Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[UmerIdrees]

Although Pakistan did not bat well yesterday but they have bowled very well and managed to take 5 wickets for South Africa cheaply. If they could make bowl out south africa quickly, they have a good chance to get hold of this test match also.

If Pakistan had managed to score in excess of 300, then I would have said that they have the advantage in this match. But they managed only 272. South Africa is not in a good state, but if they can score above 200, then the outcome will depend on the second innings. Pakistan is very inconsistent and I am not sure whether they will be able to get a good score when they come out to bat latter today.

I thought pakistani team were in control of the match when they bowled out south africa for only 201 runs but our batsmen played irresponsibly in the 2nd innings and now pakistani team in a danger of losing this test match. You rightly said that pakistani team in very inconsistent and they could lose any match which they should have won easily.

[Indymoney]

Although Pakistan did not bat well yesterday but they have bowled very well and managed to take 5 wickets for South Africa cheaply. If they could make bowl out south africa quickly, they have a good chance to get hold of this test match also.

If Pakistan had managed to score in excess of 300, then I would have said that they have the advantage in this match. But they managed only 272. South Africa is not in a good state, but if they can score above 200, then the outcome will depend on the second innings. Pakistan is very inconsistent and I am not sure whether they will be able to get a good score when they come out to bat latter today.

I thought pakistani team were in control of the match when they bowled out south africa for only 201 runs but our batsmen played irresponsibly in the 2nd innings and now pakistani team in a danger of losing this test match. You rightly said that pakistani team in very inconsistent and they could lose any match which they should have won easily.

In this match Pakistan is still in some good position because we have already 200+ leade 4 wickets left any thing above 250+ is good in fourth inning Rizwan is on crease with Hassan Ali hopefully these tail enders can do some better but sadly in last few innings all top order batsmen completely fail to give any impression its really matter of worry for management and selectors they are doing very bad experiments.

[mersal]

Joe Root leading from the front and everyone chipped in with their performance and they were able to reach 550 runs which is a really great score considering India had three spinners and the England batsman were able to counter everything and was able to score runs. Kohli will be under pressure to perform and save the match as India performed well without his presence and if India is defeated then you will hear voices about changing Kohli as a captain.

Root was exceptional as expected. Without his contribution, England would have been in a pinch. They will probably end up posting a target close to 600 unless the Indian bowlers pick the tail-enders off quickly.

Sharma and Bumrah impressed me the most since they took 2 wickets each and were very economical when compared to the rest. I agree with your statement about Kohli getting in trouble if India loses this series.

Joe Root is getting better and better, what an extraordinary inning to be honest and also he is scoring at good strike rate as well throughout the match but finally Nadeem managed to take his wicket. Even if they score 580 still it is going to be a big task for Indian batsmen, hope they will play as deep as possible and they have to cross the follow on first then can think about the leading runs.

[onecall123]

-snip-
Joe Root is getting better and better, what an extraordinary inning to be honest and also he is scoring at good strike rate as well throughout the match but finally Nadeem managed to take his wicket. Even if they score 580 still it is going to be a big task for Indian batsmen, hope they will play as deep as possible and they have to cross the follow on first then can think about the leading runs.

Before going to back to pavilion Joe Root delivered a thrilling innings, score a record double century. Joe Root has demonstrated that he is the current best test batsman. Overall great collaboration lead England stumps 555/8 on day two, Indian home conditions are not supporting Indains bowler?

[Clement Kaliyar]

After watching first two days play now we can say England is very well prepared for this very important series they are playing very confidently against Indian spinners Root is specially player to watch in this match and for coming matches 550 is really good foundation for their start of series now Indian batsmen also feel some pressure because they have to do some hard work for staying in hunt for this series and WTC Final.

The spinners were bowling well but the pitch was not help them and still Ashwin was able to deceive the players and pick wickets and in the final two sessions the pitch started to show signs of turn and Shahbaz Nadeem was able to pick two wickets but Washington Sundar was disappointing.

In this match Pakistan is still in some good position because we have already 200+ leade 4 wickets left any thing above 250+ is good in fourth inning Rizwan is on crease with Hassan Ali hopefully these tail enders can do some better but sadly in last few innings all top order batsmen completely fail to give any impression its really matter of worry for management and selectors they are doing very bad experiments.

If Pakistan is able to make a lead of above 250 runs then they have the bowlers to restrict South Africa until someone rises above and performs an outstanding innings.

[mersal]

Indian home conditions are not supporting Indians bowler.

Or players haven't been given chances who deserves it?

I guess we are lacking one pacer to be honest because we can't expect the 2 pacers to bowl all day or at least the inclusion of Pandya might give them an option but now only two bowlers with less variety then it is impossible to take wickets in the initial days. It is not going to be that much easier when Indian batsmen come to the crease because already 2 days gone so there will be a lot of wear in the pitch so it can reap more spin and that is exactly the advantage of winning the toss for them.

[onrise]

-snip-
Joe Root is getting better and better, what an extraordinary inning to be honest and also he is scoring at good strike rate as well throughout the match but finally Nadeem managed to take his wicket. Even if they score 580 still it is going to be a big task for Indian batsmen, hope they will play as deep as possible and they have to cross the follow on first then can think about the leading runs.

Before going to back to pavilion Joe Root delivered a thrilling innings, score a record double century. Joe Root has demonstrated that he is the current best test batsman. Overall great collaboration lead England stumps 555/8 on day two, Indian home conditions are not supporting Indains bowler?

Now game is depending upon Indian batting, because England will try to score quickly tomo if they are batting else if they declare and ask India to bat then they would try to pick initial quick wickets to put add on pressure. And only worries for the India from here would be to save the test match. if they happen to lose this then the questions will arise on Kohli as under Rahane the team performance in OZ was being applauded a lot.

[LittleBitFunny]

-snip-
Joe Root is getting better and better, what an extraordinary inning to be honest and also he is scoring at good strike rate as well throughout the match but finally Nadeem managed to take his wicket. Even if they score 580 still it is going to be a big task for Indian batsmen, hope they will play as deep as possible and they have to cross the follow on first then can think about the leading runs.

Before going to back to pavilion Joe Root delivered a thrilling innings, score a record double century. Joe Root has demonstrated that he is the current best test batsman. Overall great collaboration lead England stumps 555/8 on day two, Indian home conditions are not supporting Indains bowler?

Now game is depending upon Indian batting, because England will try to score quickly tomo if they are batting else if they declare and ask India to bat then they would try to pick initial quick wickets to put add on pressure. And only worries for the India from here would be to save the test match. if they happen to lose this then the questions will arise on Kohli as under Rahane the team performance in OZ was being applauded a lot.

India will start their batting innings with the goal of drawing the match. There is no chance of India winning the match, maybe the match will be a draw, and if India's batting disaster happens, India will lose. I think this match has a 90% chance of a draw. But I am skeptical about Kohli's captaincy if India loses this Test series somehow. In the next series, Rahane may be given the responsibility of captaining the Test match

[vella85]

-snip-
Joe Root is getting better and better, what an extraordinary inning to be honest and also he is scoring at good strike rate as well throughout the match but finally Nadeem managed to take his wicket. Even if they score 580 still it is going to be a big task for Indian batsmen, hope they will play as deep as possible and they have to cross the follow on first then can think about the leading runs.

Before going to back to pavilion Joe Root delivered a thrilling innings, score a record double century. Joe Root has demonstrated that he is the current best test batsman. Overall great collaboration lead England stumps 555/8 on day two, Indian home conditions are not supporting Indains bowler?

Now game is depending upon Indian batting, because England will try to score quickly tomo if they are batting else if they declare and ask India to bat then they would try to pick initial quick wickets to put add on pressure. And only worries for the India from here would be to save the test match. if they happen to lose this then the questions will arise on Kohli as under Rahane the team performance in OZ was being applauded a lot.

India will start their batting innings with the goal of drawing the match. There is no chance of India winning the match, maybe the match will be a draw, and if India's batting disaster happens, India will lose. I think this match has a 90% chance of a draw. But I am skeptical about Kohli's captaincy if India loses this Test series somehow. In the next series, Rahane may be given the responsibility of captaining the Test match

It will be interesting to see how well India will go batting as chasing over 550 runs is a huge task however they are playing on home soil so I won't be counting them out yet. India could potentially bat for the next two days and get a lead of say 100+ runs and have England try and survive on the last day which they might find it difficult. Yes it will be interesting to see if India lose the series, what will happen with Kohli remaining captain. 

[Sithara007]

After watching first two days play now we can say England is very well prepared for this very important series they are playing very confidently against Indian spinners Root is specially player to watch in this match and for coming matches 550 is really good foundation for their start of series now Indian batsmen also feel some pressure because they have to do some hard work for staying in hunt for this series and WTC Final.

Obviously Root was the backbone, but the other players also played well, especially Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes. Also, the lower order has added valuable runs for England. The 9th wicket partnership between Jack Leach and Dom Bess has so far added 30 runs, and may be capable of pulling England over the 600 mark. For India, the spinners conceded 404 runs while taking 4 wickets, while the pace bowlers fared far better (4 wickets for 133 runs). A total of over 600 runs would give England a chance to force India to a follow on.

[JohnBitCo]

After watching first two days play now we can say England is very well prepared for this very important series they are playing very confidently against Indian spinners Root is specially player to watch in this match and for coming matches 550 is really good foundation for their start of series now Indian batsmen also feel some pressure because they have to do some hard work for staying in hunt for this series and WTC Final.

Obviously Root was the backbone, but the other players also played well, especially Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes. Also, the lower order has added valuable runs for England. The 9th wicket partnership between Jack Leach and Dom Bess has so far added 30 runs, and may be capable of pulling England over the 600 mark. For India, the spinners conceded 404 runs while taking 4 wickets, while the pace bowlers fared far better (4 wickets for 133 runs). A total of over 600 runs would give England a chance to force India to a follow on.

What a batting performance by the England team. They truly deserve to win this match and it will only be possible if they can enforce the follow on. If India also batted well, then there will be not enough time in the match for the result.
In short, India cannot win this test match and England cannot lose this test.

[Sithara007]

England is cruising along nicely and they are just 33 runs away from the psychologically important 600 mark. Once again shows how crucial the toss is. If India had won the toss, then they could have easily piled up 600-700 runs and put England under pressure here. But the luck favored England, and now India need ~400 runs just to avoid the follow on. Right now there are only two possibilities for this match - a boring draw, or a win for England.

Edit: 600 level just got a bit more difficult for England. Dom Bess, who had played so well till now is out LBW to Bumrah.

[JSRAW]

~snip~
 it will be interesting to see if India lose the series, what will happen with Kohli remaining captain.  

Even if England manage to draw the series, voices against Kohli are going to be very loud but i doubt if management want to change him at all and Virat is in no mood of stepping down as captain by himself despite failures.

Edit: 600 level just got a bit more difficult for England. Dom Bess, who had played so well till now is out LBW to Bumrah.

New ball did a trick.

Lol Rishab Pant hahaha missed the stumping chance

[pakhitheboss]

~snip~
 it will be interesting to see if India lose the series, what will happen with Kohli remaining captain.  

Even if England manage to draw the series, voices against Kohli are going to be very loud but i doubt if management want to change him at all and Virat is in no mood of stepping down as captain by himself despite failures.

It is high time that Kohli should himself step down like Tendulkar did in the past. No doubt he is good batsmen but he has lot of issues as a captain. India will try to draw this match.

[JohnBitCo]

England is cruising along nicely and they are just 33 runs away from the psychologically important 600 mark. Once again shows how crucial the toss is. If India had won the toss, then they could have easily piled up 600-700 runs and put England under pressure here. But the luck favored England, and now India need ~400 runs just to avoid the follow on. Right now there are only two possibilities for this match - a boring draw, or a win for England.

Edit: 600 level just got a bit more difficult for England. Dom Bess, who had played so well till now is out LBW to Bumrah.

578 is all they have managed to get and believe me i think this is enough for the victory.

It is high time that Kohli should himself step down like Tendulkar did in the past. No doubt he is good batsmen but he has lot of issues as a captain. India will try to draw this match.

Won't be easy to draw the match unless someone from the Indian team play the innings like Joe Root played for England. Indians are already two wickets down with only 59 on the board.

[mersal]

Won't be easy to draw the match unless someone from the Indian team play the innings like Joe Root played for England. Indians are already two wickets down with only 59 on the board.

Pujara and Rahane can be the one who can play long innings which is important of they want to draw this match.Rohit Sharma again failed even in the subcontinent ground?! that is hard to accept. Still 60 overs are left in today's game, can Indian batsmen play throughout the day and give some fighting spirit to their visitors.

[7788bitcoin]

578 is all they have managed to get and believe me i think this is enough for the victory.

Virat Kohli is back in the pavilion and wonderful bowling by Bess, with the top three removed it is a possibility that India will struggle to avoid the follow on.

James Anderson is getting the reverse swing and Dom Bess is getting purchase from the wicket and it looks like the pitch is showing its true colors and India will be struggling.

Ajinkya Rahane is gone, splendid catch by Joe Root. India is struggling now.

[Haunebu]

Horrible batting performance so far by the Indian team. Kohli is struggling these days just like Smith. 4 wickets gone for just 80+ runs when chasing a target like 550+ paints a bad picture for India.

I think rain interference is the only way India can survive this one since the match could possibly end up as a draw. This is a dominating performance by England in the first test in every single aspect.

[UmerIdrees]

Horrible batting performance so far by the Indian team. Kohli is struggling these days just like Smith. 4 wickets gone for just 80+ runs when chasing a target like 550+ paints a bad picture for India.

I think rain interference is the only way India can survive this one since the match could possibly end up as a draw. This is a dominating performance by England in the first test in every single aspect.

Lol isn't it too early to look for the rain to save the Indians ?  

Still 16 wickets (6 + 10)  are left in the match for Indian and being a number one team, someone should step up and save this ship.

[JSRAW]

Horrible batting performance so far by the Indian team. Kohli is struggling these days just like Smith. 4 wickets gone for just 80+ runs when chasing a target like 550+ paints a bad picture for India.

I think rain interference is the only way India can survive this one since the match could possibly end up as a draw. This is a dominating performance by England in the first test in every single aspect.

Indian team always need a wake up call before any big series so consider this blessing in disguise. I am positive that Rohit/Kohli both going to get big runs soon and Team will come back hard at England.

Draw would be too bad for this series, England played excellent cricket and they deserve to win if they are able to maintain the momentum.