Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Vishnu.Reang]

^^^^ With just one day remaining, I guess they will declare before the start of play tomorrow and allow the Indians to begin their innings. South Africans may be happy with the performances from Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. On the other hand, there were no bright spots for India, with the exception of Jadeja (I am talking about Dharmendrasinh Jadeja).

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[JSRAW]

^^^^ With just one day remaining, I guess they will declare before the start of play tomorrow and allow the Indians to begin their innings. South Africans may be happy with the performances from Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. On the other hand, there were no bright spots for India, with the exception of Jadeja (I am talking about Dharmendrasinh Jadeja).

Didn't watch this Dharmen guy bowling, I was more interested in Umesh Yadav performance but he bowled short spell, only positive is he took wicket with the new ball.

Not just only happy, Markram performance is very good sign for Proteas. i am more interested in What kind of pitch India offers in first game though.

[Vishnu.Reang]

^^^^ With just one day remaining, I guess they will declare before the start of play tomorrow and allow the Indians to begin their innings. South Africans may be happy with the performances from Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. On the other hand, there were no bright spots for India, with the exception of Jadeja (I am talking about Dharmendrasinh Jadeja).

Didn't watch this Dharmen guy bowling, I was more interested in Umesh Yadav performance but he bowled short spell, only positive is he took wicket with the new ball.

Not just only happy, Markram performance is very good sign for Proteas. i am more interested in What kind of pitch India offers in first game though.

Well.. they'll either prepare a spinning track to aid Ashwin & co. or they will prepare a flat track to help the one man army of Virat Kohli. The chances are greater for the first option, as the management will be looking for a definite result in the first test. If they prepare a flat track and both the sides score 500 plus, then the match will end up as a draw.

[ene1980]

Well.. they'll either prepare a spinning track to aid Ashwin & co. or they will prepare a flat track to help the one man army of Virat Kohli.

It was a revelation as i was not aware that India was playing an entire different bowling unit for Test matches and ODI and T20, looks like they have a good bench strength to have different members in every format and hence they are one of the tops teams in world cricket, earlier only Australia does have the luxury to have different teams members in every format and it is good to see other teams having that luxury.

[Ayiranorea]

^^^^ With just one day remaining, I guess they will declare before the start of play tomorrow and allow the Indians to begin their innings. South Africans may be happy with the performances from Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. On the other hand, there were no bright spots for India, with the exception of Jadeja (I am talking about Dharmendrasinh Jadeja).

On the whole South Africa could have now learned about the pitch, and the situations were quite supportive to them. Indians too have performed well taking four wickets. The wicket stand by Markram is the key strength by that time. If his wicket was taken, there is more chances for India to take at least seven wickets and the scoring too gets slowed down.

[Juggy777]

^^^^ With just one day remaining, I guess they will declare before the start of play tomorrow and allow the Indians to begin their innings. South Africans may be happy with the performances from Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. On the other hand, there were no bright spots for India, with the exception of Jadeja (I am talking about Dharmendrasinh Jadeja).

Didn't watch this Dharmen guy bowling, I was more interested in Umesh Yadav performance but he bowled short spell, only positive is he took wicket with the new ball.

Not just only happy, Markram performance is very good sign for Proteas. i am more interested in What kind of pitch India offers in first game though.

Well.. they'll either prepare a spinning track to aid Ashwin & co. or they will prepare a flat track to help the one man army of Virat Kohli. The chances are greater for the first option, as the management will be looking for a definite result in the first test. If they prepare a flat track and both the sides score 500 plus, then the match will end up as a draw.

South Africa’s batsman have got valuable batting experience in this match, but I hope they do not get carried away because they’ll be facing a different Indian bowling side. As far as the pitch is concerned it’ll be a spinning track because India will rely on taking 20 wickets to win the game, also I doubt Kohli will risk giving them a flat track. Why are people expecting Ashwin to be selected as he’s not going to be making it to the playing 11, Kuldeep or Jadeja one of them will be selected.

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/news/india-vs-south-africa-sometimes-nothing-is-automatic-ravi-shastri-on-r-ashwin-selection-2323241.html

[ene1980]

Why are people expecting Ashwin to be selected as he’s not going to be making it to the playing 11, Kuldeep or Jadeja one of them will be selected.

If they are preparing a spinning wicket then they might include two spinners as South Africa is not famous for playing spin that well, i thought Ashwin was their number one test bowler, India does have a lot of talented bowlers in their ranks but Ashwin brings in experience and variety and he was performing well in the longer format, i guess right hand left hand spin combination will be their tactics.

[bryant.coleman]

Why are people expecting Ashwin to be selected as he’s not going to be making it to the playing 11, Kuldeep or Jadeja one of them will be selected.

If they are preparing a spinning wicket then they might include two spinners as South Africa is not famous for playing spin that well, i thought Ashwin was their number one test bowler, India does have a lot of talented bowlers in their ranks but Ashwin brings in experience and variety and he was performing well in the longer format, i guess right hand left hand spin combination will be their tactics.

Overdependence on Ashwin can backfire. Ashwin is a bowler who has performed poorly on normal tracks. Almost all of his good performances came on pitches which were doctored to suit him. So if India is planning to make a turning track and Ashwin fails to perform, then they will be in big trouble. Other spinners such as Jadeja doesn't have this handicap.

And don't expect the South African batsmen to fail against spin every-time. The modern technology has helped non-Asian teams to study the Asian spinners and plan an effective strategy to counter their variation. Super-slow motion recordings are available for every spin bowler, and the batsmen study this footage to recognize the movement and turn. 

[Little Mouse]

If they are preparing a spinning wicket then they might include two spinners as South Africa is not famous for playing spin that well, i thought Ashwin was their number one test bowler, India does have a lot of talented bowlers in their ranks but Ashwin brings in experience and variety and he was performing well in the longer format, i guess right hand left hand spin combination will be their tactics.

Some days ago we had some talks about Ashwin, he is the best in India. So, I think Ashwin must be chosen since it's being playing in India. Others are not that much success as Ashwin is.
His stats against South Africa-
Bowled- 283.1 overs
Run- 668
Wicket- 38
Best- 7/66
Average- 17.58

[teosanru]

If they are preparing a spinning wicket then they might include two spinners as South Africa is not famous for playing spin that well, i thought Ashwin was their number one test bowler, India does have a lot of talented bowlers in their ranks but Ashwin brings in experience and variety and he was performing well in the longer format, i guess right hand left hand spin combination will be their tactics.

Some days ago we had some talks about Ashwin, he is the best in India. So, I think Ashwin must be chosen since it's being playing in India. Others are not that much success as Ashwin is.
His stats against South Africa-
Bowled- 283.1 overs
Run- 668
Wicket- 38
Best- 7/66
Average- 17.58

Problem these days with world cricket is the dominance of Unorthodox Spin Bowlers. The Chinamans and the Googly bowlers are dominating the world while the classic off spinners and leg spinners aren't being taken seriously. Ashwin was dropped from the Indian squad despite of his great performance just because India wanted the two unorthodox spin DUO in the form of YUZI Chahal and Kuldeep yadav. I still think that his selection is doubtful.

Why are people expecting Ashwin to be selected as he’s not going to be making it to the playing 11, Kuldeep or Jadeja one of them will be selected.

If they are preparing a spinning wicket then they might include two spinners as South Africa is not famous for playing spin that well, i thought Ashwin was their number one test bowler, India does have a lot of talented bowlers in their ranks but Ashwin brings in experience and variety and he was performing well in the longer format, i guess right hand left hand spin combination will be their tactics.

No doubt in the fact that with ashwin comes a great handy experience of test bowling on almost every type of wicket in the world. Also he is a specialist when it comes to test bowling but as said India has to get over the fever of Unorthodox bowlers first.

[JSRAW]

Practice match not going good for Rohit Sharma as an opener, considering he got out after facing only 2 balls. Mayank did okayish today but one Domestic player Priyank Panchal got the limelight when facing likes of Rabada and Philander.

About Rain : Chances are rain can interrupt First Test match next week. Not a weather guy but rain playing its part in cricket for quite some time so little concern.

[Vishnu.Reang]

The South African first-choice spinner (Keshav Maharaj) had a good outing and he picked up 3 wickets for 35 runs. Dane Piedt on the other hand had a forgettable match, after he went for 80 runs. This will increase the likelihood of all rounder Senuran Muthusamy getting a slot in the playing XI for the first test, but there is also a chance of the South Africans going to the first match with just one spinner.

[eaLiTy]

Overdependence on Ashwin can backfire. Ashwin is a bowler who has performed poorly on normal tracks. Almost all of his good performances came on pitches which were doctored to suit him.

There is no doubt that the pitches starts to get cracks in the fourth and fifth day and it will be spinning tracks, Ashwin has a bag of tricks up his sleeves as well to trap the opponent and we have seen that throughout his career and one thing i noticed is that, everyone was performing to their optimal when Dhoni was the captain and when Kohli became the captain he started experimenting new players and hence there is a lot of competition for bowlers.
Only if someone gets injured another player gets a chance which is weird considered India used to struggle to find genuine bowlers for decades.

[JSRAW]

Overdependence on Ashwin can backfire. Ashwin is a bowler who has performed poorly on normal tracks. Almost all of his good performances came on pitches which were doctored to suit him.

There is no doubt that the pitches starts to get cracks in the fourth and fifth day and it will be spinning tracks, Ashwin has a bag of tricks up his sleeves as well to trap the opponent and we have seen that throughout his career and one thing i noticed is that, everyone was performing to their optimal when Dhoni was the captain and when Kohli became the captain he started experimenting new players and hence there is a lot of competition for bowlers.
Only if someone gets injured another player gets a chance which is weird considered India used to struggle to find genuine bowlers for decades.

There is some chance that Team can go with Ashwin and Jadeja's combination along with 2 seamer ( In case of okay pitch, little seam and spin track) they both can be deadly combination during 4th inning if India wins the toss and opts to bat. if otherwise then situation can get tricky because those days are gone when Indian batsmen used to treat every spinners like a club cricket.

@bryant.coleman: Arguably it can be said for every bowler.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Overdependence on Ashwin can backfire. Ashwin is a bowler who has performed poorly on normal tracks. Almost all of his good performances came on pitches which were doctored to suit him.

There is no doubt that the pitches starts to get cracks in the fourth and fifth day and it will be spinning tracks, Ashwin has a bag of tricks up his sleeves as well to trap the opponent and we have seen that throughout his career and one thing i noticed is that, everyone was performing to their optimal when Dhoni was the captain and when Kohli became the captain he started experimenting new players and hence there is a lot of competition for bowlers.
Only if someone gets injured another player gets a chance which is weird considered India used to struggle to find genuine bowlers for decades.

Ashwin has a lot of variations. But he has been playing international cricket for so long, that many of the opposing batsmen now knows what they should expect from him. I am not saying that Ashwin will not perform well during the upcoming test series. But I won't be surprised if the strategy of preparing pitches to suit his style of bowling backfire on India and Keshav Maharaj destroys the Indian batting lineup.

[teosanru]

Overdependence on Ashwin can backfire. Ashwin is a bowler who has performed poorly on normal tracks. Almost all of his good performances came on pitches which were doctored to suit him.

There is no doubt that the pitches starts to get cracks in the fourth and fifth day and it will be spinning tracks, Ashwin has a bag of tricks up his sleeves as well to trap the opponent and we have seen that throughout his career and one thing i noticed is that, everyone was performing to their optimal when Dhoni was the captain and when Kohli became the captain he started experimenting new players and hence there is a lot of competition for bowlers.
Only if someone gets injured another player gets a chance which is weird considered India used to struggle to find genuine bowlers for decades.

There is some chance that Team can go with Ashwin and Jadeja's combination along with 2 seamer ( In case of okay pitch, little seam and spin track) they both can be deadly combination during 4th inning if India wins the toss and opts to bat. if otherwise then situation can get tricky because those days are gone when Indian batsmen used to treat every spinners like a club cricket.

@bryant.coleman: Arguably it can be said for every bowler.

Vizag's pitch has been supportive for spinners with low bounce in the past. Moreover with Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the series I am almost certain that India will go with their old spin duo of Jadeja-Ash and expect them two deliver but along with three seamers probably with Mohammad Shammi ,Ishant Sharma and Umesh yadav being the obvious first choices. This is because Jadeja and Ashwin both can bat pretty well which makes India a much more balanced side. Moreover we did see South Africa not facing any major problems against spin so they won't take the risk of going with just two seamers in the side because India has no all rounder to cover for it.

[bryant.coleman]

@bryant.coleman: Arguably it can be said for every bowler.

A turning track is every spinner's dream. But most of them are not over dependent on tailored surfaces. What makes Ashwin different from others is the fact that he is a world class spinner at home, on Indian surfaces which are specifically prepared for him, but becomes quite mediocre while playing away from subcontinental conditions. Other Indian spinners such as Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja doesn't have this issue. And that is one of the reasons why Ashwin is no longer considered for away tours.

[JSRAW]

@bryant.coleman: Arguably it can be said for every bowler.

A turning track is every spinner's dream. But most of them are not over dependent on tailored surfaces. What makes Ashwin different from others is the fact that he is a world class spinner at home, on Indian surfaces which are specifically prepared for him, but becomes quite mediocre while playing away from subcontinental conditions. Other Indian spinners such as Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja doesn't have this issue. And that is one of the reasons why Ashwin is no longer considered for away tours.

Agreed on everything about Ashwin and would like to add, Every country makes pitches according to their bowling strength, but now India prefers to mix-up with Spin and Seaming track for home series. You can notice change under Virat's term (Trio Indian seamers)

Btw Ashwin can share world record with M Murli. ( Fastest 350 wickets) if he manages to take 8 wickets in the upcoming game.

[Sithara007]

Vizag's pitch has been supportive for spinners with low bounce in the past. Moreover with Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the series I am almost certain that India will go with their old spin duo of Jadeja-Ash and expect them two deliver but along with three seamers probably with Mohammad Shammi ,Ishant Sharma and Umesh yadav being the obvious first choices. This is because Jadeja and Ashwin both can bat pretty well which makes India a much more balanced side. Moreover we did see South Africa not facing any major problems against spin so they won't take the risk of going with just two seamers in the side because India has no all rounder to cover for it.

India going with 3 pacers? And that too on a spin friendly surface such as Vizag? I don't think so. They might include 2 pacers (my prediction would be Mohammad Shammi and Ishant Sharma, with Umesh Yadav sitting out for the match), and 2 full time spinners (Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav), with Ravindra Jadeja finding a slot in the playing XI as an allrounder.

Also, don't expect them to prepare a turning track every time. In the past, some of the curators had refused orders from the captains to prepare sub-standard tracks. During 1997, there was a well known incident involving Narendra Menon (father of the international umpire Nitin Menon), who refused to prepare a track as per the specification given by the captain. Finally he agreed to prepare another track after much persuasion (one day before the match), but the opposing team members (Sri Lankans) raised objection and the match was abandoned.

[teosanru]

Vizag's pitch has been supportive for spinners with low bounce in the past. Moreover with Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the series I am almost certain that India will go with their old spin duo of Jadeja-Ash and expect them two deliver but along with three seamers probably with Mohammad Shammi ,Ishant Sharma and Umesh yadav being the obvious first choices. This is because Jadeja and Ashwin both can bat pretty well which makes India a much more balanced side. Moreover we did see South Africa not facing any major problems against spin so they won't take the risk of going with just two seamers in the side because India has no all rounder to cover for it.

India going with 3 pacers? And that too on a spin friendly surface such as Vizag? I don't think so. They might include 2 pacers (my prediction would be Mohammad Shammi and Ishant Sharma, with Umesh Yadav sitting out for the match), and 2 full time spinners (Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav), with Ravindra Jadeja finding a slot in the playing XI as an allrounder.

Also, don't expect them to prepare a turning track every time. In the past, some of the curators had refused orders from the captains to prepare sub-standard tracks. During 1997, there was a well known incident involving Narendra Menon (father of the international umpire Nitin Menon), who refused to prepare a track as per the specification given by the captain. Finally he agreed to prepare another track after much persuasion (one day before the match), but the opposing team members (Sri Lankans) raised objection and the match was abandoned.

Well that something of a fact but I think times have changed a lot now and BCCI is more of like an autocratic body these days. It has a hell lot of say on international matters do you think they can't handle a pitch curator? All being said the idea of 3 pacers in the side looks appealing because India has so many pacers in their side. If they would have requested for a turning track don't you think they would have thought of playing some extra full time spinners in the squad and somewhat less pacers. Also 2 pace bowling line up makes India into a big dilemma of which two to choose for the first match itself.