Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[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.

[kro55]

India lost all their wickets for just 191 runs in the first innings and collected 445/8 in the second innings, yet they scoring. Every player except Jadeja and Rahane added good collections to the team scoreboard. India is now lead by 346 runs. England does not seem to have a chance to win this match. India will probably play the whole day today. There is only one way open for England, to draw the match by batted defensively.

[UmerIdrees]

India lost all their wickets for just 191 runs in the first innings and collected 445/8 in the second innings, yet they scoring. Every player except Jadeja and Rahane added good collections to the team scoreboard. India is now lead by 346 runs. England does not seem to have a chance to win this match. India will probably play the whole day today. There is only one way open for England, to draw the match by batted defensively.

Well, if England don't lose early wickets they can still win the match. They have scored 30 runs by now and lost no wicket. So far so good for the England. There is no shortage of time either as we have full one day left in the match and also time left in today's day also.
Both openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns are looking to play aggressively which shows the England camp is confident.

[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.

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 ?

My guess is that giving India a target of more than 300 runs would be enough if their bowlers could bowl in a planned way. And if the captain can use the bowlers properly. India scored 466 runs. They also gave England a huge target of 368 runs. England has not lost a wicket for 34 runs yet. If India can take at least one wicket today, it will be good for them. If the first three batsmen spend too much time at the crease, it will be a threat to India. At least Root will not be allowed to play big innings. So far it is not possible to predict where the outcome of the match will go.

[bryant.coleman]

My guess is that giving India a target of more than 300 runs would be enough if their bowlers could bowl in a planned way. And if the captain can use the bowlers properly. India scored 466 runs. They also gave England a huge target of 368 runs. England has not lost a wicket for 34 runs yet. If India can take at least one wicket today, it will be good for them. If the first three batsmen spend too much time at the crease, it will be a threat to India. At least Root will not be allowed to play big innings. So far it is not possible to predict where the outcome of the match will go.

For England, it is an impossible target. The Indian bowlers are in splendid form, and apart from Joe Root none of the England batsmen have been scoring consistently. 16 overs remain for today and England still tails by 317 runs. Can they finish today's play without the loss of any wickets? I would say that the chances are extremely low, although Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed seems to be enjoying their stay at the crease. One thing that could work to England's advantage is that India is without a full-time spinner.

[Lordshiva]

I just loved the way sardul thakur bats, 50 in both the innings is a great achivement where top order batsman are struggling to score those runs shardul is doing it with ease, specially 3-4 straight drive that he played just loved that.

[ene1980]

I just loved the way sardul thakur bats, 50 in both the innings is a great achivement where top order batsman are struggling to score those runs shardul is doing it with ease, specially 3-4 straight drive that he played just loved that.

Shardul Thakur scored half centuries in both the innings and he looks like a solid player who plays some textbook shots and he can be a proper all rounder for India. I am actually surprised that India was able to score 466 runs in the second innings. India started well and the pitch looks helpful for batting and England still needs 307 runs to win which is a huge task considering how weak their middle order is if Root is not able to perform.

[teosanru]

My guess is that giving India a target of more than 300 runs would be enough if their bowlers could bowl in a planned way. And if the captain can use the bowlers properly. India scored 466 runs. They also gave England a huge target of 368 runs. England has not lost a wicket for 34 runs yet. If India can take at least one wicket today, it will be good for them. If the first three batsmen spend too much time at the crease, it will be a threat to India. At least Root will not be allowed to play big innings. So far it is not possible to predict where the outcome of the match will go.

For England, it is an impossible target. The Indian bowlers are in splendid form, and apart from Joe Root none of the England batsmen have been scoring consistently. 16 overs remain for today and England still tails by 317 runs. Can they finish today's play without the loss of any wickets? I would say that the chances are extremely low, although Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed seems to be enjoying their stay at the crease. One thing that could work to England's advantage is that India is without a full-time spinner.

What an excellent batting performance by Indian lower order, they have really put up a great show today and made India reach 466 which really looked impossible at one time the best I expected was 400 but these are 66 bonus runs, but I think India have lost thin bonus already in the last session with England making unbeaten 77, but this might act as a blessing in disguise for India as the target tomorrow now would look achievable to the English folks which means they could make a desperate effort to reach there giving India some chances to take wickets, while if they would have decided to play only defensively, taking wickets would have been impossible.

[eaLiTy]

The positive aspect for England is that they did not loose wickets and in the final day they have 90 overs to bat and the target to get is 291 runs which is a perfect scenario for them. India will be missing Ashwin as the pitch is turning and Jadeja was not able to bowl a consistent line and length and India needs to pick wickets somehow to put pressure on England.