Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[teosanru]

@JSRAW's prediction about India reaching 350 or more is most likely correct at this point. I didn't expect this magnificent comeback from the Indian batsmen at all after their recent performances.

If India manages to post something above 350, they stand a great chance at winning this one.

There is now an opportunity for England's players to take some quick wickets. If they are able to take two more wickets today, then maybe tomorrow's match will be under their control.

I don't think it will be that easy for the English bowlers to take quick wickets since Kohli and Jadeja are playing well and the Indian team morale is currently high.

True that I expect India to even reach 400, and that would really be a very big target, then if Indian bowlers can pull out something like what they did in the first match, it could really be India's series with a win in this match, even though English team batted quite good in the first innings but batting on the 5th day while chasing would be a very difficult task.
 
One thing that is going to happen after the match for sure is that Rohit's fan after this 100 would want Kohli to be replaced as the captain and Rohit to be the new captain of the team,LOL I am waiting for the fan reactions if Kohli is not able to score a 100 in this innings.

[7788bitcoin]

India have lost their top three batsmen. Rohit Sharma, Rahul and Pujara. They scored 127, 46 and 61 runs respectively. Now Kohli and Jadeja are at the crease. There is now an opportunity for England's players to take some quick wickets. If they are able to take two more wickets today, then maybe tomorrow's match will be under their control.

The morning session will be crucial for England, they should not allow India to settle down especially Virat Kohli as he could stay for a much longer time and take the game away from England. I have not seen Jadeja scoring big hundreds in International cricket so there is nothing to worry about him and Rahane is not in the best of form. England could easily win the match if they could pick Virat Kohli and i am expecting England would come out with a plan to get him out early.

[KennyR]

India requires more 300 runs, because England's performance can go high in no time due to its home ground advantage. Till date 418 is the highest score thats been chased by any team on test cricket. Based on that Indian team will try to reach 450 runs and end the innings. Lets see, by tomorrow's session we can conclude the end result of the game.

[nhaila]

India have lost their top three batsmen. Rohit Sharma, Rahul and Pujara. They scored 127, 46 and 61 runs respectively. Now Kohli and Jadeja are at the crease. There is now an opportunity for England's players to take some quick wickets. If they are able to take two more wickets today, then maybe tomorrow's match will be under their control.

I think this test match innings fully controlled by India because they already collected 270/3 but if Kohli And jadeja would collect an honorable score then it has highly possible to beat england.

[7788bitcoin]

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I think this test match innings fully controlled by India because they already collected 270/3 but if Kohli And jadeja would collect an honorable score then it has highly possible to beat england.

Two days left and how long you think India will bat, will they be batting two sessions tomorrow. I am not sure whether the pitch is helping the batsman but i have watched the highlights and the pitch is turning sharply when Root was bowling and India did not include the best spinner Ashwin which will be crucial and Jadeja is not a big turner of the ball.

[ene1980]

India requires more 300 runs, because England's performance can go high in no time due to its home ground advantage. Till date 418 is the highest score thats been chased by any team on test cricket. Based on that Indian team will try to reach 450 runs and end the innings. Lets see, by tomorrow's session we can conclude the end result of the game.

It is not easy to chase 280 runs in the final two days let alone a score of 418 runs in England. I am not sure where those matches are played where the team batting last chased down 418 runs but it is impossible in pitches like England and Australia. May be those were flat tracks without any help for the bowlers, if India could set a target of 280 and above then it will be a competitive match.

[pakhitheboss]

India have lost their top three batsmen. Rohit Sharma, Rahul and Pujara. They scored 127, 46 and 61 runs respectively. Now Kohli and Jadeja are at the crease. There is now an opportunity for England's players to take some quick wickets. If they are able to take two more wickets today, then maybe tomorrow's match will be under their control.

I think this test match innings fully controlled by India because they already collected 270/3 but if Kohli And jadeja would collect an honorable score then it has highly possible to beat england.

The lead is only 171 runs at the moment. If India wants to win this match then they have to put on at least 300 runs lead. Which will only happen if Mr Kohli and Sir Jadeja perform exceptionally well tomorrow. India is well poised to win this match only if the middle order performs. All now depends on the first session of the match and how fast Indian batsmen can score.

[Sithara007]

The lead is only 171 runs at the moment. If India wants to win this match then they have to put on at least 300 runs lead. Which will only happen if Mr Kohli and Sir Jadeja perform exceptionally well tomorrow. India is well poised to win this match only if the middle order performs. All now depends on the first session of the match and how fast Indian batsmen can score.

At the moment, the lead is only 171 runs, but you are forgetting the fact that they have 7 wickets in hand. I don't know whether 300 is achievable, but anything above 200 would hand the advantage to India. As we have seen from the previous test matches in this series, 4th innings totals are mostly below 200. Irrespective of the outcome, it can't be denied that India made an amazing comeback in this match. If they win, they will go up 2-1, and they just need to draw the final match to win the series.

[JSRAW]

Nearly perfect day for the Indians, losing 2 quick wicket in an over was distasteful but its okay i suppose.

3rd day pitch was excellent to bat on but i feel English bowlers bowled very good line throughout the day and credit to our batters for holding their nerves during tricky first session. KL Rahul did okay, surprisingly Pujara did excellent job too. He was literally playing for his career and he looked determined, at one time his strike rate was touching 70-80 which was amazing to witness. Hitman finally got his first ton in SENA countries. I never believed that he was much of test player despite being a champion batsman in white ball because of his poor show in the test since 2013 but his luck changed once he started opening, one would new avatar of Rohit so very happy for him.

India is in commanding position atm and they can dictate the terms if they bat for another 1 and half session, hope there is no batting collapse. India wouldn't mind if pitch start to deteriorate after lunch tho because we shouldn't forget that there is no Ashwin. Bumrah was struggling with his ankle problem and so far Thakur-Siraj didn't look in rhythm.

[LittleBitFunny]

Yes Rohit Sharma's maiden century and the partnership with Rahul and Pujara has really helped India to stand up till the end of third day. A shining performance from Rohit. Really it was fantastic to watch. Hope they again start off fresh with same energy tomorrow. Hope the climate should support and players play well. Awaiting to watch it again tom.  

As Rohit Sharma batted responsibly for the team yesterday, if Virat Kohli can perform exactly the same, then India will be able to collect a huge run in this innings. If India is able to play well in today's two sessions, then England will have no choice but to draw the match.

[JohnBitCo]

India have lost their top three batsmen. Rohit Sharma, Rahul and Pujara. They scored 127, 46 and 61 runs respectively. Now Kohli and Jadeja are at the crease. There is now an opportunity for England's players to take some quick wickets. If they are able to take two more wickets today, then maybe tomorrow's match will be under their control.

I think this test match innings fully controlled by India because they already collected 270/3 but if Kohli And jadeja would collect an honorable score then it has highly possible to beat england.

No, India are not playing good today and have quickly lost two wickets. Its one of those matches, where one team seems to win and then suddenly it seems that the other team is winning. Virat Kohli and Pant now have a big responsibility on their hand else India can still lose this game from here.

[bryant.coleman]

Kohli is gone, but the Indian lead has crossed the 200 mark. If Pant and Shardul can add another 30-40 runs, then it will be almost impossible for the Poms to chase (given the fact that the Indian pacers are in excellent form). Advantage with India now, and even if the remaining 4 wickets fell quickly, it will be extremely difficult for England to chase. The point here is not to make any mistake while bowling. Indian pacers don't need to try anything extra. Just bowling in their normal line and length would be enough to dismiss England for sub-200 total.

[Haunebu]

No, India are not playing good today and have quickly lost two wickets. Its one of those matches, where one team seems to win and then suddenly it seems that the other team is winning. Virat Kohli and Pant now have a big responsibility on their hand else India can still lose this game from here.

Wrong. India is still in the driver's seat to win this match since a couple of quick wickets doesn't ensure victory for England. Pant and Shardul are playing well and it looks like India can provide a lead close to 300 soon.

The English batsmen will be under a lot of pressure since the target is big and the Indian bowlers will probably be on fire.

[CryptoBuds]

Virat Kohli - 44
Ravindra Jadeja - 16
Ajinkiya Rahane - 0
Now Rishab Pant and Shardul Tagore are batting. I had high expectations from Rahane and Kohli. But they are disappointed. If India lose all their wickets by less than 400 runs, they will not be able to win the match. Even less likely to draw.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Virat Kohli - 44
Ravindra Jadeja - 16
Ajinkiya Rahane - 0
Now Rishab Pant and Shardul Tagore are batting. I had high expectations from Rahane and Kohli. But they are disappointed. If India lose all their wickets by less than 400 runs, they will not be able to win the match. Even less likely to draw.

LOL.. 400 runs means a lead of 301. They can easily win, IMO. Even 240-250 is going to be enough (and India already has a lead of 230 runs). England is on backfoot here. Any runs from now on would be a bonus. And despite the initial hiccups, it looks as if Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur have settled down. Partnership between these two have so far added 17 runs in 7 overs. Another 15-20 runs should be enough for India to win this match. Honestly, I don't think that England would be able to chase anything above 250.

[eaLiTy]

Virat Kohli - 44
Ravindra Jadeja - 16
Ajinkiya Rahane - 0
Now Rishab Pant and Shardul Tagore are batting. I had high expectations from Rahane and Kohli. But they are disappointed. If India lose all their wickets by less than 400 runs, they will not be able to win the match. Even less likely to draw.

Ajinkya Rahane is not in form for a long time and i expected him to be replaced by some young talents in the side and i am surprised he got selected once again despite his terrible form and now this should be a coffin to his Test match career and he should be replaced by someone young.

Shardul Thakur looks good in the crease and he is batting well and Rishabh Pant should bat for a longer period to save the match, if not batting in the last day is easier in Oval and anything below 300 England will try to get them.

[bryant.coleman]

Ajinkya Rahane is not in form for a long time and i expected him to be replaced by some young talents in the side and i am surprised he got selected once again despite his terrible form and now this should be a coffin to his Test match career and he should be replaced by someone young.

Shardul Thakur looks good in the crease and he is batting well and Rishabh Pant should bat for a longer period to save the match, if not batting in the last day is easier in Oval and anything below 300 England will try to get them.

The selectors don't want to get blame later. So they are giving him (Rahane) maximum number of chances. I won't be surprised if he is included in the playing XI for the final test match as well. That is going to be his final chance. If he performs poorly, then his test career is over. But I agree that this is not fair. There are so many talented youngsters out there playing domestic cricket, who deserves a chance. Rahane can go back to playing Ranji Trophy for a couple of years and can announce his retirement in case his form doesn't improve.

[UmerIdrees]

Virat Kohli - 44
Ravindra Jadeja - 16
Ajinkiya Rahane - 0
Now Rishab Pant and Shardul Tagore are batting. I had high expectations from Rahane and Kohli. But they are disappointed. If India lose all their wickets by less than 400 runs, they will not be able to win the match. Even less likely to draw.

How many runs are sufficient for an Indian win ?

I think there is a lot of pressure in the last innings so to score 300 runs won't be easy in the last innings. India needs another 50 to 60 runs and they will feel safe in the match. Another question is if india is not bowled out, at what target would they declare ?

[Vishnu.Reang]

How many runs are sufficient for an Indian win ?

I think there is a lot of pressure in the last innings so to score 300 runs won't be easy in the last innings. India needs another 50 to 60 runs and they will feel safe in the match. Another question is if india is not bowled out, at what target would they declare ?

At this rate, they can easily get a lead of 300. The 7th wicket partnership is worth 51 already and the total lead is 264 runs. They have 4 wickets in hand, so I guess we can expect the target for England to be in the 340-350 range. Once again Shardul Thakur has played a crucial role with the bat. Unfortunately that also means that both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma will be out of the playing XI for sometime. And 60 plus overs remain for today (4th day). So I don't expect the declaration to come anytime soon.

[7788bitcoin]

I did not expect India to take the game away from England this morning when they lost their crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane for another duck and Ravindra Jadeja along with Virat Kohli did not survive either but the lower order is always rescuing India every time they are in trouble and this time Shardul Thakur once again showing signs of his batting skills and Rishabh Pant gave good support and now the tail end is once again giving the England bowlers headache and the lead has grown to 346 runs.