Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Iranus]

My guess is that only BCCI will consider releasing Kohli from the captaincy if India loses by a huge margin in this series. The BCCI has no intention of releasing Virat Kohli from the captaincy. BCCI will give some more time to Kohli. Kohli has captained in 57 Test matches. India has won 33 of these matches, lost 14, and drawn the remaining 10. On the other hand, Dhoni has captained in 60 matches, winning 27, losing 18 and drawing 15 (from Wikipedia). So I will still say that Kohli has enough time to prove his worth.

Quality matters more than quantity. In my opinion, Kohli is a better batsman when compared to MSD, but MSD is a better captain when compared to Kohli due to his ability to help the team win tight matches in all formats of the game.

However, I do agree with your opinion regarding BCCI continuing to back Kohli which is the right move. He still has a long way to go as a captain, but he is improving with every match.

There is no doubt that Dhoni is a better captain than Kohli. Even, there were very few captains like Dhoni in the cricket world. Undoubtedly he is one of the best captain. On the other hand, Kohli is now a world-class batsman. While he has done his job properly as a batsman, he has failed miserably in his role as captain. If he can't get back on the truck, he should resign voluntarily. But I hope he will be able to fulfill his responsibilities properly in the next series.

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[Vishnu.Reang]

There is no doubt that Dhoni is a better captain than Kohli. Even, there were very few captains like Dhoni in the cricket world. Undoubtedly he is one of the best captain. On the other hand, Kohli is now a world-class batsman. While he has done his job properly as a batsman, he has failed miserably in his role as captain. If he can't get back on the truck, he should resign voluntarily. But I hope he will be able to fulfill his responsibilities properly in the next series.

Although I am not a fan of Kohli's captaincy tactics, I have to say that he was doing pretty well until a few years back. It looks to me that Shastri's addition has been quite negative for the entire team. Perhaps it is time that the team needs a proper coach rather than Shastri who is useless for that role. And regarding Kohli, I believe that he deserves a few more chances. Another 3 matches remaining in this series. Hopefully Kohli will be able to win the series and silence his critics.

[JSRAW]

Although I am not a fan of Kohli's captaincy tactics, I have to say that he was doing pretty well until a few years back. It looks to me that Shastri's addition has been quite negative for the entire team. Perhaps it is time that the team needs a proper coach rather than Shastri who is useless for that role. And regarding Kohli, I believe that he deserves a few more chances. Another 3 matches remaining in this series. Hopefully Kohli will be able to win the series and silence his critics.

Kohli-Shastri are over excitable and aggressive personalities. Sometimes its works in their favor but most of the times they mess everything especially when selecting the team. This series is long and we still have 3 more games so i am sure India will win the series.

Anyone noticed this Drama? Its going on from quite some time.

--Pujara-Rahane are slow and they don't show any intent, both got dropped and now they are important part of the team.

--Pant is our No 1 test WK, then he got dropped from all the 3 formats. Then they went to say Saha is our No 1 WK for test and again Pant is become No 1 choice.

--Kuldeep is our future when Jadeja-Ashwin due is not available. Poor guy lost his spot in test after taking 5 wicket haul in Australia (2018-19), didn't get to play single game after that and now he's 5-6th choice for the team.

[GbitG]

Although I am not a fan of Kohli's captaincy tactics, I have to say that he was doing pretty well until a few years back. It looks to me that Shastri's addition has been quite negative for the entire team. Perhaps it is time that the team needs a proper coach rather than Shastri who is useless for that role. And regarding Kohli, I believe that he deserves a few more chances. Another 3 matches remaining in this series. Hopefully Kohli will be able to win the series and silence his critics.

Kohli-Shastri are over excitable and aggressive personalities. Sometimes its works in their favor but most of the times they mess everything especially when selecting the team. This series is long and we still have 3 more games so i am sure India will win the series.

Anyone noticed this Drama? Its going on from quite some time.

--Pujara-Rahane are slow and they don't show any intent, both got dropped and now they are important part of the team.

--Pant is our No 1 test WK, then he got dropped from all the 3 formats. Then they went to say Saha is our No 1 WK for test and again Pant is become No 1 choice.

--Kuldeep is our future when Jadeja-Ashwin due is not available. Poor guy lost his spot in test after taking 5 wicket haul in Australia (2018-19), didn't get to play single game after that and now he's 5-6th choice for the team.

I have no Idea about internal politics of Indian Cricket Board but feeling there are few groups those are fighting hard for bringing down other group, just because of this it's all happening even right now India is one of the best team in all 3 formats but facing some serious issues mostly off the field, and it's all just internal politics because we already watch good talent and bench power in Australia series but internal things going against this all success.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Kohli-Shastri are over excitable and aggressive personalities. Sometimes its works in their favor but most of the times they mess everything especially when selecting the team. This series is long and we still have 3 more games so i am sure India will win the series.

Anyone noticed this Drama? Its going on from quite some time.

--Pujara-Rahane are slow and they don't show any intent, both got dropped and now they are important part of the team.

--Pant is our No 1 test WK, then he got dropped from all the 3 formats. Then they went to say Saha is our No 1 WK for test and again Pant is become No 1 choice.

--Kuldeep is our future when Jadeja-Ashwin due is not available. Poor guy lost his spot in test after taking 5 wicket haul in Australia (2018-19), didn't get to play single game after that and now he's 5-6th choice for the team.

^^^ With such a depth in player pool, the spot for any of the players is not guaranteed (perhaps with the exception of Kohli, Rohit and Bumrah). Pant is currently the no.1 choice for keeper, but if he drops a few catches at crucial occasions (he has done that many times previously), then there will be again demands to drop him and replace him with a full-time keeper. Rahane-Pujara are suitable for test format, but they need to perform consistently. And finally, Kuldeep is just unlucky. His case is similar to that of Natarajan, as he doesn't have the backing of major cabals.

[JSRAW]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.


This is new scenario for all 3 teams (Eng/Aus/Ind)

[7788bitcoin]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.

Australia is not touring South Africa and with that situation how can they qualify if India win the series after loosing the first game, they will automatically qualify and if England wins the series they will qualify, does Australia have a remote possibility to play the WTC finals with these circumstances, New Zealand is one team and the winner of India and England will automatically qualify as far as i understand.

[Indymoney]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.

Australia is not touring South Africa and with that situation how can they qualify if India win the series after loosing the first game, they will automatically qualify and if England wins the series they will qualify, does Australia have a remote possibility to play the WTC finals with these circumstances, New Zealand is one team and the winner of India and England will automatically qualify as far as i understand.

Above chart giving all details about this because currently Australia and India still hot favourite for qualifying WTC final against New Zealand, England need some more hard for qualifying as they are still much behind of their target now India need to win 2 matches and 1 draw on other side England also looking for same result for spot in final.

[onrise]

It did look like India was playing for the draw after losing them quick wickets. I thought that they would pull it off as they were able to do it against Australia but again the pitch was difficult to bat on at times where as in Australia when India drew the game the pitch wasn't doing much. Congrats to England, they deserve this big win after a top first innings which set them up for this win. Also the English bowlers bowled well which also helped set up the win so it was a good all round performance by the England team. The question with India now, will they bounce back and if they don't then maybe its time for the board to think about naming a new captain.

It is not possible every time to pull those type of matches. Also, India was batting fourth on the last day of test match so wicket was not same which was on first day. So, things made difference their as well probably if India would have bat first who knows the difference in result could also exist. Considering this the target was well over 4 runs an over on last day and losing Rohit quickly was also a setback. So chasing that score was never on mind I think and only they had to negotiate that day safely which did not happen.

[mersal]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.

Australia is not touring South Africa and with that situation how can they qualify if India win the series after loosing the first game, they will automatically qualify and if England wins the series they will qualify, does Australia have a remote possibility to play the WTC finals with these circumstances, New Zealand is one team and the winner of India and England will automatically qualify as far as i understand.

Still AUS can qualify because points will be awarded for called off series. Here is the equation for AUS to enter WTC finals along with NZ.

Put simply, Australia can make the final if any of the following seven results in the four-Test India v England series eventuate:

• India win by 1-0

• England win by 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1

• The series ends in a draw (0-0, 1-1 or 2-2)

Any other result will see one of England or India through to the WTC final against New Zealand,

But the chances are slim though!

[teosanru]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.


This is new scenario for all 3 teams (Eng/Aus/Ind)

After the first match defeat, I think Australia now are the top favourites for a spot in the Finals. I am pretty much sure that England won't be able to win 3 matches in this series. Even if we go by the metrics of the first match leaving day 1 England performed pretty much in line with the performance of India on the rest of the days. I expect this series to be par at 1-1. Indian grounds are known for their batting pitches and both the squads have great batting strength I think rest of the matches will be high scoring matches and with every draw chances of England getting qualified are getting reduced. So Australia are surely the top favorites.

[ene1980]

Rahane-Pujara are suitable for test format, but they need to perform consistently. And finally, Kuldeep is just unlucky. His case is similar to that of Natarajan, as he doesn't have the backing of major cabals.

What i have noticed in the past several series is that India does win if Rahane or Pujara plays well and score runs if not they are going to loose the match. They dominated Australia apart from the first match because either one of them stepped up their game and played a much longer innings.
I did not understand what you meant by backing of cabals .

Picking the best team is crucial for India, they have the players but you need to pick the best players.

[Sithara007]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.

If the series ends in a draw, then the WTC finals will be between Australia and New Zealand. I personally want the final to be played between England and New Zealand, after all the drama we had during the 2019 CWC finals. I still regard New Zealand as the real winners in that final match. England managed to win (on paper) only due to generous help from the umpires, who granted 5 runs from a single ball, despite Ben Stokes deflecting the throw to boundary.

[JSRAW]

England and India are playing best mate game, both changed their position after 1st test. Australia will watch every match of this series. Their WTC finals dreams depends on it.

If the series ends in a draw, then the WTC finals will be between Australia and New Zealand. I personally want the final to be played between England and New Zealand, after all the drama we had during the 2019 CWC finals. I still regard New Zealand as the real winners in that final match. England managed to win (on paper) only due to generous help from the umpires, who granted 5 runs from a single ball, despite Ben Stokes deflecting the throw to boundary.

I would give advantage to England if they manage to reach the finals. We shouldn't forget that they are playing Finals at Lords. In case of Australia vs New  Zealand, advantage goes to Australia and if its India vs New Zealand then Kiwis might win the Championship.

[Vishnu.Reang]

I would give advantage to England if they manage to reach the finals. We shouldn't forget that they are playing Finals at Lords. In case of Australia vs New  Zealand, advantage goes to Australia and if its India vs New Zealand then Kiwis might win the Championship.

Obviously England will be having an advantage if they reach the finals. With Joe Root in such fine form, and Anderson/Broad destroying the opposition, it will be a very tough task for the other teams to defeat them. However, I would disagree with you on Australia vs New Zealand. Australia lost home series against India recently. Their bowlers (perhaps with the exception of Hazlewood) are not in good form, and the batsmen are also not doing well (with exception of Labuschagne). On the other hand, the New Zealand bowlers are probably the best in test cricket right now, with Kane Williamson and the other batsmen in good form. And when it comes to India vs New Zealand, it is very difficult to make predictions.

[JSRAW]

I would give advantage to England if they manage to reach the finals. We shouldn't forget that they are playing Finals at Lords. In case of Australia vs New  Zealand, advantage goes to Australia and if its India vs New Zealand then Kiwis might win the Championship.

Obviously England will be having an advantage if they reach the finals. With Joe Root in such fine form, and Anderson/Broad destroying the opposition, it will be a very tough task for the other teams to defeat them. However, I would disagree with you on Australia vs New Zealand. Australia lost home series against India recently. Their bowlers (perhaps with the exception of Hazlewood) are not in good form, and the batsmen are also not doing well (with exception of Labuschagne). On the other hand, the New Zealand bowlers are probably the best in test cricket right now, with Kane Williamson and the other batsmen in good form. And when it comes to India vs New Zealand, it is very difficult to make predictions.

New Zealand might be in good form but they didn't play much test cricket in away condition and last time they went to play against Australia in Australia. They faced a whitewashed, they have a problem of getting choked when playing against Aussie. That's a only reason i gave advantage to Aussie.

[bryant.coleman]

New Zealand might be in good form but they didn't play much test cricket in away condition and last time they went to play against Australia in Australia. They faced a whitewashed, they have a problem of getting choked when playing against Aussie. That's a only reason i gave advantage to Aussie.

For me, if it is NZ vs AUS, then both will be having equal chances. They will be playing in Lord's and both the teams won't have the home advantage. Australia is over-dependent on a few players, such as Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. On the other hand, New Zealand is a well balanced team and they are not dependent on anyone. But then, Australia have players such as Steve Smith, who can win matches in his own. NZ lacks a player of that calibre. That said, I don't want to make any predictions until the India vs England series is over.

[Iranus]

New Zealand might be in good form but they didn't play much test cricket in away condition and last time they went to play against Australia in Australia. They faced a whitewashed, they have a problem of getting choked when playing against Aussie. That's a only reason i gave advantage to Aussie.

For me, if it is NZ vs AUS, then both will be having equal chances. They will be playing in Lord's and both the teams won't have the home advantage. Australia is over-dependent on a few players, such as Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. On the other hand, New Zealand is a well balanced team and they are not dependent on anyone. But then, Australia have players such as Steve Smith, who can win matches in his own. NZ lacks a player of that calibre. That said, I don't want to make any predictions until the India vs England series is over.

If we have Australia vs New Zealand then most chances. Australia will win because even New Zeland is better team but when they are facing mostly they play under pressure which is really bad for them. They need to do some work on better mind set specially against Australia because now they are one of best team in Cricket world and they can achieve any thing they have good leadership good team unit just need to play good against Australia for win.

Seeing Australia's performance against India, I don't think Australia will be able to win a series if a series will be held between Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand team is stable enough now. They are playing very well. So I think both teams will have equal chances to win the series. Players make a lot of mistakes on the ground. The players of the team who make fewer mistakes, they will win. Because both teams have enough talented players.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

Seeing Australia's performance against India, I don't think Australia will be able to win a series if a series will be held between Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand team is stable enough now. They are playing very well. So I think both teams will have equal chances to win the series. Players make a lot of mistakes on the ground. The players of the team who make fewer mistakes, they will win. Because both teams have enough talented players.

You cannot conclude like that, India beat Australia in their last tour as well and everyone thought New Zealand would do the same but the result were entirely different as Australia dominated New Zealand in the three Test matches and you cannot compare how a team could perform because they saw the last series.

Look at the way India was over shadowed completely by England in the first Test match and no one thought consider how India played in Australia with a depleted team.

[ene1980]

New Zealand might be in good form but they didn't play much test cricket in away condition and last time they went to play against Australia in Australia.

So New Zealand always choke when playing in away condition and there is possibility that England might be the second team getting qualified for the WTC and that would be a great match up and the ICC could hype the match as the revenge match for their loss in the ODI world cup and England will win it comprehensively with the form they are in  .