Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Vishnu.Reang]

Although I don't want to discount the effort put forward by the West Indies players, some attention must be given to the performance of Bangladesh during the last day of play. The captain (Mominul Haque) looked out of sorts and he didn't knew how to break the partnership between Mayers and Bonner. He made a number of tactical mistakes. I know that the BCB is not very fond of Shakib al Hassan. But if they want the team to perform, then Shakib must be made the captain.

Mominul Haque is a good player for Test matches. But not experienced enough to carry out the captain's duties. I think Mushfiqur Rahim or Shakib Al Hasan is much more experienced than the Mominul Haque. Bangladesh is already a very weak team for the Test format. So an experienced captain is very much needed to guide them in the right direction.

Shakib al Hassan is the best guy for the captaincy role as far as Bangladesh is concerned. Previously he had handled that role and during this period Bangladesh had the most memorable victories. Now he is back from his politically motivated ban, and he deserves a better rank within the team. The Bangladesh Cricket Board should make up the differences, and reconcile. The current captain is a disaster (Mominul Haque), and they need to take action before it is too late. This was a match which everyone expected Bangladesh to win.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

Previously he had handled that role and during this period Bangladesh had the most memorable victories. Now he is back from his politically motivated ban, and he deserves a better rank within the team. The Bangladesh Cricket Board should make up the differences, and reconcile. The current captain is a disaster (Mominul Haque), and they need to take action before it is too late. This was a match which everyone expected Bangladesh to win.

May be the situation came to light because of political reasons but the fact is Shakib Al Hasan was approached by a bookie and he did not inform the authorities as per the rules and so is the reason he was banned and they reduced his punishment if i remember correctly. The reason for the loss is because of their out fielding as they missed multiple catches and Mayers took that opportunity and the bowlers were bowling short and full volley and  Shakib Al Hasan did not bat nor bowl as he was injured.

[bryant.coleman]

May be the situation came to light because of political reasons but the fact is Shakib Al Hasan was approached by a bookie and he did not inform the authorities as per the rules and so is the reason he was banned and they reduced his punishment if i remember correctly. The reason for the loss is because of their out fielding as they missed multiple catches and Mayers took that opportunity and the bowlers were bowling short and full volley and  Shakib Al Hasan did not bat nor bowl as he was injured.

There were rumors that Shakib was being made a scapegoat. A few weeks before the ban, he had some high-voltage fight with the BCB. And regarding the allegations, there is no indication that Shakib tried to fix matches. He was approached by a bookie during the IPL and there was a delay from his part in reporting this incident to the authorities. Now the question is how can the bookie approach him, without the knowledge of the franchise owners and other team members. I personally felt that the quantum of punishment handed over to him was excessive.

[ene1980]

I actually hoped for someone to step up in their batting to put up a good total but they are really falling up for the England's bowlers. But I have to say that England are playing some great cricket with bat, bowl and fielding. I am Indian fan but TBH England are putting themselves so much into the game and they are obviously performing better than India right now.

Two days left in the match and the Indian players can step up their performance even now and draw the match. The pitch will be difficult to bat as the dust is puffing whenever the ball lands and it is not going to be easy for the batsman but they can draw the match if two batsman could come up with outstanding performance. Pant once again showed his talent and counter attacked the bowlers and if he would have improved his keeping skills he is a talent that will win matches.

[Sithara007]

Two days left in the match and the Indian players can step up their performance even now and draw the match. The pitch will be difficult to bat as the dust is puffing whenever the ball lands and it is not going to be easy for the batsman but they can draw the match if two batsman could come up with outstanding performance. Pant once again showed his talent and counter attacked the bowlers and if he would have improved his keeping skills he is a talent that will win matches.

The pitch was supposed to support the spinners. The Indian spinners failed to make use of it (they got 5 wickets after conceding 418 runs), but the England spinners and Bess in particular made good use of the ground conditions. Bess is having figures of 23-5-55-4 and I am sure that he will end up with a five wicket haul today. Jack Leach was targeted by Rishabh Pant, and his figures doesn't look too good. But Bess was an exception.

[Iranus]

South Africa needs 243 runs to win. They still have 9 wickets. If they can start tomorrow well, they will win the match. I think the team that plays well in the first session will win the match. But I am optimistic about South Africa's victory.

South Africa is in a really great position to win the match, they still have Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock and if they can come together and play a good innings then South Africa can win the match. Glad that i did not place a bet in the match.

South Africa lost two important wickets at the start of the day. Dussen and du Plessis are out. du Plessis has scored only 5 runs. South Africa need just 211 runs to win. Mark ran is playing great. If he stays at the crease I think South Africa will be able to win the match.

[Vishnu.Reang]

South Africa lost two important wickets at the start of the day. Dussen and du Plessis are out. du Plessis has scored only 5 runs. South Africa need just 211 runs to win. Mark ran is playing great. If he stays at the crease I think South Africa will be able to win the match.

LOL.. do you really think that scoring another 211 runs would be easy? They have already lost half of their top order batsman. Aiden Markram is batting alongside Temba Bavuma now. After these two, it's the turn of Quinton de Kock and Wiaan Mulder. The tail starts after that. Here we can claim that on paper the South African tail looks strong. George Linde and Keshav Maharaj can be described as lower order batsmen rather than tail-enders. But the target is very challenging.

BTW, the match between England and India is turning out to be very interesting. England managed to get a lead of 241, but they have lost their opener (Rory Burns) without any runs on board. Ideally they will be looking to score 150-200 runs in the second innings and then give their bowlers 4 sessions to bowl India out.

[JSRAW]

South Africa lost two important wickets at the start of the day. Dussen and du Plessis are out. du Plessis has scored only 5 runs. South Africa need just 211 runs to win. Mark ran is playing great. If he stays at the crease I think South Africa will be able to win the match.

LOL.. do you really think that scoring another 211 runs would be easy? They have already lost half of their top order batsman. Aiden Markram is batting alongside Temba Bavuma now. After these two, it's the turn of Quinton de Kock and Wiaan Mulder. The tail starts after that. Here we can claim that on paper the South African tail looks strong. George Linde and Keshav Maharaj can be described as lower order batsmen rather than tail-enders. But the target is very challenging.

BTW, the match between England and India is turning out to be very interesting. England managed to get a lead of 241, but they have lost their opener (Rory Burns) without any runs on board. Ideally they will be looking to score 150-200 runs in the second innings and then give their bowlers 4 sessions to bowl India out.

Don't count Proteas out, they are very much in the game. We already seen couple of times when visiting team chasing target successfully at away condition on 5th day pitch. India in Australia and most recently Windies excellent chase against Bangladesh.

[bryant.coleman]

Don't count Proteas out, they are very much in the game. We already seen couple of times when visiting team chasing target successfully at away condition on 5th day pitch. India in Australia and most recently Windies excellent chase against Bangladesh.

I can literally smell an upset. The partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma has made 101 runs till now. South Africa only need another 134 runs, and it should be achievable for them (with Quinton de Kock at no.6). Feels bad about Pakistan. Their bowlers worked so hard in the first innings, to restrict South Africa to just 201. But now the same bowlers look clueless on how to tackle Markram/Bavuma.

[Haunebu]

Two days left in the match and the Indian players can step up their performance even now and draw the match. The pitch will be difficult to bat as the dust is puffing whenever the ball lands and it is not going to be easy for the batsman but they can draw the match if two batsman could come up with outstanding performance. Pant once again showed his talent and counter attacked the bowlers and if he would have improved his keeping skills he is a talent that will win matches.

Pant's keeping skills are going down the drain with time. I view him only as a great batsman. Saha is better in comparison in only the keeping department in the test format.

Also, Sundar was outstanding as usual. He could have easily scored a century if the other tail-enders could didn't lose their wickets. Draw or an English win seem like the only probable options at this point(Rooting for a Draw).

[JSRAW]

Two days left in the match and the Indian players can step up their performance even now and draw the match. The pitch will be difficult to bat as the dust is puffing whenever the ball lands and it is not going to be easy for the batsman but they can draw the match if two batsman could come up with outstanding performance. Pant once again showed his talent and counter attacked the bowlers and if he would have improved his keeping skills he is a talent that will win matches.

Pant's keeping skills are going down the drain with time. I view him only as a great batsman. Saha is better in comparison in only the keeping department in the test format.

Also, Sundar was outstanding as usual. He could have easily scored a century if the other tail-enders could didn't lose their wickets. Draw or an English win seem like the only probable options at this point(Rooting for a Draw).

Pant doing good work behind the wicket in second inning tho and that 4th day turning pitch against Ashwin. Something to cheer about his keeping. If target is under 400 then India should try to chase although its tough as pitch is playing fair amount of tricks. Draw would be very disappointing for England, visiting team don't get to dominate game in India much.

Nadeem is not playing next game for sure. If he wants to play then he need to pick last 5 wickets by himself in his next 2 overs

Edit
So far 26 No ball from India!

Well done Pakistan.....

[SaShiRaJaVu]

England is leading with 376 runs and they are not planning to declare the innings, Jos Buttler is in the crease and he might look to increase the run rate and they might try to add 50 odd runs and reach a safe position and they need more time to put pressure back on the Indian players, the pitch is not looking good as there is uneven bounce and the fast bowlers are getting reverse swing, it will be a real test for Indian batsman if they want to save this match.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Nadeem is not playing next game for sure. If he wants to play then he need to pick last 5 wickets by himself in his next 2 overs

Edit
So far 26 No ball from India!

Well done Pakistan.....

Nadeem was picked over Kuldeep Yadav, as the captain/damaadji combination thought that playing three off-spinners would be a good idea. Kohli's tactics once again not working in this match. He should have given more overs to Ishant and Bumrah, while keeping Ashwin solidly at the other end. But in order to justify his selection, he was again and again giving spells to Shahbaz. The other three picked up 5 wickets for 50 runs, while Shahbaz have figures of 47/1. Hopefully after this match, the BCCI may consider replacing Kohli with Rahane as the test captain.  

[GbitG]

Nadeem is not playing next game for sure. If he wants to play then he need to pick last 5 wickets by himself in his next 2 overs

Edit
So far 26 No ball from India!

Well done Pakistan.....

Nadeem was picked over Kuldeep Yadav, as the captain/damaadji combination thought that playing three off-spinners would be a good idea. Kohli's tactics once again not working in this match. He should have given more overs to Ishant and Bumrah, while keeping Ashwin solidly at the other end. But in order to justify his selection, he was again and again giving spells to Shahbaz. The other three picked up 5 wickets for 50 runs, while Shahbaz have figures of 47/1. Hopefully after this match, the BCCI may consider replacing Kohli with Rahane as the test captain.  

You are right in this case as Kohli tactics not working right now because he is not doing things as its need to be Shahbaz is really poor in current match Kuldeep was surely deserve a chance here now things completely out of Indian control because lead is crossing 400+.
About Kohli captaincy I am feeling BCCE will not take any quick decision specially in middle of a crucial series but surely they will think about this in near future.

[bryant.coleman]

You are right in this case as Kohli tactics not working right now because he is not doing things as its need to be Shahbaz is really poor in current match Kuldeep was surely deserve a chance here now things completely out of Indian control because lead is crossing 400+.
About Kohli captaincy I am feeling BCCE will not take any quick decision specially in middle of a crucial series but surely they will think about this in near future.

Kohli has become too much egoistic, and as a result of that he is unable to make logical decisions. England is currently leading by 417 runs. It is a bit short for their liking, as they would have been comfortable with a total of 440-450. Considering the depth in the Indian batting lineup, anything below that may be extremely risky for England. But now they have to adjust with a score that is slightly below their aim, because Dom Bess and Jos Buttler got out at short intervals. However, England would be hoping for more blunders form Kohli, as he is sticking with Shahbaz Nadeem as if his life depends on him. In my opinion, if he gives a chance to either Bumrah or Ishant, while keeping Ashwin at the other end, they may be able to mop up the tail pretty quickly.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

Hopefully after this match, the BCCI may consider replacing Kohli with Rahane as the test captain.  

Ideally it should after the series and only if India lose the series. Otherwise don't keep your hope high.

Is anyone expecting India to win? 420 is big target...

I think if Gill-Rohit bat for 50-60 overs then yup.

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edit
Shit i jinxed it haha

Rohit gone against a spin   rare sight

BTW i have a bet on India with juicy @10 odds..

[Vishnu.Reang]

~
BTW i have a bet on India with juicy @10 odds..

Wow.. odds of 10+

That is very attractive.. IMO, the odds should have been in 4-5 range. India has successfully chased big totals recently and many of their batsmen are in form. On top of that, even their lower order batsmen (such as Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin) are getting involved in 100 plus partnerships nowadays. If any of the gambling sites provided such favorable odds, then it is a miscalculation from their part.

Rohit's wicket was a big blow. But as long as India doesn't lose another wicket today (I guess only 3-4 overs remain), they should be fine. They still have Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant and the lower order batsmen. If they bat carefully, then there is a big chance of upset. Even Joe Root is aware of it, and that was the reason why he refused to declare the English second innings when Dom Bess got out.

[JSRAW]

~
BTW i have a bet on India with juicy @10 odds..

Wow.. odds of 10+

That is very attractive.. IMO, the odds should have been in 4-5 range. India has successfully chased big totals recently and many of their batsmen are in form. On top of that, even their lower order batsmen (such as Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin) are getting involved in 100 plus partnerships nowadays. If any of the gambling sites provided such favorable odds, then it is a miscalculation from their part.

Rohit's wicket was a big blow. But as long as India doesn't lose another wicket today (I guess only 3-4 overs remain), they should be fine. They still have Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant and the lower order batsmen. If they bat carefully, then there is a big chance of upset. Even Joe Root is aware of it, and that was the reason why he refused to declare the English second innings when Dom Bess got out.

Nah not any miscalculation, I put a bet when India were struggling at 230ish/6 when Pant got out.

I feel that Root should have shown some carrot to Indians. 4 runs per over is big task to ask in any condition and almost impossible in India when pitch is deteriorating.

Win or lose.. i don't want to see draw in any scenario. Except when India is 8 or 9 down.

Summery : England dominated the game throughout all 4 days and they deserve to win here (Saying this as a test cricket fan)

[Avirunes]

Shit i jinxed it haha

Rohit gone against a spin   rare sight

Yeah bit shocking and rare sight. Normally he goes out playing with a bit of stroke but have to say it was quite a delivery from Bess (was it?) .

BTW i have a bet on India with juicy @10 odds..

Including Draw I guess? without draw I guess it is pretty much around 6-7x but still both are juicy and India are capable to pull win here.

What a turnaround from India.

[7788bitcoin]

Summery : England dominated the game throughout all 4 days and they deserve to win here (Saying this as a test cricket fan)

England just need to pick 9 more wickets to win the match, India have shown resistance in Australia by defending the entire day and whether they can do in a pitch like Chennai which is favoring the spinners especially in the final day and the wicket of Rohit Sharma was a reminder how clueless the batsman can be in reading the line and length of the ball.