Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Indymoney]

I did not say easily win the match but rather there is a possibility they can win just like England won the test match with 9 wickets gone and SA already made 400+ runs in the first innings.

Come on buddy, you are still rolling  , i have posted your exact response regarding the match below. I will never respond like i said if you never questioned the declaration and then claim that South Africa could easily chase the total on the final day. England was on a role that time as they have four players in their Test team who have a strike rate of above 100 in ODI, so they can make an attempt to chase the score and if Australia could pick wickets then they will never attempt to chase the score.

SA will easily win this match. Tomorrow's whole day of play and they have Knock and du Plessis who could easily get them the required runs. They should have atleast played till the end of the day and declare tomorrow. Why to declare before reaching 450?

This is not the end so let's see what will happen in future matches

I am not expecting any changes in the Test series as India will win the series without much sweat  .

I was sure about this result because last day is never been easy for batting even you have dead wicket cracks done magic and in India its never been easy to face bowlers like Ashwin and Jadeja South Africa done some good in first inning but fourt inning is never been easy now they are going to face whitewash its my personal feeling lets see how they resist.

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[Sithara007]

I was sure about this result because last day is never been easy for batting even you have dead wicket cracks done magic and in India its never been easy to face bowlers like Ashwin and Jadeja South Africa done some good in first inning but fourt inning is never been easy now they are going to face whitewash its my personal feeling lets see how they resist.

Yes... batting can be very difficult on Indian pitches on the 5th day of play. But at the same time, it was neither Jadeja nor Ashwin who destroyed the South Africans during the last day of play. The person who was responsible for that was a pacer (Mohammed Shami), who sticked to line and length bowling despite getting much support from the pitch.

Shami bowled well during the last day, and there is no doubt about that. But things didn't helped when South African batsmen got out after playing poor shots. They way Faf du Plessis got out was apalling. He left a ball that was too close, and it took his off stump away. All the 5 wickets that Shami got were either clean bowled, or LBW. And this was on a track that was as dead as a nuclear testing ground.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

But at the same time, it was neither Jadeja nor Ashwin who destroyed the South Africans during the last day of play. The person who was responsible for that was a pacer (Mohammed Shami), who sicked to line and length bowling despite getting much support from the pitch.

Hope you meant that Mohammed Shami bowled well despite not getting much support from the pitch for the fast bowlers, if you look at the dismissals he was accurate enough to bowl the ball exactly in the cracks and that will have an unusual change in trajectory and it is difficult for any batsman to judge if the ball is coming over 130 KMPH.

They way Faf du Plessis got out was apalling. He left a ball that was too close, and it took his off stump away. All the 5 wickets that Shami got were either clean bowled, or LBW. And this was on a track that was as dead as a nuclear testing ground.

The ball was pitching well outside off stump and Faf du Plessis decided to leave the ball and it hit a crack and it swung a lot and took his off stump, you really cannot do anything about it. Sure he could have tried to defended the ball but you will get micro seconds to make a decision and on seeing the ball pitching well outside off side he decided to leave and then how much time he will get to change that decision .

[bryant.coleman]

I was sure about this result because last day is never been easy for batting even you have dead wicket cracks done magic and in India its never been easy to face bowlers like Ashwin and Jadeja South Africa done some good in first inning but fourt inning is never been easy now they are going to face whitewash its my personal feeling lets see how they resist.

The chances were very low for South Africa to stage any sort of an upset. But I was hoping for a better performance from them after the fightback during the first innings. No one expected them to build a total in excess of 400, but they managed it thanks to some great batting by Elgar, Faf du Plessis, Muthusamy and Quinton de Kock.

But what happened in the second innings was really appalling. The South African batsmen were falling like a peck of cards. Only Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy could score respectively and the top order was gone in a matter of few hours. And it should be noted that Kohli was not even using Ashwin most of the time. The next match is scheduled at Pune. Hope they'll learn from their mistakes.

[erikalui]

Come on buddy, you are still rolling  Cheesy, i have posted your exact response regarding the match below. I will never respond like i said if you never questioned the declaration and then claim that South Africa could easily chase the total on the final day. England was on a role that time as they have four players in their Test team who have a strike rate of above 100 in ODI, so they can make an attempt to chase the score and if Australia could pick wickets then they will never attempt to chase the score.

I am not expecting any changes in the Test series as India will win the series without much sweat  .

^Oh you're right. I did say they'll easily win. Forgot to add "possibly win". Anyways, I like to lose these bets so I'll again bet on SA this time too.


SA does have batsmen with a SR of 85-95 and mostly they are young batsmen with less experience but if their wickets had not fallen so rapidly the last day, they could have given a tough fight. Disappointed with their performance as they did not even manage 200 on the last day despite doing well in the first innings.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

^Oh you're right. I did say they'll easily win. Forgot to add "possibly win". Anyways, I like to lose these bets so I'll again bet on SA this time too.

When i saw that part about an easy win on the final day i made the bet  . My advice for the second test is that be cautious as the Pune pitch used to help spinners a lot and then there is the weather issues in the past months that could affect the pitch and i am expecting a spinning track and remember South Africa is not great against spinners and if it is a spinning track then guess what the result could be  .

[onrise]

^Oh you're right. I did say they'll easily win. Forgot to add "possibly win". Anyways, I like to lose these bets so I'll again bet on SA this time too.

When i saw that part about an easy win on the final day i made the bet  . My advice for the second test is that be cautious as the Pune pitch used to help spinners a lot and then there is the weather issues in the past that could affect the pitch and i am expecting a spinning track and remember South Africa is not great against spinners and if it is a spinning track then guess what the result could be  .

It would be a spinning track I too expect it. But hopefully climate remains good and we have complete match . Also would like to see if any changes would India team making it or going with same combination set of players .

[Indymoney]

^Oh you're right. I did say they'll easily win. Forgot to add "possibly win". Anyways, I like to lose these bets so I'll again bet on SA this time too.

When i saw that part about an easy win on the final day i made the bet  . My advice for the second test is that be cautious as the Pune pitch used to help spinners a lot and then there is the weather issues in the past months that could affect the pitch and i am expecting a spinning track and remember South Africa is not great against spinners and if it is a spinning track then guess what the result could be  .

If pitch is going to help spinners then surely no one going to bet against India surely most peoples will try for this free money but weather repot is also very important because this can kill any one's dream odds are not bad at all right now India is @1.53 and South Africa is 10 which is not bad at all and India is not going for any change as they have all spots ok right now.

[Sithara007]

It would be a spinning track I too expect it. But hopefully climate remains good and we have complete match . Also would like to see if any changes would India team making it or going with same combination set of players .

The next match will be played at Pune, and historically the pitch there have given equal support to both the spinners and pacers. But I guess this time the Indian management will ask the curator to make a track that gives no assistance to the pace bowlers. With Ashwin performing so well, and Shami not needing the bounce from the track, there is no point in making a neutral track for the next match.

But as you said, the weather should be a concern. Even during the first test, we had rain interruption during the first two days of play. However, the Indian spinners managed to bowl out the South Africans despite the lost time. A few weeks back, Pune was affected by heavy rains and there were widespread flooding. Hopefully rain stays away from tomorrow onward, when the second test starts.

[JSRAW]

But I guess this time the Indian management will ask the curator to make a track that gives no assistance to the pace bowlers.

The Curator, Pandurang Salgaoncar has a bad reputation and he's not talking to anyone as far as pitch is concern. Debut Test Match in this ground didn't go well for Indians. Australia humiliated Indians and won the game, Interestingly Ashwin-Jadeja duo lost the spin battle to Steve O'Keefe in the same match.

The mystery of the Pune pitch

[Sithara007]

But I guess this time the Indian management will ask the curator to make a track that gives no assistance to the pace bowlers.

The Curator, Pandurang Salgaoncar has a bad reputation and he's not talking to anyone as far as pitch is concern. Debut Test Match in this ground didn't go well for Indians. Australia humiliated Indians and won the game, Interestingly Ashwin-Jadeja duo lost the spin battle to Steve O'Keefe in the same match.

The mystery of the Pune pitch

Yeah.... I remember that match. Australia won by 333 runs as India was bowled out for 105 in the first innings and 107 in the second innings. Well, to be fair to Ashwin and Jadeja, it was the Indian batsmen who lost the game. The Indian spinners had bowled well, with Ashwin taking 3/63 and 4/119, while Jadeja returned 2/74 and 3/65. You can't blame them, when the top score made by an Indian batsman during the match was just 64 runs (KL Rahul).

I have heard about Pandurang Salgaoncar and he is perhaps the most infamous curator in India. 

The media is not very fond of him either. Just check these articles that have appeared in the Indian mainstream media:

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/chance-for-curator-pandurang-salgaonkar-to-redeem-himself-6060624/
https://scroll.in/field/939793/india-vs-south-africa-pune-pitch-curator-salgaonkar-under-scanner-again-ahead-of-second-test
https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket/story/india-vs-south-africa-2nd-test-pune-mca-stadium-pitch-curator-pandurang-salgaonkar-in-spotlight-1607574-2019-10-09

How ironic is it? Mr. Salgaoncar was a fast-medium bowler during his prime and now he is preparing tracks that offer hardly any support for the pace bowlers. And I wonder why the BCCI is persisting with him. The pitches that were prepared by him have been repeatedly classified as "poor" by the ICC, and he was suspended by the ICC in 2017 (for six months) for taking part in "pitch fixing".

[JSRAW]

~snip~
Interestingly Ashwin-Jadeja duo lost the spin battle to Steve O'Keefe in the same match.

The mystery of the Pune pitch

Well, to be fair to Ashwin and Jadeja, it was the Indian batsmen who lost the game. The Indian spinners had bowled well, with Ashwin taking 3/63 and 4/119, while Jadeja returned 2/74 and 3/65. You can't blame them,

They took wickets but lost the battle against Steve O'Keefe. he alone took 12 wickets on the same match( 2 fifer in each inning) not counting Nathan lyon's and Steve smith's contribution, but agree on your point that it was Indian batsmen who failed miserably.

I have heard about Pandurang Salgaoncar and he is perhaps the most infamous curator in India. 

He's interesting personality for sure, i remember watching his clips where he was literally cursing (In Hindi and Marathi  ) BCCI and Media for all the fuck ups.

[akhjob]

It would be a spinning track I too expect it. But hopefully climate remains good and we have complete match . Also would like to see if any changes would India team making it or going with same combination set of players .

For India, Vihari is replaced by Umesh Yadav. So we have a 3rd seamer for the match along with Ishant and Shami. But I don't think this would help much. Vihari as a batsmen and part time spinner makes much more sense. For SA, Nortje comes in for Piedt.

And India won the toss and opted to bat first Looks like Fab is having a tough time in winning the tosses, lost all the last six.

[JSRAW]

^^ I think Umesh Yadav inclusion should help India (He gets carried away sometimes though). there is bit of help for seamers in this pitch, in the last overs noticed good movement here and there and Rohit is already gone so time for Pujara to do what he does best in these conditions.

Stats time


Lets see what happen this game

[n0ne]

^^ I think Umesh Yadav inclusion should help India (He gets carried away sometimes though). there is bit of help for seamers in this pitch, in the last overs noticed good movement here and there and Rohit is already gone so time for Pujara to do what he does best in these conditions.

This time the responsibility has fallen over Pujara. In the first test match the partnership of the openers made the score reach high. India will try hard to win the match, so that they can give chance to young players on the third match. South Africa on the other side will try to take advantage of the pitch than the Indian bowlers.

[Juggy777]

It would be a spinning track I too expect it. But hopefully climate remains good and we have complete match . Also would like to see if any changes would India team making it or going with same combination set of players .

For India, Vihari is replaced by Umesh Yadav. So we have a 3rd seamer for the match along with Ishant and Shami. But I don't think this would help much. Vihari as a batsmen and part time spinner makes much more sense. For SA, Nortje comes in for Piedt.

And India won the toss and opted to bat first Looks like Fab is having a tough time in winning the tosses, lost all the last six.

^^ I think Umesh Yadav inclusion should help India (He gets carried away sometimes though). there is bit of help for seamers in this pitch, in the last overs noticed good movement here and there and Rohit is already gone so time for Pujara to do what he does best in these conditions.

Umesh Yadav inclusion indicates that this may not be a spin friendly pitch, and that shall boost South Africa’s confidence as the match progresses ahead. There was lots of media speculation on how Rohit Sharma would perform, and it seems to me that the pressure has got to him as he’s departed for a low score. I feel this match shall be pretty competitive, but team India is definitely the superior side unless South Africa can spring a miracle.

Source: https://sports.ndtv.com/india-vs-south-africa-2019/give-rohit-sharma-a-break-virat-kohli-tells-journalists-2114006

[akhjob]

^^ If I remember right O'keefe who sacked India in 2017 was a spinner. And Indian spinners too got most of the wickets of the stats given by previous post by Sithara. So I think the ground favours the spinners.

^^ I think Umesh Yadav inclusion should help India (He gets carried away sometimes though). there is bit of help for seamers in this pitch, in the last overs noticed good movement here and there and Rohit is already gone so time for Pujara to do what he does best in these conditions.

I'm not able to watch the match now as I'm in my office. From the commentaries in cricbuzz, it looks like the SA seamers are troubling the Indian batsmen. So, if the ground favours the seamers then Umesh, undoubtedly is a good choice.

[JSRAW]

~snip~
Umesh Yadav inclusion indicates that this may not be a spin friendly pitch, and that shall boost South Africa’s confidence as the match progresses ahead. There was lots of media speculation on how Rohit Sharma would perform, and it seems to me that the pressure has got to him as he’s departed for a low score. I feel this match shall be pretty competitive, but team India is definitely the superior side unless South Africa can spring a miracle.

As game moving forward it seems to me that pitch is good but good support to seamers with the new ball. Batsmen need some hardwork in the start and when you are set then you are good to go. similarly Pujara and Mayank batting carefully right now and chipping runs too. reverse swing come into play that's why both teams went for extra seamer.

Indian Media is knowledgeable when it comes to game of cricket but they sucks, always looking for sensational comments. that's what media does all over the world

^^ If I remember right O'keefe who sacked India in 2017 was a spinner. And Indian spinners too got most of the wickets of the stats given by previous post by Sithara. So I think the ground favours the spinners.

Yes, Ashwin - Jadeja took 12 wickets in game and O'keefe alone took 12 wickets, Nathan lyon took 5 wickets

[akhjob]

^ This makes more sense, if the pitch is spin friendly

Pranjal says: I think the idea behind including Umesh is giving him game time rather than the pitch. When players are in the squad but don't get matches it deprives them of match experience and that does not do good to the bench strength.

[SaShiRaJaVu]

^^ If I remember right O'keefe who sacked India in 2017 was a spinner. And Indian spinners too got most of the wickets of the stats given by previous post by Sithara. So I think the ground favours the spinners.

There was a huge cry when India was struggling against the spin track during that match as India could not score any runs in both the innings and Australia won by a huge margin and the pitch got a bad rating and may be they created a pitch that could favor fast bowling and hence India including a fast bowler instead of a spinner, i wanted to see India adding an extra spinner rather than a fast bowler.