Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Sithara007]

Now Pakistan is in trouble because they have very few inform batsmen right now as Azhar Ali and Fawad on and Rizwan and Faheem to follow mean now these two need to stay on and give some good response if thee two not able to give any positive partnership then surely they are going to lost this match and chance of winning series at home.

In test cricket, there can't be any team that is more inconsistent than Pakistan. They bowled really well, to restrict South Africa to 220. But all that advantage was lost in a matter of hours, when their top order collapsed. Now all the star batsmen are back in pavilion and they are still trailing by 187 runs. And the worst part is that, this is a home series for them, and were expected to do well.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

I don't think they will go with Saha. There is no place in the squad for Saha now. Pant has proved himself enough in batting and with wicketkeeping he ain't that bad a keeper. So I don't think India would waste one crucial spot merely for an extra wicket keeper when we can get an all rounder in that place.

I believe if pitch is favoring spinner heavily and they are going with Wrist spinner along with 2 finger spinners then Saha will cement his space.

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I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

[Indymoney]

Now Pakistan is in trouble because they have very few inform batsmen right now as Azhar Ali and Fawad on and Rizwan and Faheem to follow mean now these two need to stay on and give some good response if thee two not able to give any positive partnership then surely they are going to lost this match and chance of winning series at home.

In test cricket, there can't be any team that is more inconsistent than Pakistan. They bowled really well, to restrict South Africa to 220. But all that advantage was lost in a matter of hours, when their top order collapsed. Now all the star batsmen are back in pavilion and they are still trailing by 187 runs. And the worst part is that, this is a home series for them, and were expected to do well.

Pakistan's inconsistance is still going on as today they are doing much better then expected currently 135/5 Azhar just out after completing his fifty Fawad is still on 48 and Rizwan is giving him company now its good time for these two to stay on crease and have some decent score on baord because now after this partnership they are back in match some more stay from them can give advantage this could be surely crucial in this match and series for both teams.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

Inside information  , so you have a deal with South Africa for him to score a century as they need to drop the catches  .

Pakistan is trailing by 76 runs and if the first two days was dominated by the spinners how is it possible to bat in the last two days as the pitch will be completely deteriorated and every run is valuable in a pitch like this and if Pakistan looses in their own grounds it will not be good for the entire team.

[JSRAW]

I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

Inside information  , so you have a deal with South Africa for him to score a century as they need to drop the catches  .

Pakistan is trailing by 76 runs and if the first two days was dominated by the spinners how is it possible to bat in the last two days as the pitch will be completely deteriorated and every run is valuable in a pitch like this and if Pakistan looses in their own grounds it will not be good for the entire team.

This bloke averages 200ish at the home ground, although data is not big and he scored his tons against weaker opponents (SL, Ban). Still one can expect fine inning from the Babar so i thought why not haha anyway i already lost a bet lol will try again, hope he score at least 1 ton in this series.

[bryant.coleman]

Fawad Alam may score another test century today, almost one month after doing the same against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. Nice to see at least one player other than Babar Azam scoring the runs. Their bowlers performed well during the first innings. So if they can get the lead to 100-150, then there is a very good chance of Pakistan winning the match. And that will enable Pakistan to promote themselves to the 5th position in the ICC World Test Championship points table.

[JSRAW]

Pakistan did a tremendous job today, they were struggling at 33 for 4 and they pulled up 88 runs lead and still got 2 wickets in the banks. Fawad alam proved once again that why he's class batsman even at home turf, after all he had 10+ years experience behind him.

[teosanru]

~snip~

I don't think they will go with Saha. There is no place in the squad for Saha now. Pant has proved himself enough in batting and with wicketkeeping he ain't that bad a keeper. So I don't think India would waste one crucial spot merely for an extra wicket keeper when we can get an all rounder in that place.

I believe if pitch is favoring spinner heavily and they are going with Wrist spinner along with 2 finger spinners then Saha will cement his space.

---------
I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

How Saha? you have Kohli-Rohit-Pujara-Rahane-Gill-Pant fixed 6 batsmen for the first match I believe, will they add Saha as a 7th batsmen but this way they will have no all-rounder in the squad so technically you need to choose between Pant and Saha and considering the recent performance how can you keep him on the bench? It would be a big morale detractor if he sits on the bench after such a good inning. Apart from him skipping Gill also doesn't make any sense. They are definitely not going to touch the big-4 for sure. or will Rohit sit outside?

[JSRAW]

~snip~

I don't think they will go with Saha. There is no place in the squad for Saha now. Pant has proved himself enough in batting and with wicketkeeping he ain't that bad a keeper. So I don't think India would waste one crucial spot merely for an extra wicket keeper when we can get an all rounder in that place.

I believe if pitch is favoring spinner heavily and they are going with Wrist spinner along with 2 finger spinners then Saha will cement his space.

---------
I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

How Saha? you have Kohli-Rohit-Pujara-Rahane-Gill-Pant fixed 6 batsmen for the first match I believe, will they add Saha as a 7th batsmen but this way they will have no all-rounder in the squad so technically you need to choose between Pant and Saha and considering the recent performance how can you keep him on the bench? It would be a big morale detractor if he sits on the bench after such a good inning. Apart from him skipping Gill also doesn't make any sense. They are definitely not going to touch the big-4 for sure. or will Rohit sit outside?

If moral detractor or something else exits then even Kolhi-Bumrah etc dosen't deserve their place in the squad if we are considering recent win as a parameter but that's not a BCCI concern.

This is my team for 1st match
Rohit
Gill
Kohli
Pujara
Rahane
Pant
Sundar
Ashwin
Kuldeep
Ishant
Bumrah

[teosanru]

~snip~

I don't think they will go with Saha. There is no place in the squad for Saha now. Pant has proved himself enough in batting and with wicketkeeping he ain't that bad a keeper. So I don't think India would waste one crucial spot merely for an extra wicket keeper when we can get an all rounder in that place.

I believe if pitch is favoring spinner heavily and they are going with Wrist spinner along with 2 finger spinners then Saha will cement his space.

---------
I was told that Babar is going to make another double 100? anyway 3 more innings left....

How Saha? you have Kohli-Rohit-Pujara-Rahane-Gill-Pant fixed 6 batsmen for the first match I believe, will they add Saha as a 7th batsmen but this way they will have no all-rounder in the squad so technically you need to choose between Pant and Saha and considering the recent performance how can you keep him on the bench? It would be a big morale detractor if he sits on the bench after such a good inning. Apart from him skipping Gill also doesn't make any sense. They are definitely not going to touch the big-4 for sure. or will Rohit sit outside?

If moral detractor or something else exits then even Kolhi-Bumrah etc dosen't deserve their place in the squad if we are considering recent win as a parameter but that's not a BCCI concern.

This is my team for 1st match
Rohit
Gill
Kohli
Pujara
Rahane
Pant
Sundar
Ashwin
Kuldeep
Ishant
Bumrah

Yes exactly by morale I meant that atleast the people who perform recently should get a seat in the squad obviously you can't keep the big guns out but yes even my side is pretty similar just like you mentioned. But you said na Saha will cement his place that's why I was curious that how would Saha fit in? I just think that you might not see 3 spinners in the very first match. But let's see Subcontinent has always been about spin when it comes to test matches spinners bowl like 30 overs continuosly in a spell.

[JSRAW]

~snip`

Yes exactly by morale I meant that atleast the people who perform recently should get a seat in the squad obviously you can't keep the big guns out but yes even my side is pretty similar just like you mentioned. But you said na Saha will cement his place that's why I was curious that how would Saha fit in? I just think that you might not see 3 spinners in the very first match. But let's see Subcontinent has always been about spin when it comes to test matches spinners bowl like 30 overs continuosly in a spell.

I still think that Saha is strong contender if 3 spinners are playing and might get in the playing XI. We are struggling to figuring out the final XI. Just imagine what selectors are going through. Tbh its freaking nightmare for them after historic win in Australia.

[onrise]

Fawad Alam may score another test century today, almost one month after doing the same against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. Nice to see at least one player other than Babar Azam scoring the runs. Their bowlers performed well during the first innings. So if they can get the lead to 100-150, then there is a very good chance of Pakistan winning the match. And that will enable Pakistan to promote themselves to the 5th position in the ICC World Test Championship points table.

Fawad made it to the century and got out at 109. Faheem was also impressive and was striking it nicely. Good to see a tailender batting well and his 64 runs helped Pakistan to take till now 88 runs lead and 2 wickets left. So maybe around 100+ runs Pakistan would have lead and should be in a good position from here unless SA ends up making 350+ runs in 2nd innings.

[aysg76]

I still think that Saha is strong contender if 3 spinners are playing and might get in the playing XI. We are struggling to figuring out the final XI. Just imagine what selectors are going through. Tbh its freaking nightmare for them after historic win in Australia.

Rishab Pant's keeping is not that bad but his batting skills are surely better than Saha. Moreover, his past form do make him a strong contender for starting XI

[eaLiTy]

Pakistan did a tremendous job today, they were struggling at 33 for 4 and they pulled up 88 runs lead and still got 2 wickets in the banks. Fawad alam proved once again that why he's class batsman even at home turf, after all he had 10+ years experience behind him.

Fawad Alam rescued the Pakistan team with a century, there are many reports coming out about how his career is destroyed by the Pakistani selectors as he scored a century in his debut and now he is in the team after 10 years and he is performing consistently in the domestic circuit and yet he was not selected in the team until recently. Pakistan does lack the batting talents and he should be in the team and hopefully they scout for young talents and groom them.

[teosanru]

~snip`

Yes exactly by morale I meant that atleast the people who perform recently should get a seat in the squad obviously you can't keep the big guns out but yes even my side is pretty similar just like you mentioned. But you said na Saha will cement his place that's why I was curious that how would Saha fit in? I just think that you might not see 3 spinners in the very first match. But let's see Subcontinent has always been about spin when it comes to test matches spinners bowl like 30 overs continuosly in a spell.

I still think that Saha is strong contender if 3 spinners are playing and might get in the playing XI. We are struggling to figuring out the final XI. Just imagine what selectors are going through. Tbh its freaking nightmare for them after historic win in Australia.

Haha true indeed. I think this is the problem with a good bench strength. When you get back the experienced lads you are now confused who to choose. Bowlers like Natrajan might not get to bowl in test matches until atleast 6 fast bowlers become unfit. I think India can easily play two tours simultaneously.

I still think that Saha is strong contender if 3 spinners are playing and might get in the playing XI. We are struggling to figuring out the final XI. Just imagine what selectors are going through. Tbh its freaking nightmare for them after historic win in Australia.

Rishab Pant's keeping is not that bad but his batting skills are surely better than Saha. Moreover, his past form do make him a strong contender for starting XI

Exactly i feel pretty much the same thing these days. Mu point of view of Rishab Pant has entirely changed after the Australian tour.

[Indymoney]

Pakistan did a tremendous job today, they were struggling at 33 for 4 and they pulled up 88 runs lead and still got 2 wickets in the banks. Fawad alam proved once again that why he's class batsman even at home turf, after all he had 10+ years experience behind him.

Fawad Alam rescued the Pakistan team with a century, there are many reports coming out about how his career is destroyed by the Pakistani selectors as he scored a century in his debut and now he is in the team after 10 years and he is performing consistently in the domestic circuit and yet he was not selected in the team until recently. Pakistan does lack the batting talents and he should be in the team and hopefully they scout for young talents and groom them.

Unpredictables and Chokers doing really hard work for each other but after today play I am feeling unpredictables done some better job just because of Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem these guys bring back in this match very smartly but still some long way to go because batting in last inning is never been easy if these 2 last wickets give nearly 30 to 40 runs then surely its could be great advantage for Pakistan but still they have to bowl very good in second South African inning.

[bryant.coleman]

Rishab Pant's keeping is not that bad but his batting skills are surely better than Saha. Moreover, his past form do make him a strong contender for starting XI

Saha is 36 years old and he has only 1-2 years of international career left. That also should be considered while the slot of wicket keeper is decided. Very few of the teams go with a specialist keeper nowadays. The preference is for a keeper, who can bat as good as the others in the top/middle order. Pant is a good batsman, but he has made costly mistakes when he kept wickets. But my take is that his keeping skills will get better with experience.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

~
This bloke averages 200ish at the home ground, although data is not big and he scored his tons against weaker opponents (SL, Ban). Still one can expect fine inning from the Babar so i thought why not haha anyway i already lost a bet lol will try again, hope he score at least 1 ton in this series.

Babar Azam will show his class in the series and i am impressed with the way the Pakistan tail end players played building a 55 runs partnership in the last wicket, not sure whether the pitch has turned to a batting track as South Africa started well and the Pakistan tail was able to put runs on the board.
South Africa still trail by 94 runs and the match depends upon how Pakistan is able to restrict them.

[JSRAW]

~
This bloke averages 200ish at the home ground, although data is not big and he scored his tons against weaker opponents (SL, Ban). Still one can expect fine inning from the Babar so i thought why not haha anyway i already lost a bet lol will try again, hope he score at least 1 ton in this series.

Babar Azam will show his class in the series and i am impressed with the way the Pakistan tail end players played building a 55 runs partnership in the last wicket, not sure whether the pitch has turned to a batting track as South Africa started well and the Pakistan tail was able to put runs on the board.
South Africa still trail by 94 runs and the match depends upon how Pakistan is able to restrict them.

If tail is wagging then its nightmare for every bowling team.

But we shouldn't forget that No 11 Yasir Shah has a century in the red ball cricket so he knows thing or two about batting, he was pushed down because Shaheen came out to bat as night watchman yesterday it didn't work for Pak but Yasir Shah did click.

Proteas batting good as well, guess pitch would play more trick in next 2 days.

SA : 164/1 Lead is 6 runs

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Edit
Pakistan fighting back.. 3 quick wickets 185/4

[ene1980]

South Africa is playing carefully but they just lost a couple of quick wickets. They are not having any substantial lead either and they have just lost another wicket which is pathetic, i was expecting a good fight back but it looks like they are tired of batting any longer  .

Finally Pakistan might win the match after some disappointing series, with the inconsistencies you can only confirm once the match is over .