thakur ( Ashwin and Shardul can make up for another batsmen as both know thing or two about batting)
Saini
Siraj
Natarajan (Debut)

Going with 5 bowler combination because Ashwin need some rest as well for England's series. Jadeja is already out so you don't want to exhaust another key bowler.

** In case Pant is not fit to keep then Saha should get in the team as WK, Pant would play as specialist batsman and no debut for Natarajan.


If by any chance India facing more injuries then they should borrow Marnus and Strac from the Aussie.

[Sithara007]

^^^ I would really love to see Natarajan make his debut, but then it depends on Damaadji. If he prefers Kuldeep Yadav for the final test, then Natarajan may need to wait some more time for his test debut. All that said, I have a feeling that India needs a left-arm pacer right now. It will add more variety to their pace attack, which is looking quite homogenous nowadays.

[coin_1122]

^^^ I would really love to see Natarajan make his debut, but then it depends on Damaadji. If he prefers Kuldeep Yadav for the final test, then Natarajan may need to wait some more time for his test debut. All that said, I have a feeling that India needs a left-arm pacer right now. It will add more variety to their pace attack, which is looking quite homogenous nowadays.

Now everything is in confusion which most of the efficient team members are facing problems with injuries, this will strongly affect the Indians. For the final Test, they need to choose the Indian team wisely with a strong lineup. Otherwise, the Aussies might trounce the Indians.

[bryant.coleman]

Now everything is in confusion which most of the efficient team members are facing problems with injuries, this will strongly affect the Indians. For the final Test, they need to choose the Indian team wisely with a strong lineup. Otherwise, the Aussies might trounce the Indians.

LOL.. do you still believe that the Aussies will be able to "trounce" the Indians? It was the other way around in the second and third tests. Despite the injury woes, Indians managed to hold Australians to a draw in the third test. They were missing their top players such as Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami. On top of that, Jadeja and Pant had serious injuries while many of the other members in the paying XI had to deal with minor injuries.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

Heat of the moment? Bullshit. He knew damn well what he was doing and he probably forgot about the bail camera and thought that he could get away with it since his face is hidden. Pathetic stuff which I didn't expect from Smith.

You cannot put too much pressure on Smith, many experts said the same that they never expected this from Smith when the ball tampering issue popped up and now he was trying to remove the guard taken by a batsman and still people did not expect this from Smith  .

Another setback for India, Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the next Test and the long list of injuries continue to hurt India.

[Haunebu]

You cannot put too much pressure on Smith, many experts said the same that they never expected this from Smith when the ball tampering issue popped up and now he was trying to remove the guard taken by a batsman and still people did not expect this from Smith  .

Why shouldn't I? He embarrassed himself once again through his unethical crap and his own people are pissed with him currently.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wionews.com/sports/disgrace-fans-slam-steve-smith-tim-paine-matthew-wade-for-wayward-antics-in-sydney-test-355990/amp

Paine mentioned that it is his habit or something, but that doesn't mean it's alright since it's annoying for the batsmen. If it's just a habit, he needs to get rid of it asap in my opinion.

[mersal]

~snip~

Speaking of fitness, Bumrah might miss the Brisbane test due to abdominal strain. Team management don't want to risk him as England tour is coming up. Jadeja already ruled out of Brisbane test, including first 2 test against England.

Next team selection is going to be very easy.. Ravi Shastri and Rahane might tell " You all are playing" that's it.  

That's my team for last game.

Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Rahane
Mayank (He should bat at number 5 as he's not in good touch)
Pant (He should do the WK because of team balance)
Ashwin
Shardul Thakur ( Ashwin and Shardul can make up for another batsmen as both know thing or two about batting)
Saini
Siraj
Natarajan (Debut)

Going with 5 bowler combination because Ashwin need some rest as well for England's series. Jadeja is already out so you don't want to exhaust another key bowler.

** In case Pant is not fit to keep then Saha should get in the team as WK, Pant would play as specialist batsman and no debut for Natarajan.


If by any chance India facing more injuries then they should borrow Marnus and Strac from the Aussie.

Too much of injuries in very short time period, don't know how many of them will return to their dressing room again because we had seen lots of stories in cricket history that once injured then they never got room in the playing XI.  Bowling is the key of winning a test match so they can't afford to lose any more bowlers and it should be another lucky opportunity for Natrajan.

[ene1980]

Another setback for India, Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the next Test and the long list of injuries continue to hurt India.

With a long list of injuries India will not get into much trouble by the authorities even if they loose the next match. India really impressed everyone with their performance in the last two matches after a one sided blow in the first match and now with more than half their side injured there is nothing much to prove and even if they loose it was a good series.
I will be surprised if India is able to pull a draw in the next match and if India wins or draws the match then Ajinkya Rahane should be the full time captain in Test matches.

[bryant.coleman]

I will be surprised if India is able to pull a draw in the next match and if India wins or draws the match then Ajinkya Rahane should be the full time captain in Test matches.

There won't be much surprise if they manage to do that. Apart from the first test, the Indian team has performed exceptionally well in this series. A win in the last match would be the perfect ending to this tour. And Ajinkya Rahane should get full marks for his captaincy. He played a large part in winning the second test as well as in drawing the third. Kohli's position is under real threat.

[JohnBitCo]

^^ @Royse777 I told you so... Although it was bumpy ride and both teams gave it all. On 4th day I thought I was going to lose but damn Indian team pulled it off.

The experts here - what do you think of me and my relationship in India tour of Australia LOL

Not an expert 

Sydney is batting track so I am expecting draw there and the last game at Gabba should go in favor of Australia as this is their stronghold.

Why does Australia continue to pin it's hopes on players like David Warner, out for a duck (or close to it) then he's hurt his arm/shoulder fielding a mediocre slow ball.

I picked up odds of ~3.4:1 for the third test ending in a draw.

Because their openers were struggling and they had to drop Burns from the team, Wade did okay as opener but he's also left arm batsman similar to David Warner so they moved him to down the order as Warner can't bat at middle order. Warner was their best option and solid opener when playing in Australia, that's why he was preferred although he was not 100% for the game, he was slow on the field too due to injury.

--snip--

They must be beating the shit out of Paine in the dressing room and rightly so..

Well a great performance by India today but I am sad about Jadeja. If Jadeja would have been fit India definitely would have looked for a win today. It was the fear of exposing the tail that stopped them to a draw because I think the number of runs Vihari and Ashwin did not run was enough to narrow down the gap to 40-50 runs. But Pant has muted his critics for quite some time and he definitely will be very much in the playing XI unless he isn't fit. But fitness is becoming a pretty big issue now. Jadeja is a pretty important trump card for India, especially with his bat. If India could still win the next match with more than half a dozen major players injured this series would be the ever best performance by India in Australia. Moreover, that tag of over-dependence on Kohli is also something India would get rid off.

I still do not know what went wrong in the last test but I was expecting a win when Panth was on the field. I thought that if he could have stayed a little longer, India could have win the match. I also did not expect a lot from the tail enders as Jadeja was not playing. Anyways next match is crucial now for both the teams.

Many people were predicting a loss for the Indians but i always thought that Indians could bat well in the last innings and they did it so. Rishabh Pant 97 runs (he missed his century) and Cheteshwar Pujara 77 runs saved the game for indians and they managed a draw in the end.

[onrise]

I will be surprised if India is able to pull a draw in the next match and if India wins or draws the match then Ajinkya Rahane should be the full time captain in Test matches.

There won't be much surprise if they manage to do that. Apart from the first test, the Indian team has performed exceptionally well in this series. A win in the last match would be the perfect ending to this tour. And Ajinkya Rahane should get full marks for his captaincy. He played a large part in winning the second test as well as in drawing the third. Kohli's position is under real threat.

My only concern is that from 3rd test we will miss 3 players which are Bumrah, Jadeja and Vihari. So now replacing them itself will not be easy because there are other players who are injured and already out. So, it will be new bunch of players making their way and playing in OZ under pressure will not be easy. So, OZ might just have an upper hand because of injured Indian players.

[teosanru]

~snip~

Speaking of fitness, Bumrah might miss the Brisbane test due to abdominal strain. Team management don't want to risk him as England tour is coming up. Jadeja already ruled out of Brisbane test, including first 2 test against England.

Next team selection is going to be very easy.. Ravi Shastri and Rahane might tell " You all are playing" that's it.  

That's my team for last game.

Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Rahane
Mayank (He should bat at number 5 as he's not in good touch)
Pant (He should do the WK because of team balance)
Ashwin
Shardul Thakur ( Ashwin and Shardul can make up for another batsmen as both know thing or two about batting)
Saini
Siraj
Natarajan (Debut)

Going with 5 bowler combination because Ashwin need some rest as well for England's series. Jadeja is already out so you don't want to exhaust another key bowler.

** In case Pant is not fit to keep then Saha should get in the team as WK, Pant would play as specialist batsman and no debut for Natarajan.


If by any chance India facing more injuries then they should borrow Marnus and Strac from the Aussie.

Hahah that's true I think it would be a difficult task for India to win the last match considering that there aren't very big names in the squad. Especially Bumrah is a big anchor in the bowling lineup he can take quick wickets for you whenever you need. There is a huge lot of fans who want to see Natrajan personally i am not a big fan of him in test format. I think he is more of a short format bowler because his quality is variation. Test cricket is better for bowlers having consistency in their bowling. But let's see if he can perform. With Sharadul and Ashwin team looks pretty good. But I am surely missing the A-team players: no Virat, no Bumrah, no Jadeja, No Vihari, No Umesh, No Shami.

[Indymoney]

~snip~

Speaking of fitness, Bumrah might miss the Brisbane test due to abdominal strain. Team management don't want to risk him as England tour is coming up. Jadeja already ruled out of Brisbane test, including first 2 test against England.

Next team selection is going to be very easy.. Ravi Shastri and Rahane might tell " You all are playing" that's it.  

That's my team for last game.

Rohit
Gill
Pujara
Rahane
Mayank (He should bat at number 5 as he's not in good touch)
Pant (He should do the WK because of team balance)
Ashwin
Shardul Thakur ( Ashwin and Shardul can make up for another batsmen as both know thing or two about batting)
Saini
Siraj
Natarajan (Debut)

Going with 5 bowler combination because Ashwin need some rest as well for England's series. Jadeja is already out so you don't want to exhaust another key bowler.

** In case Pant is not fit to keep then Saha should get in the team as WK, Pant would play as specialist batsman and no debut for Natarajan.


If by any chance India facing more injuries then they should borrow Marnus and Strac from the Aussie.

Hahah that's true I think it would be a difficult task for India to win the last match considering that there aren't very big names in the squad. Especially Bumrah is a big anchor in the bowling lineup he can take quick wickets for you whenever you need. There is a huge lot of fans who want to see Natrajan personally i am not a big fan of him in test format. I think he is more of a short format bowler because his quality is variation. Test cricket is better for bowlers having consistency in their bowling. But let's see if he can perform. With Sharadul and Ashwin team looks pretty good. But I am surely missing the A-team players: no Virat, no Bumrah, no Jadeja, No Vihari, No Umesh, No Shami.

For me current Indian team is weatiest because too many injuries hurting them very badly but still they manage to draw a test which is really equal to a win but still its draw now for next match they have some serious troubles but still some good and emerging players hopefully they can bring some good change on these pitches for India which is already good on this despite many predictions about whitewash and badly lost.

[JSRAW]

^^^ I would really love to see Natarajan make his debut, but then it depends on Damaadji. If he prefers Kuldeep Yadav for the final test, then Natarajan may need to wait some more time for his test debut. All that said, I have a feeling that India needs a left-arm pacer right now. It will add more variety to their pace attack, which is looking quite homogenous nowadays.

If Ashwin is fit to play then including Kuldeep doesn't make much sense on fast-bouncy track. Shashtri is nutjob but i guess he understand this clearly. They must be brainstorming on Saha's role though. 

~snip~
Mayank (He should bat at number 5 as he's not in good touch)

Too much of injuries in very short time period, don't know how many of them will return to their dressing room again because we had seen lots of stories in cricket history that once injured then they never got room in the playing XI.  Bowling is the key of winning a test match so they can't afford to lose any more bowlers and it should be another lucky opportunity for Natrajan.

Mayank is also injured during net session.. they are waiting for his scan. Indian squad turning into meme now.

~snip~

Hahah that's true I think it would be a difficult task for India to win the last match considering that there aren't very big names in the squad. Especially Bumrah is a big anchor in the bowling lineup he can take quick wickets for you whenever you need. There is a huge lot of fans who want to see Natrajan personally i am not a big fan of him in test format. I think he is more of a short format bowler because his quality is variation. Test cricket is better for bowlers having consistency in their bowling. But let's see if he can perform. With Sharadul and Ashwin team looks pretty good. But I am surely missing the A-team players: no Virat, no Bumrah, no Jadeja, No Vihari, No Umesh, No Shami.

Unfortunately team running out of reserves. Gill, KL Rahul, Siraj, Saini, Shardul, Natarajan, kuldeep, Tyagi,Saha all were reserved players. 3 of them (Gill,Siraj,Saini) already made their debut in the last 2 games . KL Rahul is already ruled out due to injury so they are left with Shardul, Natarajan, Tyagi (Fast bowlers) Kuldeep (Spinner) and only one batsman Shaw.

[teosanru]

~snip~

Hahah that's true I think it would be a difficult task for India to win the last match considering that there aren't very big names in the squad. Especially Bumrah is a big anchor in the bowling lineup he can take quick wickets for you whenever you need. There is a huge lot of fans who want to see Natrajan personally i am not a big fan of him in test format. I think he is more of a short format bowler because his quality is variation. Test cricket is better for bowlers having consistency in their bowling. But let's see if he can perform. With Sharadul and Ashwin team looks pretty good. But I am surely missing the A-team players: no Virat, no Bumrah, no Jadeja, No Vihari, No Umesh, No Shami.

Unfortunately team running out of reserves. Gill, KL Rahul, Siraj, Saini, Shardul, Natarajan, kuldeep, Tyagi,Saha all were reserved players. 3 of them (Gill,Siraj,Saini) already made their debut in the last 2 games . KL Rahul is already ruled out due to injury so they are left with Shardul, Natarajan, Tyagi (Fast bowlers) Kuldeep (Spinner) and only one batsman Shaw.

Haha After Mayank's Injury there are technically just Pujara, Ashwin and Rahane  left in the team who would have been part of the A team if everyone was fit rest of all of them are reserves and all the time we were cursing how fiercly competitive a place in the team is but now this same thing is helping India as we hav so much of backups. BCCI's decisions of sending more than 30 players on the tour was such an intelligent decision. Otherwise we would have faced the bio-bubble problem with these player. Quite an far sighted decision.

[vella85]

Well I was wrong with saying that there would be a result in the third test match. All credit goes to India for being able to survive 4 sessions against a strong bowling attack and also the fact that the test match was played in Australia just shows how far this Indian team has come. I really think that the test series win in Australia a few years ago has now made them a lot stronger as a team because if this was back before that test series win India would lose the match more times then not so this was great to see from the Indian team. This now sets up for an exciting fourth test however as I have said in previous posts Australia have the best record when playing in Brisbane as they have not lost a test match there in years. THe main thing going for India is that they have all the momentum right now but the injuries are a concern for them.

[eaLiTy]

There is a huge lot of fans who want to see Natrajan personally i am not a big fan of him in test format. I think he is more of a short format bowler because his quality is variation. Test cricket is better for bowlers having consistency in their bowling. But let's see if he can perform. With Sharadul and Ashwin team looks pretty good. But I am surely missing the A-team players: no Virat, no Bumrah, no Jadeja, No Vihari, No Umesh, No Shami.

If you remember Jasprit Bumrah had the same tag, it took a while and some injuries in the squad for him to get a chance in the team and everyone was critical that Jasprit Bumrah would fail in the Test format as he is just a short format bowler and now everyone is praising as he is the best bowler in the world across all formats. What i like about Natarajan is his control over his line and length and that is more than enough to be successful in any format.

Mayank is also injured during net session.. they are waiting for his scan. Indian squad turning into meme now.

Not sure what is going on, Ashwin is injured, literally everyone in the team has some sort of injury .