Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[7788bitcoin]

New Zealand comeback in ODI and Test Series is really out standing after losing 5 - 0 in Tewenty/20 series but I feel its failure of Indian batting line up as well they completely fail to give any resistance and outclass by Kiwi bowlers in very ordinary way without any resistance they have some world class batsmen but still need to rethink about this if they want to go in WTC FInal.

The New Zealand bowlers had a plan and they stick to their plan and so is the reason they were successful in picking up the wickets and putting India in trouble, even if you look at the dismissal of Virat Kohli the bowlers have done their homework on which line and length to bowl to him to dismiss him and that is what they did exactly, line outside off stump and swinging away from the batsman and then an inswinger and that is how he got dismissed in the series, so you need to appreciate what the New Zealand team did to win the series after getting dominated in the T20.

[JSRAW]

World Test Championship point table - Updated-

Everything you need to know about remaining Test series and games. Covering only Top 5 teams as its very unlikely that bottom 4 teams going to survive much.


India - 2 series left total 9 tests
4 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs Australia (Away)
5 Tests, Jan 2021: vs England (Home)


Australia - 3 series left, total 9 tests
4 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs India (Home)
2 Tests, Feb 2021: vs Bangladesh (Away)
3 Tests, Feb-Mar 2021: vs South Africa (Away)


New Zealand - 3 Series left, total 7 tests
2 Tests, Aug-Sep 2020: vs Bangladesh (Away)
3 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs Windies (Home)
2 Tests, Dec 2020: vs Pakistan (Home)


England - 4 series left, total 13 tests
2 Tests, March 2020: vs Sri Lanka (Away)
3 Tests, Jun-July 2020: vs Windies (Home)
3 Tests, July-Aug 2020: vs Pakistan (Home)
5 Tests, Jan 2021: vs India (Away)


Pakistan - 3 series, total 7 Tests
3 Tests, July-Aug 2020: vs England (Away)
2 Tests, Dec 2020: vs New Zealand (Away)
2 Test, Jan-Feb 2021: vs South Africa (Home)

[mersal]

New Zealand comeback in ODI and Test Series is really out standing after losing 5 - 0 in Tewenty/20 series but I feel its failure of Indian batting line up as well they completely fail to give any resistance and outclass by Kiwi bowlers in very ordinary way without any resistance they have some world class batsmen but still need to rethink about this if they want to go in WTC FInal.

The New Zealand bowlers had a plan and they stick to their plan and so is the reason they were successful in picking up the wickets and putting India in trouble, even if you look at the dismissal of Virat Kohli the bowlers have done their homework on which line and length to bowl to him to dismiss him and that is what they did exactly, line outside off stump and swinging away from the batsman and then an inswinger and that is how he got dismissed in the series, so you need to appreciate what the New Zealand team did to win the series after getting dominated in the T20.

Team management could be the primary reason,IMHO.They asked inexperienced players to play on the overseas green condition which is pretty hard even for the experienced ones so they terribly failed,even they had choice to swap some players for second match but they went with the same and got the same result again.

Virat feeling the pressure of captaincy?

[pakhitheboss]

The major difference is that NZ lost T20 matches in which 2 went in super over which means both were at par .

Quite silly to mention a reason like this. If this were the case, both England and NZ are joint winners of the World Cup since they not only played a super over, but drew that one too. However, that is not the case.

India won those matches fair and square and it is NZ's fault for messing up as they usually do in the super overs. India was the better team in the T-20 series while NZ was the better team in both the ODI and test series. This is the simple truth.

New Zealand comeback in ODI and Test Series is really out standing after losing 5 - 0 in Tewenty/20 series but I feel its failure of Indian batting line up as well they completely fail to give any resistance and outclass by Kiwi bowlers in very ordinary way without any resistance they have some world class batsmen but still need to rethink about this if they want to go in WTC FInal.

India has one of the best test captain who unfortunately could not perform this time. The newbies who were selected on the basis of their batting performance failed miserably and I do not think they will get another opportunity in the future. Bowling was always an issue. Indian bowlers are highly inconsistent and the in the end the team coach should rethink his strategy.

[mersal]

Bowling was always an issue. Indian bowlers are highly inconsistent and the in the end the team coach should rethink his strategy.

Not really!

Indian bowlers played really well but they don't have enough runs on the board to win matches for the team and ofcourse scoring runs in the work of Batsmen not the bowlers.

They should have played with 4 pacers and 1 all rounder would be a better strategy.

[eaLiTy]

India has one of the best test captain who unfortunately could not perform this time. The newbies who were selected on the basis of their batting performance failed miserably and I do not think they will get another opportunity in the future. Bowling was always an issue. Indian bowlers are highly inconsistent and the in the end the team coach should rethink his strategy.

Usually Virat Kohli leads from the front with his performance and when he does India wins most of the time but once he is having trouble scoring runs the entire team is failing to win the match, a captain has the authority to select his time and you really cannot use that as an excuse for the failure because a captain can pick and choose which players he wanted in the team during the selection process and that is not a new authority bestowed upon the captains but it is a practice that is going on for decades .

[Haunebu]

I feel its failure of Indian batting line up as well they completely fail to give any resistance and outclass by Kiwi bowlers in very ordinary way without any resistance they have some world class batsmen but still need to rethink about this if they want to go in WTC FInal.

I don't really think players like Shaw, Vihari and Pant fall into the World Class category yet since they are currently newbies in the primary formats. The players who disappointed me were Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Mayank.

If India are serious about winning the WTC, they need to replace the newbies with experienced players like Rohit, Rahul, Hardik, Dhawan etc asap.

[erikalui]

World Test Championship point table - Updated-

Everything you need to know about remaining Test series and games. Covering only Top 5 teams as its very unlikely that bottom 4 teams going to survive much.


India - 2 series left total 9 tests
4 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs Australia (Away)
5 Tests, Jan 2021: vs England (Home)


Australia - 3 series left, total 9 tests
4 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs India (Home)
2 Tests, Feb 2021: vs Bangladesh (Away)
3 Tests, Feb-Mar 2021: vs South Africa (Away)


New Zealand - 3 Series left, total 7 tests
2 Tests, Aug-Sep 2020: vs Bangladesh (Away)
3 Tests, Nov-Dec 2020: vs Windies (Home)
2 Tests, Dec 2020: vs Pakistan (Home)


England - 4 series left, total 13 tests
2 Tests, March 2020: vs Sri Lanka (Away)
3 Tests, Jun-July 2020: vs Windies (Home)
3 Tests, July-Aug 2020: vs Pakistan (Home)
5 Tests, Jan 2021: vs India (Away)


Pakistan - 3 series, total 7 Tests
3 Tests, July-Aug 2020: vs England (Away)
2 Tests, Dec 2020: vs New Zealand (Away)
2 Test, Jan-Feb 2021: vs South Africa (Home)

Defeating Australia would be too tough away from home while England even in India would be challenging. NZ with one series jumped from down to the third position. 

On the other hand,  Australia will jump to top of the table with just one series. Pakistan also seems to be in a tough position with NZ and England as opponents in a foreign land.

I see Aus and NZ as top two and India as the third one in the table. 

[JSRAW]

I don't really think players like Shaw, Vihari and Pant fall into the World Class category yet since they are currently newbies in the primary formats. The players who disappointed me were Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Mayank.

If India are serious about winning the WTC, they need to replace the newbies with experienced players like Rohit, Rahul, Hardik, Dhawan etc.

India is not facing any crisis in Subcontinent or Caribbean conditions. Pick any player from India A and they will give you 100s or even 200s at some point. so it doesn't matter who playing in home series. Problem comes in SENA countries and TBH almost all players gave poor performances so far including KL Rahul and Rohit.

For SENA counties

India's best bet are Mayank-Vihari-Shaw-Gill-Pandaya in SENA countries. So far Mayank-Vihari did okay (Except recent series). Shaw is new so he need some experience (Same with Gill, if he gets chance). Hardik can play crucial part but he gave average performance so far, he can still play his part if he improve his bowling a bit.

Rohit is miss and hit if ball start moving in foreign condition, management tried to fit him in the middle order but he failed so let's see if he can perform as an opener in next Australia tour. KL Rahul's chances are very thin considering his past performance in SA,Eng and Aus, unless he starts keeping in test too.

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Defeating Australia would be too tough away from home while England even in India would be challenging.

True......

I see Aus and NZ as top two and India as the third one in the table. 

I have more or less same sentiments.. India need to play their A game in DEC against Aus otherwise bye bye WTC

[7788bitcoin]

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Not much Test series and Pujara and Rahane are playing only in the Test format and i doubt they have top quality match practice to come out and perform in green pitches and that is the case here. Not sure why Dhawan did not play here, i thought it was because of fitness issue, there is nothing wrong in giving the youngsters the opportunity to perform in green pitches and Shaw played a good innings even though he could not convert that to a big innings and these innings will help them get experience and mature as a proper batsman.

[JSRAW]

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Not much Test series and Pujara and Rahane are playing only in the Test format and i doubt they have top quality match practice to come out and perform in green pitches and that is the case here.  

Pujara already signed for County Championship by Gloucestershire and Ajinkya play some county here and there too, last time he was signed by Hampshire (not sure).

Not sure why Dhawan did not play here, i thought it was because of fitness issue, there is nothing wrong in giving the youngsters the opportunity to perform in green pitches and Shaw played a good innings even though he could not convert that to a big innings and these innings will help them get experience and mature as a proper batsman.

Frankly, He was not serious enough. At start he got injured but when he was fit he didn't showed any interest to play any domestic cricket. then selector said to him "Please enjoy your vacation". he was in bad shape in the test Format anyway.

[Haunebu]

Hardik can play crucial part but he gave average performance so far, he can still play his part if he improve his bowling a bit.

He is a great all rounder which the Indian team desperately needs these days. I guess he will make his comeback in the upcoming World Cup.

Rohit is miss and hit if ball start moving in foreign condition, management tried to fit him in the middle order but he failed so let's see if he can perform as an opener in next Australia tour. KL Rahul's chances are very thin considering his past performance in SA,Eng and Aus, unless he starts keeping in test too.

Rohit is in the form of his life currently which is why he is essential. Rahul is also brimming with confidence these days and his keeping has improved.

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Dhawan is amazing against AUS particularly while Rahane will probably retain his form soon. On the other hand, Pujara and Kohli need to up their game since their performance has gone down the drain.

[7788bitcoin]

Pujara already signed for County Championship by Gloucestershire and Ajinkya play some county here and there too, last time he was signed by Hampshire (not sure).

They need to play against quality bowlers in the county championships to be consistent when there is a Test series if not they will struggle as match practice is necessary, they might perform well in Asian pitches but if they need to play the same level of cricket then they need to gain experience in different conditions.

Frankly, He was not serious enough. At start he got injured but when he was fit he didn't showed any interest to play any domestic cricket. then selector said to him "Please enjoy your vacation". he was in bad shape in the test Format anyway.

I think he was back from his injuries in a series in India recently and he had some contribution with the bat and he got injured again, if he is not in the team because of disciplinary reasons then there is nothing that can be done. He needs to prove his fitness by playing domestic matches to get back in the team and if he is not willing to do so, then he is to be blamed.

[Vishnu.Reang]

I am glad that at least some of the Indian players have signed up for the county championship in England. But I don't understand why they are ignoring the domestic championships in other countries. The Australian 4-day championship (Sheffied Shield Trophy) is having a higher standard compared to the county championship, but I haven't seen any Indians playing there. The Plunkett Shied championship in New Zealand is also another interesting option. But I don't know whether the BCCI will give permission to the players, as they don't want the foreign boards to earn additional TV revenue by using Indian players.

[JSRAW]

Hardik can play crucial part but he gave average performance so far, he can still play his part if he improve his bowling a bit.

He is a great all rounder which the Indian team desperately needs these days. I guess he will make his comeback in the upcoming World Cup.

Yeah, he will..
ODI and T-20 are not big problem for India, they won plenty of games in every country but in test match? Meh....

Frankly, He was not serious enough. At start he got injured but when he was fit he didn't showed any interest to play any domestic cricket. then selector said to him "Please enjoy your vacation". he was in bad shape in the test Format anyway.

I think he was back from his injuries in a series in India recently and he had some contribution with the bat and he got injured again, if he is not in the team because of disciplinary reasons then there is nothing that can be done. He needs to prove his fitness by playing domestic matches to get back in the team and if he is not willing to do so, then he is to be blamed.

As far as i remember he got injured in last ODI series against Australia, that's why he was ruled out from the NewZealand tour (T-20 and ODI) he's not part of the test squad for quite some time, guess 1-2 years. He's making come back in upcoming ODI series vs South Africa.

I am glad that at least some of the Indian players have signed up for the county championship in England. But I don't understand why they are ignoring the domestic championships in other countries. The Australian 4-day championship (Sheffied Shield Trophy) is having a higher standard compared to the county championship, but I haven't seen any Indians playing there. The Plunkett Shied championship in New Zealand is also another interesting option. But I don't know whether the BCCI will give permission to the players, as they don't want the foreign boards to earn additional TV revenue by using Indian players.

Due to clash of domestic season, Ranji trophy and Sheffied shield schedule is more or less same. Zero idea about Plunkett Shield Championship but yeah BCCI gives permission or some time via agents. Last year they were pushing for Mayank, Pujara, Shaw, Vihari, Ashwin, Rahane and Ishant.

[mersal]

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Dhawan is amazing against AUS particularly while Rahane will probably retain his form soon. On the other hand, Pujara and Kohli need to up their game since their performance has gone down the drain.

Dhawan is kind of player like sehwag who like to play their nature of their batting style no matter what format is that and Dhawan is not successful as sehwag but still he have dare to play on any condition and once he gets going he will be unstoppable.Fitness issue of experienced players maybe the major issue in this lost series so once they come into fit and form India is not a team that what we have seen for the past couple of weeks.

[onrise]

Dhawan Test career is finished for good and he's not coming back. Not worry about Pujara and Kohli as they are world class cricketer and for them its just matter of time. I like Rahane as he's the only Indian batsman who used to be very successful in SENA counties but his recent form is very concerning, I hope he get his form back soon.

Dhawan is amazing against AUS particularly while Rahane will probably retain his form soon. On the other hand, Pujara and Kohli need to up their game since their performance has gone down the drain.

Dhawan is kind of player like sehwag who like to play their nature of their batting style no matter what format is that and Dhawan is not successful as sehwag but still he have dare to play on any condition and once he gets going he will be unstoppable.Fitness issue of experienced players maybe the major issue in this lost series so once they come into fit and form India is not a team that what we have seen for the past couple of weeks.

I also like the way Dhawan takes on bowlers irrespective whichever format it may be. He is also an aggressive and attacking batsman which is required on top as you can get a good Start or a quick start which can help the team for a big score . Also left and right combination plays a vital role just like how OZ have Finch and Warner. So Dhawan should always be their and only thing should remain fit as much as possible beacuse once he gets in form it becomes difficult for bowers to bowl to him .

[Haunebu]

Also left and right combination plays a vital role just like how OZ have Finch and Warner. So Dhawan should always be their and only thing should remain fit as much as possible because once he gets in form it becomes difficult for bowers to bowl to him .

Exactly my thoughts. India is desperately missing the lethal left hand, right hand combination of Dhawan and Rohit who were amazing openers together in my opinion(Reminded me of Ganguly and Sehwag combo from the past).

Once these 2 get going, everyone knows what they are capable of. The selectors are experimenting way too much with newbies in my opinion.

[eaLiTy]

The selectors are experimenting way too much with newbies in my opinion.

Giving opportunities for new players is not bad when the senior players are injured and that is how they built a team for the future, unfortunately they did not perform like expected as the wicket was new for them and it is a learning experience for the youngsters, if they would have performed we will never talk about their experimentation but i am sure they put forward the best team possible and they failed miserably.

[7788bitcoin]

As far as i remember he got injured in last ODI series against Australia, that's why he was ruled out from the NewZealand tour (T-20 and ODI) he's not part of the test squad for quite some time, guess 1-2 years. He's making come back in upcoming ODI series vs South Africa.

It looks like fitness is a major issue for majority of the Indian players, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah was injured but he is making a come back in the New Zealand, Deepak Chahar and Rohit Sharma who will sit out till the IPL and these injuries should be a major concern as the BCCI should focus on giving them proper guidance in giving them the best training and must concentrate on fitness.