Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Minor Miner]

Day four ends with New Zealand at 94/4.
To win the second Test and level the series, South Africa only needs six wickets on the final day. It is clear that New Zealand have a real challenge ahead of them, 332 more runs in just one day with six wickets in hand. The mountainous target, huge run chase and pressure will force both sides to put their best foot forward on the final day, we'll see by tomorrow.

South Africa is going to win the match easily. Probably there will be no pressure on them. New Zealand players are already under pressure. They have lost their 4 valuable wickets. The Black Caps have a slight chance to draw the match, but they need a long partnership to do it. The probability is very low to see something like that.

It is almost impossible to win by batting for 426 runs in the last innings. New Zealand's goal may have been to draw the match. But they have already lost 4 wickets. I didn't think they would lose 4 wickets so fast. I was expecting to see more responsible batting from the top-order batsmen. On the fifth day, the New Zealand players do not seem to be able to survive at the crease. South Africa will win this match.

[Haunebu]

I was expecting to see more responsible batting from the top-order batsmen. On the fifth day, the New Zealand players do not seem to be able to survive at the crease. South Africa will win this match.

Agreed. This is a great comeback by South Africa after their dreadful defeat in the first test which seemed more like a T-20 match. Couple of newcomers in the SA team impressed me with their performances in this match.

New Zealand will most probably lose their remaining wickets quickly which would cause this test series to end as a draw.

[KennyR]

I was expecting to see more responsible batting from the top-order batsmen. On the fifth day, the New Zealand players do not seem to be able to survive at the crease. South Africa will win this match.

Agreed. This is a great comeback by South Africa after their dreadful defeat in the first test which seemed more like a T-20 match. Couple of newcomers in the SA team impressed me with their performances in this match.

New Zealand will most probably lose their remaining wickets quickly which would cause this test series to end as a draw.

That is a very big score to be defeated. In the first innings New Zealand made an unexpected comeback and now in the second innings South Africa have done the same. If New Zealand is able to give the same performance as the first innings this match will end as a draw, but this time the chance seems to be low. For now New Zealand is in good position even though it had lost 4 wickets. It needs to withstand another 79 overs to draw the match.

[Sithara007]

New Zealand struggling at 227/9 and South Africa is just one wicket away from a famous victory. However there is some rain interruption going on and the play has been stopped. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen have picked up three wickets each till now, while Keshav Maharaj got the wickets of Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell. Devon Conway was the only New Zealand batsmen who offered some resistance, but even he missed a century and got out for 92. From what I heard, it is just a passing shower and the play may resume shortly.

[pakhitheboss]

New Zealand struggling at 227/9 and South Africa is just one wicket away from a famous victory. However there is some rain interruption going on and the play has been stopped. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen have picked up three wickets each till now, while Keshav Maharaj got the wickets of Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell. Devon Conway was the only New Zealand batsmen who offered some resistance, but even he missed a century and got out for 92. From what I heard, it is just a passing shower and the play may resume shortly.

South Africa won by 198 runs in the second test match tieing the series 1-1. Elgar decision of batting first helped the South African side in defeating Newzealand. I am sure the Newzealand side never expected such a defeat. Good comeback by South Africa.

[JSRAW]

I knew that Proteas record was good against the Kiwis but i never imagined that Protea's had such dominance when playing against the kiwis. Protea are yet to lose any series, that's some fine record and may be it's a NZ version of final frontier.

[Minor Miner]

New Zealand has lost a Test match in Christchurch after a long absence. In fact, I expected them to win this match too. The first match they completely ruled and won. But the South African batsman is well aware of the state of the pitch. They have shown remarkable performance in both the innings. They have collected more than 350 in both innings. New Zealand's batsmen should have played better. Because they are familiar with this pitch.

[Mr.Scott]

New Zealand has lost a Test match in Christchurch after a long absence. In fact, I expected them to win this match too. The first match they completely ruled and won. But the South African batsman is well aware of the state of the pitch. They have shown remarkable performance in both the innings. They have collected more than 350 in both innings. New Zealand's batsmen should have played better. Because they are familiar with this pitch.

New Zealand could have lost the match early on day five, but they tried their best. In the opening session, the Kiwis lost only one wicket, and they remained competitive until the third session. Despite their efforts, the Kiwis were unable to prevent South Africa's win. South Africa won the second test match thanks to an outstanding performance by Kagiso Rabada. The second test ended in a loss for New Zealand by 198 runs, ending the series at 1-1.

[Marvell1]

I've always thought that this match was in favor of South Africa from the start and they also lived up to the expectation at the end of the match. I always thought they are going to give them a target of more than 300 and I was right.

And New Zealand tried their best but they could not hang on till the end as the South African bowlers bowled really well. But I am sad that Devon missed out on his hundred.

New Zealand has lost a Test match in Christchurch after a long absence. In fact, I expected them to win this match too. The first match they completely ruled and won. But the South African batsman is well aware of the state of the pitch. They have shown remarkable performance in both the innings. They have collected more than 350 in both innings. New Zealand's batsmen should have played better. Because they are familiar with this pitch.

New Zealand could have lost the match early on day five, but they tried their best. In the opening session, the Kiwis lost only one wicket, and they remained competitive until the third session. Despite their efforts, the Kiwis were unable to prevent South Africa's win. South Africa won the second test match thanks to an outstanding performance by Kagiso Rabada. The second test ended in a loss for New Zealand by 198 runs, ending the series at 1-1.

[Maidak]

I knew that Proteas record was good against the Kiwis but i never imagined that Protea's had such dominance when playing against the kiwis. Protea are yet to lose any series, that's some fine record and may be it's a NZ version of final frontier.

Actually, I also did not know about this record. And now as I come to know about this I am in absolute awe of the South African test cricket team. Because Newzealand is no easy team to beat. They are also the test cricket champions currently and to have a record like that against the champions is just absolutely great and shows how good this team is at test cricket.

[JSRAW]

I knew that Proteas record was good against the Kiwis but i never imagined that Protea's had such dominance when playing against the kiwis. Protea are yet to lose any series, that's some fine record and may be it's a NZ version of final frontier.

Actually, I also did not know about this record. And now as I come to know about this I am in absolute awe of the South African test cricket team. Because Newzealand is no easy team to beat. They are also the test cricket champions currently and to have a record like that against the champions is just absolutely great and shows how good this team is at test cricket.

SA is trying to make inroads in WTC point table now. Kolapak system is not the problem anymore so no more excuses, hope they continue this kind of performance in future as well.

Yeah in recent time, under Williamson this kiwi team become excellent unit and they always punch above their weight. Having said that other SENA country Australia also don't take them seriously in Tests, for example CA treat them as their bunny and don't take their bilateral Trans-Tasman Trophy seriously because NZ hardly put any fight into it.

Now i'm starting to feel that Kiwis winning WTC was kinda due to flawed WTC system. They qualified into the finals despite not playing a single match away from home and Final was in England, so favorable condition for them. Result could have been very different if final was schedule in subcontinent or Caribbean.

[Maidak]

SA is trying to make inroads in WTC point table now. Kolapak system is not the problem anymore so no more excuses, hope they continue this kind of performance in future as well.

Yeah in recent time, under Williamson this kiwi team become excellent unit and they always punch above their weight. Having said that other SENA country Australia also don't take them seriously in Tests, for example CA treat them as their bunny and don't take their bilateral Trans-Tasman Trophy seriously because NZ hardly put any fight into it.

Now i'm starting to feel that Kiwis winning WTC was kinda due to flawed WTC system. They qualified into the finals despite not playing a single match away from home and Final was in England, so favorable condition for them. Result could have been very different if final was schedule in subcontinent or Caribbean.

Actually, the change of venues Could certainly be problematic for New Zealand. Now, we have to accept that they are the WTC champions. But now I think that South Africa is going to give them a good fight for their title and probably will also be able to win the championship in my opinion. But that's a long way to go, And yes currently, the Kolapak system not being an issue, will also help the South Africans to form a better squad.

[repear7]

The South African players all played well. But the venue here was in New Zealand where they were supposed to play better. Again, he is the Test champion team. It was supposed to be very difficult to lose them there. But the South African players have played their best. Rabada in particular has played much better. They have won their Test match for him. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. The South African players are gifting a very good game. South Africa lost to New Zealand by many runs. South Africa won by a huge margin of 198 runs.

[JSRAW]

SA is trying to make inroads in WTC point table now. Kolapak system is not the problem anymore so no more excuses, hope they continue this kind of performance in future as well.

Yeah in recent time, under Williamson this kiwi team become excellent unit and they always punch above their weight. Having said that other SENA country Australia also don't take them seriously in Tests, for example CA treat them as their bunny and don't take their bilateral Trans-Tasman Trophy seriously because NZ hardly put any fight into it.

Now i'm starting to feel that Kiwis winning WTC was kinda due to flawed WTC system. They qualified into the finals despite not playing a single match away from home and Final was in England, so favorable condition for them. Result could have been very different if final was schedule in subcontinent or Caribbean.

Actually, the change of venues Could certainly be problematic for New Zealand. Now, we have to accept that they are the WTC champions. But now I think that South Africa is going to give them a good fight for their title and probably will also be able to win the championship in my opinion. But that's a long way to go, And yes currently, the Kolapak system not being an issue, will also help the South Africans to form a better squad.

No problem whatsoever with them winning the WTC title but if we look at closely without any bias then all system looks dodgy, having said that rules are same for every team. Some got better deal out of it and some missed out the opportunity so its part of the game.

I doubt if NZ is going to qualify in this cycle, they already played 3 series and won only 2 matches. The best they can do is play spoiler role for other parties.

SA should fancy there chances for the finals as they bring their A game against Australia (another tough series). Pak is in strong position as they are playing in subcontinent only. Aus also looking strong but they are facing Pak, Ind and India in subcontinent, which is not easy task. SL could also surprise us if they successfully draw the upcoming series against India. India need to play quality cricket and win most of their remaining fixture (7 out of 9) if they want to play finals again.

[coinism]

I knew that Proteas record was good against the Kiwis but i never imagined that Protea's had such dominance when playing against the kiwis. Protea are yet to lose any series, that's some fine record and may be it's a NZ version of final frontier.

https://i.imgur.com/USWsr4d.jpg

After first test match result it was very much expected that NZ will win there first ever test series against SA but it was proved totally wrong by SA in second test. SA performance in test series against NZ and India proved that they are not like SL and WI rather they are as good as any other test playing country. That's something good for test cricket. 

[Minor Miner]

New Zealand has lost a Test match in Christchurch after a long absence. In fact, I expected them to win this match too. The first match they completely ruled and won. But the South African batsman is well aware of the state of the pitch. They have shown remarkable performance in both the innings. They have collected more than 350 in both innings. New Zealand's batsmen should have played better. Because they are familiar with this pitch.

New Zealand could have lost the match early on day five, but they tried their best. In the opening session, the Kiwis lost only one wicket, and they remained competitive until the third session. Despite their efforts, the Kiwis were unable to prevent South Africa's win. South Africa won the second test match thanks to an outstanding performance by Kagiso Rabada. The second test ended in a loss for New Zealand by 198 runs, ending the series at 1-1.

If the opener does not start the innings well, it becomes difficult to win the match. And I want to blame their two openers for New Zealand's defeat. Tom Latham scored 1 run in two innings. Will Young collected 3 runs in two innings. If the two of them could have started well and collected around 30-40 runs, New Zealand could have fought for the win. But the South African bowlers have played great. Rabada's bowling was outstanding.

[Vaskiy]

New Zealand has lost a Test match in Christchurch after a long absence. In fact, I expected them to win this match too. The first match they completely ruled and won. But the South African batsman is well aware of the state of the pitch. They have shown remarkable performance in both the innings. They have collected more than 350 in both innings. New Zealand's batsmen should have played better. Because they are familiar with this pitch.

New Zealand could have lost the match early on day five, but they tried their best. In the opening session, the Kiwis lost only one wicket, and they remained competitive until the third session. Despite their efforts, the Kiwis were unable to prevent South Africa's win. South Africa won the second test match thanks to an outstanding performance by Kagiso Rabada. The second test ended in a loss for New Zealand by 198 runs, ending the series at 1-1.

If the opener does not start the innings well, it becomes difficult to win the match. And I want to blame their two openers for New Zealand's defeat. Tom Latham scored 1 run in two innings. Will Young collected 3 runs in two innings. If the two of them could have started well and collected around 30-40 runs, New Zealand could have fought for the win. But the South African bowlers have played great. Rabada's bowling was outstanding.

Yes, it was always the openers who plays an important role in the cricket matches. The initial wicket loss makes the match to be easy for the opponent. During the first innings same scenario happened, but with the batting of Grandhomme things changed and New Zealand got back into the match. The second innings didn't give hands.

[blatchcorn]

If the opener does not start the innings well, it becomes difficult to win the match. And I want to blame their two openers for New Zealand's defeat. Tom Latham scored 1 run in two innings. Will Young collected 3 runs in two innings. If the two of them could have started well and collected around 30-40 runs, New Zealand could have fought for the win. But the South African bowlers have played great. Rabada's bowling was outstanding.

Not only openers of New Zealand Tom Latham and Will Young collapsed but the whole batting line up collapsed against SA bowling lineup. Its Conway and Colin de Grandhomme who saved NZ from humiliation in first and second innings. New Zealand have to wait for next series to break there losing series streak against SA.

[Maidak]

<>

No problem whatsoever with them winning the WTC title but if we look at closely without any bias then all system looks dodgy, having said that rules are same for every team. Some got better deal out of it and some missed out the opportunity so its part of the game.

I doubt if NZ is going to qualify in this cycle, they already played 3 series and won only 2 matches. The best they can do is play spoiler role for other parties.

SA should fancy there chances for the finals as they bring their A game against Australia (another tough series). Pak is in strong position as they are playing in subcontinent only. Aus also looking strong but they are facing Pak, Ind and India in subcontinent, which is not easy task. SL could also surprise us if they successfully draw the upcoming series against India. India need to play quality cricket and win most of their remaining fixture (7 out of 9) if they want to play finals again.

Newzealand is obviously going to have a really hard time defending their title and I don't see them being successful doing it. Because they have had a really bad start.

I thought Australia has a good chance but they have lots of games in sub-continent and away conditions and I don't see them doing too good in certain situations.

India seems to be a good choice for picking to be in the finals again. I am really hopeful about South Africa though, they have shown good performance and also a really strong test side.

[JSRAW]

<>

No problem whatsoever with them winning the WTC title but if we look at closely without any bias then all system looks dodgy, having said that rules are same for every team. Some got better deal out of it and some missed out the opportunity so its part of the game.

I doubt if NZ is going to qualify in this cycle, they already played 3 series and won only 2 matches. The best they can do is play spoiler role for other parties.

SA should fancy there chances for the finals as they bring their A game against Australia (another tough series). Pak is in strong position as they are playing in subcontinent only. Aus also looking strong but they are facing Pak, Ind and India in subcontinent, which is not easy task. SL could also surprise us if they successfully draw the upcoming series against India. India need to play quality cricket and win most of their remaining fixture (7 out of 9) if they want to play finals again.

Newzealand is obviously going to have a really hard time defending their title and I don't see them being successful doing it. Because they have had a really bad start.

I thought Australia has a good chance but they have lots of games in sub-continent and away conditions and I don't see them doing too good in certain situations.

India seems to be a good choice for picking to be in the finals again. I am really hopeful about South Africa though, they have shown good performance and also a really strong test side.

Not just hard but close to zero chances for them.

This is current report for all the series.

NZ - 1 home series (SL)  and 2 away series (ENG + PAK). Eng hit the rock bottom but i think they will do okay from here. They need a miracle.

India's chances doesn't look good because they need to win majority of their remaining games, even draw matches can ruin their chances but i would be very happy if proven wrong. (point system based on win %)