Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Sithara007]

It is the same ground in which the first test match was played. In the first match the batting and the bowling lineup performed the best. So, it was a win for Pakistan. In this match both batting and bowling lineup failed, if not this match could've been a win of small difference in the scores. Now this is a big win by 246 runs.

Pakistani batsmen did a decent job. They were able to set up totals of 231 and 261 under hostile conditions, and that too against some of the best spinners in the world. It was their spinners who failed to do the job. Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz were disappointing. They brought Nauman Ali for the second test and he also couldn't perform any magic. Overall, Pakistan has a lot of positives from this series. They managed to draw the series 1-1. And to some extent, Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah proved that they could lead the pace attack even in the absence of Shaheen.

[JSRAW]

^^ Lol Hasan Ali? In his last 4 test matches (2 against Australia and 2 against SL ) he has taken only 5 wickets with a strike rate of 180 and 100. I do like him as bowler but he has been performing below average in this cycle. His only satisfactory outing was against Bongbros.

[Minecache]

^^ Lol Hasan Ali? In his last 4 test matches (2 against Australia and 2 against SL ) he has taken only 5 wickets with a strike rate of 180 and 100. I do like him as bowler but he has been performing below average in this cycle. His only satisfactory outing was against Bongbros.

Having a successful performance in the test match against a team like Bangladesh, which is already weak, actually very weak in test cricket is not a significant achievement at all. And Hassan Ali is a capable bowler.

If we look at his test career we will see that he has taken 77 wickets in probably 21 matches. He has an economic rating of around three which is quite acceptable in my opinion. And in his defense, we can say that the tracks in Sri Lanka are not very convenient for fast boarding. The tracks are ideal for a spin. So that is one way to defend him. But obviously, that should not be an excuse and he should always be able to contribute to the team. I hope he learns from this, and he should also know that people are talking about his recent performance.

[Sithara007]

^^ Lol Hasan Ali? In his last 4 test matches (2 against Australia and 2 against SL ) he has taken only 5 wickets with a strike rate of 180 and 100. I do like him as bowler but he has been performing below average in this cycle. His only satisfactory outing was against Bongbros.

He didn't got wickets that often, but he bowled with good line and length. And this probably helped the youngster Naseem Shah to get wickets. It was OK, as the pitch didn't had anything for the pacers. Shaheen was out due to injury and the burden fell on these two. And they did a much decent job, at least when compared to Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz. Let's not forget the fact that Hasan Ali made good contribution with the bat as well during this series. He didn't scored that many runs, but during the first test gave good support to Babar Azam.

[JSRAW]

^^ Lol Hasan Ali? In his last 4 test matches (2 against Australia and 2 against SL ) he has taken only 5 wickets with a strike rate of 180 and 100. I do like him as bowler but he has been performing below average in this cycle. His only satisfactory outing was against Bongbros.

Having a successful performance in the test match against a team like Bangladesh, which is already weak, actually very weak in test cricket is not a significant achievement at all. And Hassan Ali is a capable bowler.

If we look at his test career we will see that he has taken 77 wickets in probably 21 matches. He has an economic rating of around three which is quite acceptable in my opinion. And in his defense, we can say that the tracks in Sri Lanka are not very convenient for fast boarding. The tracks are ideal for a spin. So that is one way to defend him. But obviously, that should not be an excuse and he should always be able to contribute to the team. I hope he learns from this, and he should also know that people are talking about his recent performance.

Well, i won't say much but just look at his numbers. This should clear the air, why his overall numbers looks good (see WI, Zim, Ban).

^^ Lol Hasan Ali? In his last 4 test matches (2 against Australia and 2 against SL ) he has taken only 5 wickets with a strike rate of 180 and 100. I do like him as bowler but he has been performing below average in this cycle. His only satisfactory outing was against Bongbros.

He didn't got wickets that often, but he bowled with good line and length. And this probably helped the youngster Naseem Shah to get wickets. It was OK, as the pitch didn't had anything for the pacers. Shaheen was out due to injury and the burden fell on these two. And they did a much decent job, at least when compared to Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz. Let's not forget the fact that Hasan Ali made good contribution with the bat as well during this series. He didn't scored that many runs, but during the first test gave good support to Babar Azam.

He was slogging and doing so got some success that's it but it's fine as he was no10 so every run is bonus. Although Naseem Shah was the guy who stayed with Babar for long, not Hasan Ali.

[Naficopa]

It is the same ground in which the first test match was played. In the first match the batting and the bowling lineup performed the best. So, it was a win for Pakistan. In this match both batting and bowling lineup failed, if not this match could've been a win of small difference in the scores. Now this is a big win by 246 runs.

Pakistani batsmen did a decent job. They were able to set up totals of 231 and 261 under hostile conditions, and that too against some of the best spinners in the world. It was their spinners who failed to do the job. Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz were disappointing. They brought Nauman Ali for the second test and he also couldn't perform any magic. Overall, Pakistan has a lot of positives from this series. They managed to draw the series 1-1. And to some extent, Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah proved that they could lead the pace attack even in the absence of Shaheen.

Pakistani players have good bowling defence and this is amazing they batted well.
I think they have tested the team how would they perform in the absence of Shaheen Afridi. But Afridi too is an amazing player - hard to ignore.

[Sithara007]

He was slogging and doing so got some success that's it but it's fine as he was no10 so every run is bonus. Although Naseem Shah was the guy who stayed with Babar for long, not Hasan Ali.

LOL.. I have to admit that I am biased in favor of Hasan Ali. Anyway, he did what he could. And yes, Naseem did a splendid job in the first match (with the bat).

Pakistani players have good bowling defence and this is amazing they batted well.
I think they have tested the team how would they perform in the absence of Shaheen Afridi. But Afridi too is an amazing player - hard to ignore.

Back in late 1990s and early 2000s, they had 3-4 quality bowlers such as Akram, Shoaib, Saqlain and Waqar. So even if one is unavailable, someone like Mohammad Sami would fill in. But now Shaheen is the only consistent bowler. The younger ones such as Hasnain and Naseem are yet to prove that they are reliable. Also, they lack a pace bowling all-rounder, such as Abdul Razzaq who was in the team a decade or so ago.

[rojan]

It is the same ground in which the first test match was played. In the first match the batting and the bowling lineup performed the best. So, it was a win for Pakistan. In this match both batting and bowling lineup failed, if not this match could've been a win of small difference in the scores. Now this is a big win by 246 runs.

Pakistani batsmen did a decent job. They were able to set up totals of 231 and 261 under hostile conditions, and that too against some of the best spinners in the world. It was their spinners who failed to do the job. Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz were disappointing. They brought Nauman Ali for the second test and he also couldn't perform any magic. Overall, Pakistan has a lot of positives from this series. They managed to draw the series 1-1. And to some extent, Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah proved that they could lead the pace attack even in the absence of Shaheen.

Pakistani players have good bowling defence and this is amazing they batted well.
I think they have tested the team how would they perform in the absence of Shaheen Afridi. But Afridi too is an amazing player - hard to ignore.

Pakistan will play badly without Shaheen Afridi.  But it doesn't matter to Pakistan.  If Shaheen Afridi is there, Pakistan will play better and if he is not there, Pakistan will play worse.  Pakistan, but all the pillars play very well in all the matches. If we see, if Shaheen Afridi is not in the match, then Pakistan will not stop.  The rest of the players will continue to play as they did.

[pakhitheboss]

There was a time when Pakistan was known for its bowlers, especially spinners like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal. Why are they not able to produce such legends now? Just check the bowling stats of Pakistan spinners in the test match against Srilanka they were not at all effective and consistent. Yasir Shah took 5 wickets in the first and 4 in the second test match. In contrast, the Srilankan spin line was spot on both test matches.

[onecall123]

There was a time when Pakistan was known for its bowlers, especially spinners like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal. Why are they not able to produce such legends now? Just check the bowling stats of Pakistan spinners in the test match against Srilanka they were not at all effective and consistent. Yasir Shah took 5 wickets in the first and 4 in the second test match. In contrast, the Srilankan spin line was spot on both test matches.

I agree with you. It wasn't the batting that led to this defeat; it was the bowling that did it. Runs were leaked by bowlers left, right, and center. When Yasir Shah bowls, he give averages 150+ runs nearly every inning. For Pakistani batters, negotiating spinners was extremely difficult. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka is the best team in the world, but Pakistani spinners failed to deliver in the test match against Sri Lanka.

[JSRAW]

Back in late 1990s and early 2000s, they had 3-4 quality bowlers such as Akram, Shoaib, Saqlain and Waqar. So even if one is unavailable, someone like Mohammad Sami would fill in. But now Shaheen is the only consistent bowler. The younger ones such as Hasnain and Naseem are yet to prove that they are reliable. Also, they lack a pace bowling all-rounder, such as Abdul Razzaq who was in the team a decade or so ago.

This might come as shock to many, including me that Pakistan failed to produce any consistent fast bowlers after Akram,Shoaib, Waqar.

The one had any chances got ruined by match fixing and poor management like Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif these 2 guys had so much potential but they wasted it. Then there are Abbas, Shami, Gul etc who were mismanaged.  

Sorry state of fast bowlers. Heads would roll for sure if it happens in India or some SENA countries.  


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Hope they manage talent better in this decade.

[laurenB7742]

There was a time when Pakistan was known for its bowlers, especially spinners like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal. Why are they not able to produce such legends now? Just check the bowling stats of Pakistan spinners in the test match against Srilanka they were not at all effective and consistent. Yasir Shah took 5 wickets in the first and 4 in the second test match. In contrast, the Srilankan spin line was spot on both test matches.

I agree with you. It wasn't the batting that led to this defeat; it was the bowling that did it. Runs were leaked by bowlers left, right, and center. When Yasir Shah bowls, he give averages 150+ runs nearly every inning. For Pakistani batters, negotiating spinners was extremely difficult. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka is the best team in the world, but Pakistani spinners failed to deliver in the test match against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

[eaLiTy]

~
Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

The difference in the match was Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis in the match, as they are wicket takers and even in the last day the odds were expecting that Pakistan could bat the entire day and both the Sri Lankan spinners were bowling really well and was picking up wickets. The other aspect is that the Pakistan bowlers were unable to restrict and pick wickets even when Sri Lankan middle order players were at the crease. Literally they outplayed in this match.

[romero121]

Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

This is the same pitch in which Pakistan won the previous test. In that test, during the first innings Shahin Afridi who is a fast bowler took 4 wickets and in the second innings Mohammad Nawaz who is a spinner took 5 wickets for Pakistan. So, it is not about the pitch. There is lack of performance and some players didn't perform and the team ended losing the match.

[virasog]

Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

This is the same pitch in which Pakistan won the previous test. In that test, during the first innings Shahin Afridi who is a fast bowler took 4 wickets and in the second innings Mohammad Nawaz who is a spinner took 5 wickets for Pakistan. So, it is not about the pitch. There is lack of performance and some players didn't perform and the team ended losing the match.

Yeah, we are talking about the poor performances by the Pakistani bowlers in this test match but they were the same team with similar bowlers who won the first test match against Srilanka.
I think the batsmen were more responsible in this loss as they scored too low a total in the first innings which caused the pressure to pile up and affected their batting and bowling performances.

[justdimin]

we are talking about the poor performances by the Pakistani bowlers in this test match but they were the same team with similar bowlers who won the first test match against Srilanka.
I think the batsmen were more responsible in this loss as they scored too low a total in the first innings which caused the pressure to pile up and affected their batting and bowling performances.

After winning first test match by big margin most of the players were overconfidence with this captaincy was also not good as suddenly Babar doing some blunders which were helpful for home team in first inning and fielding is also having troubles for them for years, but sadly they have never done any positive change in this department which is big dilemma for them and their selectors.

Sri Lankan's are good learners, and they settle their mistakes which help them, and they were able to fight back with now they have again third spot in League table if they are able to beat New Zealand then surely they could be on good spot which will help them for having good end in this test championship.

Now for reaching into last two, a hard target for Pakistan as they need to win all five matches which is not easy job because current England team is doing good job with red ball.

[Sithara007]

Back in late 1990s and early 2000s, they had 3-4 quality bowlers such as Akram, Shoaib, Saqlain and Waqar. So even if one is unavailable, someone like Mohammad Sami would fill in. But now Shaheen is the only consistent bowler. The younger ones such as Hasnain and Naseem are yet to prove that they are reliable. Also, they lack a pace bowling all-rounder, such as Abdul Razzaq who was in the team a decade or so ago.

This might come as shock to many, including me that Pakistan failed to produce any consistent fast bowlers after Akram,Shoaib, Waqar.

The one had any chances got ruined by match fixing and poor management like Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif these 2 guys had so much potential but they wasted it. Then there are Abbas, Shami, Gul etc who were mismanaged.  

Sorry state of fast bowlers. Heads would roll for sure if it happens in India or some SENA countries.  


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Hope they manage talent better in this decade.

That's true. I always rate Mohammad Sami at a level equal to that of Waqar Younis or Aaqib Javed. But if you look at the stats, you will see that he just played a total of 36 test matches and ended with just 85 wickets. Anyway, test cricket was never his preferred format. He was much more effective with ODIs. Wahab Riaz was one of those bowlers who had plenty of potential. But he also ended up with less than 100 wickets. And we all know what happened with Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

[doomloop]

Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

There is nothing new we all know Sri Lankan pitches are all time in favour of spinners and mostly teams arrive here with their best spin options as Pakistan also done same, and they already have very good result here with 2015 series won by Pakistan with the help of their top class bowlers but this time sadly they fail because of poor fielding and not good use of spin options by captain Babar Azam he has done many mistakes in second test match, and they have gone against them badly, and they lost match in first inning after having deficit of 145+ which is surely biggest for any visiting team. Their batting was also not good enough specially they have limited choices which was also against them.

[jaberwock]

I always rate Mohammad Sami at a level equal to that of Waqar Younis or Aaqib Javed. But if you look at the stats, you will see that he just played a total of 36 test matches and ended with just 85 wickets. Anyway, test cricket was never his preferred format. He was much more effective with ODIs. Wahab Riaz was one of those bowlers who had plenty of potential. But he also ended up with less than 100 wickets. And we all know what happened with Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

After the Golden era of two W's Pakistani cricket suffer badly with off and on filed controversies and this have big impact on this all player power and political influence both having always negative impact on cricket and after Sri Lankan attack incident they have never been on good track with Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif both were the best products of this era gone with their own guilt which was big setback for Pakistani cricket after very long time now they have good person as head Ramiz Raja is doing hard work for bringing these golden days back hopefully his hard work pay off in positive way, and they have good guys in game as well.

Right now, after long time new generation of fast bowlers coming around if they give them proper training and other facilities surely they can give them good results.

[laurenB7742]

Sri Lanka's pitches favor the spinners a lot. Pakistan's spinners were completely unsuccessful on such a pitch. And this is why Sri Lankan batsmen batted very well in both innings. On the other hand, the performance of Pakistan's batsmen was not as good as expected. If Pakistan could have scored like 300 runs in the first innings then maybe they would have won the match. However, the series was drawn 1–1. This is a good enough result for Sri Lanka.

This is the same pitch in which Pakistan won the previous test. In that test, during the first innings Shahin Afridi who is a fast bowler took 4 wickets and in the second innings Mohammad Nawaz who is a spinner took 5 wickets for Pakistan. So, it is not about the pitch. There is lack of performance and some players didn't perform and the team ended losing the match.

I'm not saying it's a pitch problem. We all know that spin bowlers have a bit of an advantage on Asian pitches. And so when Pakistan's spin bowlers failed to perform well, naturally Pakistan fell behind quite a bit. As a result, Sri Lanka set a target of more than 500 runs. And it is very difficult to score more than 500 in the last innings on such a pitch. And so, indirectly, the main reason for Pakistan's defeat was the poor performance of their bowlers.