Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[bryant.coleman]

And also the pitch will behave to the Indian condition which means you can't expect pace and seam like in England, so if they want to win the match on other grounds then they should prepare themselves to play at my condition. Indian batsmen too played there more comfortably than Eng so they were ahead of ENG this time. Probably the captain will choose the correct playing XI for ENG this time.

If they had included one more spinner, then things would have been a little bit better for England last time. Jack Leach bowled well, but he lacked support from the other end. Bess can be quite wayward at times, but I guess he could have made an impact in the third test. There was no point in going for 4 pace bowlers and just one full time spinner, as England did for the third test.

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[onrise]

Anybody watching the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe test match held at Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan was all out at just 131 runs and Zimbabwe are now 133/5. Though Zimbabwe is also now not that strong anything is possible though Zimbabwe has an advantage that they still have 5 wickets and already 2 runs ahead. But Afghanistan can wrap up last 5 wickets quickly with not much lead then they will need to bat well in second innings to create some pressure back on Zimbabwe.

[Iranus]

Anybody watching the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe test match held at Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan was all out at just 131 runs and Zimbabwe are now 133/5. Though Zimbabwe is also now not that strong anything is possible though Zimbabwe has an advantage that they still have 5 wickets and already 2 runs ahead. But Afghanistan can wrap up last 5 wickets quickly with not much lead then they will need to bat well in second innings to create some pressure back on Zimbabwe.

It doesn't look like Zimbabwe will be under any more pressure in this match. They are already ahead by 2 runs. And they have 5 more wickets. Sean Williams is still at the crease. If they can somehow collect a total of 200 runs, it is enough for them. But I think tomorrow Zimbabwe will collect 40-50 runs and lose the rest of the wickets. But i hope Zimbabwe will win this match

[Vishnu.Reang]

Anybody watching the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe test match held at Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan was all out at just 131 runs and Zimbabwe are now 133/5. Though Zimbabwe is also now not that strong anything is possible though Zimbabwe has an advantage that they still have 5 wickets and already 2 runs ahead. But Afghanistan can wrap up last 5 wickets quickly with not much lead then they will need to bat well in second innings to create some pressure back on Zimbabwe.

I would say that this is quite disappointing from Afghanistan. I have always considered them as one of the teams having huge future potential. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is one of those sides who are in the decline. Not even one Afghanistan batsmen could make a half century. If they can't perform against a team such as Zimbabwe, then how can they ask for more matches against quality teams? I understand that their bowling was severely hampered by the absence of Rashid Khan. But expected better performance from their batsmen.

[7788bitcoin]

Anybody watching the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe test match held at Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan was all out at just 131 runs and Zimbabwe are now 133/5. Though Zimbabwe is also now not that strong anything is possible though Zimbabwe has an advantage that they still have 5 wickets and already 2 runs ahead. But Afghanistan can wrap up last 5 wickets quickly with not much lead then they will need to bat well in second innings to create some pressure back on Zimbabwe.

I thought about placing a bet on Afghanistan to win the match but when i saw the team i could not recognize the team members and their best players are playing franchise T20 matches and hence not available to play for the team and hence i thought it would be risky to wage a bet on the match. If Rashid Khan or any of their recognized players were included then it would be an easy bet but not sure about it when you are not sure about the players.

[Sithara007]

Anybody watching the Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe test match held at Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan was all out at just 131 runs and Zimbabwe are now 133/5. Though Zimbabwe is also now not that strong anything is possible though Zimbabwe has an advantage that they still have 5 wickets and already 2 runs ahead. But Afghanistan can wrap up last 5 wickets quickly with not much lead then they will need to bat well in second innings to create some pressure back on Zimbabwe.

I thought about placing a bet on Afghanistan to win the match but when i saw the team i could not recognize the team members and their best players are playing franchise T20 matches and hence not available to play for the team and hence i thought it would be risky to wage a bet on the match. If Rashid Khan or any of their recognized players were included then it would be an easy bet but not sure about it when you are not sure about the players.

A few days back, Rashid Khan was complaining, claiming that Afghanistan doesn't get much opportunities to play against the top teams. But if they perform like this, then why should the top teams play against them? The squad selection was also poor. They went for a very inexperienced side. Zimbabwe on the other hand had a mix of experienced and inexperienced players and that gave them the advantage.

[JSRAW]

Indians are playing mind games with the English batters, every time they are coming out for press conference, they keep reminding everyone that 4th test match pitch is going to be spin friendly similar to 2nd test match. Reminds me of English press conference when India tours to England.

Let's see if this fire back to Indians or not. Would be ironic if England fight back and win the game. Indians did the same in the Lords, if Indians can do it then surely England can also show some tricks.

[bryant.coleman]

Indians are playing mind games with the English batters, every time they are coming out for press conference, they keep reminding everyone that 4th test match pitch is going to be spin friendly similar to 2nd test match. Reminds me of English press conference when India tours to England.

Let's see if this fire back to Indians or not. Would be ironic if England fight back and win the game. Indians did the same in the Lords, if Indians can do it then surely England can also show some tricks.

Winners of the last match will go directly to the World Test Championship final, so it is extremely important. For Indians, the good work done in the second and third test matches will be undone if they lose the fourth match as a result of their complacency. If England wins the toss and manages to put a total of 300-350, then things will get interesting. Their bowlers did OK so far. The issue was with their batting.

[JSRAW]

Indians are playing mind games with the English batters, every time they are coming out for press conference, they keep reminding everyone that 4th test match pitch is going to be spin friendly similar to 2nd test match. Reminds me of English press conference when India tours to England.

Let's see if this fire back to Indians or not. Would be ironic if England fight back and win the game. Indians did the same in the Lords, if Indians can do it then surely England can also show some tricks.

Winners of the last match will go directly to the World Test Championship final, so it is extremely important. For Indians, the good work done in the second and third test matches will be undone if they lose the fourth match as a result of their complacency. If England wins the toss and manages to put a total of 300-350, then things will get interesting. Their bowlers did OK so far. The issue was with their batting.

England lost the toss in 2nd match and lost the game.
England won the toss in 3rd match and lost the game.

So i think we should give some benefit of doubt to toss-factor this time and let's hope that England might show some fight and India not taking things lightly. Aussie would side with the poms for the next game, they need England to win so that they can qualify for the finals.  

[Sithara007]

England lost the toss in 2nd match and lost the game.
England won the toss in 3rd match and lost the game.

So i think we should give some benefit of doubt to toss-factor this time and let's hope that England might show some fight and India not taking things lightly. Aussie would side with the poms for the next game, they need England to win so that they can qualify for the finals.  

Third match was D/N and therefore the importance of toss was reduced. But that doesn't take away the fact that England batsmen failed horribly despite batting first. Anyway, the last match start tomorrow and it is going to be crucial for all the three teams (India, Australia and to an extent England). The question is whether the WTC final will be between New Zealand and India, or NZ vs Australia. Both the scenarios look exciting.

[mersal]

Indians are playing mind games with the English batters, every time they are coming out for press conference, they keep reminding everyone that 4th test match pitch is going to be spin friendly similar to 2nd test match. Reminds me of English press conference when India tours to England.

Let's see if this fire back to Indians or not. Would be ironic if England fight back and win the game. Indians did the same in the Lords, if Indians can do it then surely England can also show some tricks.

Winners of the last match will go directly to the World Test Championship final, so it is extremely important. For Indians, the good work done in the second and third test matches will be undone if they lose the fourth match as a result of their complacency. If England wins the toss and manages to put a total of 300-350, then things will get interesting. Their bowlers did OK so far. The issue was with their batting.

IIRC, if this test series ends in a draw then AUS will qualify for the World Test championship Finale, not the ENG so there is no more chance for ENG but they can destroy the WTC dream of Indians if they can manage to win the match which is going to start from tomorrow. Even a draw will put India in the Final.

[bryant.coleman]

Winners of the last match will go directly to the World Test Championship final, so it is extremely important. For Indians, the good work done in the second and third test matches will be undone if they lose the fourth match as a result of their complacency. If England wins the toss and manages to put a total of 300-350, then things will get interesting. Their bowlers did OK so far. The issue was with their batting.

IIRC, if this test series ends in a draw then AUS will qualify for the World Test championship Finale, not the ENG so there is no more chance for ENG but they can destroy the WTC dream of Indians if they can manage to win the match which is going to start from tomorrow. Even a draw will put India in the Final.

Yup.. I was wrong in my post. England is out of the WTC finals after their pathetic performance in the second test. They had to win the series, and now it is not possible. So it is now between Australia and India. The Kiwis are surely going to prefer Australia over India as their opponents. Australia is in pathetic form right now and both their batsmen and the bowlers are not doing well.

[GbitG]

Look like now after India vs England and Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe ICC can reduce five day matches into short format currently just second day of first test match between Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe we are going to have result Afghanistan 131 & 21/5  Zimbabwe 250
Afghanistan need 98 runs to avoid inning defeat and Zimbabwe need only 5 wickets to win first match of this series.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Look like now after India vs England and Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe ICC can reduce five day matches into short format currently just second day of first test match between Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe we are going to have result Afghanistan 131 & 21/5  Zimbabwe 250
Afghanistan need 98 runs to avoid inning defeat and Zimbabwe need only 5 wickets to win first match of this series.

Afghanistan sent an inexperienced side (without Rashid Khan, Mujeebur Rahman.etc), but I wasn't expecting a one sided match such as this one. 41 overs are remaining today and Afghanistan still need another 88 runs to avoid follow on. Looks like we will be having another two-day test match. To make matters worse, this was one of the "home" tests for Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe was also missing some of their key players such as Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis, but they managed to put up a decent show. Again and again, Zimbabwe rises up like a phoenix, when everyone writes them off. Just imagine what they could have achieved, if the players were supported by a competitive cricket board. Unfortunately their board is still corrupt and a large part of the ICC funding is stolen or wasted every year.

[Juggy777]

Look like now after India vs England and Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe ICC can reduce five day matches into short format currently just second day of first test match between Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe we are going to have result Afghanistan 131 & 21/5  Zimbabwe 250
Afghanistan need 98 runs to avoid inning defeat and Zimbabwe need only 5 wickets to win first match of this series.

Afghanistan sent an inexperienced side (without Rashid Khan, Mujeebur Rahman.etc), but I wasn't expecting a one sided match such as this one. 41 overs are remaining today and Afghanistan still need another 88 runs to avoid follow on. Looks like we will be having another two-day test match. To make matters worse, this was one of the "home" tests for Afghanistan.

Zimbabwe was also missing some of their key players such as Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis, but they managed to put up a decent show. Again and again, Zimbabwe rises up like a phoenix, when everyone writes them off. Just imagine what they could have achieved, if the players were supported by a competitive cricket board. Unfortunately their board is still corrupt and a large part of the ICC funding is stolen or wasted every year.

@GbitG the shorter format of test matches is a dream that’ll never really materialise, because ICC will not allow it as they’ll lose out on revenues from advertisers as the advertisers pay for 5 days. @Vishnu.Reang I believe that you have highlighted the success of Zimbabwe in the past too, and while I’m not keenly following them but this was indeed a solid performance by the Zimbabwean team.

[bryant.coleman]

Very poor performance from the part of Afghanistan. I don't know what happened to them, but 2-3 years ago they were giving stiff competition even to the big 3 sides. I understand that the absence of Rashid Khan (due to injury) impacted them negatively. But there is no excuse for the failure from the part of their batsmen. After all these years, Afghanistan still doesn't have a stable top order. They are experimenting with new players every now and then.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Very poor performance from the part of Afghanistan. I don't know what happened to them, but 2-3 years ago they were giving stiff competition even to the big 3 sides. I understand that the absence of Rashid Khan (due to injury) impacted them negatively. But there is no excuse for the failure from the part of their batsmen. After all these years, Afghanistan still doesn't have a stable top order. They are experimenting with new players every now and then.

Afghanistan is not a good team. They play well occasionally. But I didn’t think they would play so badly against a small team like Zimbabwe. Afghanistan has many talented players. Yet their batting has been a disaster. The Afghanistan team is well aware of Rashid Khan's absence. Afghanistan would have played better if he had.

[newwest]

Very poor performance from the part of Afghanistan. I don't know what happened to them, but 2-3 years ago they were giving stiff competition even to the big 3 sides. I understand that the absence of Rashid Khan (due to injury) impacted them negatively. But there is no excuse for the failure from the part of their batsmen. After all these years, Afghanistan still doesn't have a stable top order. They are experimenting with new players every now and then.

This was really sad to see that there was no one ready to stay on the pitch and they in both innings they were out in 130's in test match which is like certainly not up the mark. Also, they are playing against Zimbabwe so considering that was expecting some better performance from them because they have potential and showed that over some time.

[bryant.coleman]

Very poor performance from the part of Afghanistan. I don't know what happened to them, but 2-3 years ago they were giving stiff competition even to the big 3 sides. I understand that the absence of Rashid Khan (due to injury) impacted them negatively. But there is no excuse for the failure from the part of their batsmen. After all these years, Afghanistan still doesn't have a stable top order. They are experimenting with new players every now and then.

Afghanistan is not a good team. They play well occasionally. But I didn’t think they would play so badly against a small team like Zimbabwe. Afghanistan has many talented players. Yet their batting has been a disaster. The Afghanistan team is well aware of Rashid Khan's absence. Afghanistan would have played better if he had.

I don't think that they are not a good team. Previously against some of the stronger teams they had played well. Don't know what happened this time, but I suspect that going for too many players and lack of exposure to the longer format of the game proved to be their undoing. They need to play more test matches, so that they will get enough experience in this format. There are a lot of T20 specialists in the Afghanistan team. But they don't have any test specialists. 

[JSRAW]

Kohli lost the toss again!!! Dude need more practice with the toss. England is batting first one more time, good chance for them to comeback in this game. England would be very happy side if they able to draw the series. Australian fans are also cheering for them.

-Bumrah is getting married so he's out and Siraj comes in his place.
-No Broad-Jofra this time, Dominic Bess(Spin) and Daniel Lawrence (Batsman) are in. England got only 3 regular bowlers and 2 part timer Joe Root and Stokes(he's not bowling much due to workload etc).



https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1367319040612470789