Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[fuguebtc]

It was a quite bizarre performance from Pakistani batters tbh.
It looked like after Rizwan wicket no one wanted to save the test match (except Babar). Everyone looked in some sort of rush and went for slogging. Clouds were there and rain was predicted, it was just matter of time but for some weird reason they lost the plot.  
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If Pakistan fail to qualify for the final in this cycle then it would be very disappointing for them, they had very easy schedule. They are not even winning series against weaker team.
1-1 against Windies
1-1 against SL
0-1 against Aus
2-0 against Ban
They should've won first 2 series.

This was obviously a big win for Sri Lanka. They put on a big score which was honestly very difficult for even better teams to chase against Sri Lanka on their home ground. Winning a series against Bangladesh in test cricket is quite easy. But they obviously should have won against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. A loss against Australia is not surprising. I know that Sri Lanka plays very well on their home ground. But that is not an excuse Pakistan should be throwing around to justify their loss against Sri Lanka.

[Mahdirakib]

Big comeback for Sri Lanka. The whole team gave the  and the win by 246 runs is really big. The difference in scoring has made the winning happen with a big difference of score. In both the innings Sri Lanka managed to score above 350 runs whereas Pakistan was able to score only 230+ runs in both the innings. In the second innings Pakistan had a good start, but they weren't able to continue as the lower order started to fall consecutively.

I got surprised for the batting lineup collapsed of Pakistan team. From 170+/2 to 261/10, which was an unexpected performance from them. I had placed a bet on draw, but Pakistan players weren't able to play a long innings in front of Sri Lankans spinners. Prabath Jayasuriya took all of the important wickets in the second innings. Sri Lanka is at the 3rd position in the WTC points table. Now they are playing quite well with many inexperienced players.

[Rana590]

Big comeback for Sri Lanka. The whole team gave the  and the win by 246 runs is really big. The difference in scoring has made the winning happen with a big difference of score. In both the innings Sri Lanka managed to score above 350 runs whereas Pakistan was able to score only 230+ runs in both the innings. In the second innings Pakistan had a good start, but they weren't able to continue as the lower order started to fall consecutively.

I got surprised for the batting lineup collapsed of Pakistan team. From 170+/2 to 261/10, which was an unexpected performance from them. I had placed a bet on draw, but Pakistan players weren't able to play a long innings in front of Sri Lankans spinners. Prabath Jayasuriya took all of the important wickets in the second innings. Sri Lanka is at the 3rd position in the WTC points table. They are playing quite well with many inexperienced players.

Sri Lanka has some young players and they are gaining experience regularly. I think they are strong enough in the text format. In this test, it was very much possible for Pakistan to convert the match into draw but they didn't bat well and thus Sri Lanka had managed to win against them.

[Rigon]

Pathetic loss by Pakistan! In my opinion there are only two skilled and reliable players in Pakistani side, the first one is Babar Azam and the second is Shaheen Afridi. If by any chance these two do not perform then the whole team will collapse. There are a few players who would suddenly perform above expectations but, most of them are not good enough to play for the national team.

The situation with Pakistan at the moment reminds me of those days when India was fully dependent on the performance of Sachin Tendulkar. I am not sure which Indian bowler at that time was so much important. If anyone remembers then do share your opinion.

I was expecting the Pakistani side to draw the match and not lose it. They are now so not able to play spin balling. In the first innings they lost our to spin and in the second inning the same result. This is so far for me the most pathetic performance by Pakistan. If they continue like the way they did today I think think their future as test playing country would be questioned.

Agreed on Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The latter's absence due to injury really hit them negatively. I am quite sure that if Shaheen was in the squad, then Sri Lanka would have struggled to get to a decent total in both their innings. Naseem Shah and Hasan Ali bowled decently, but they failed to get wickets at crucial intervals. The biggest disappointment was spin bowling. All of them - Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Agha Salman and Nauman Ali, failed to impress despite helpful conditions.

Pakistan lost the second Test match to Sri Lanka.Due to the lack of good players in the Pakistan team, they lost this second test match.Actually survival in this test match is the big thing if they could have survived on the field then they could have scored a good run.What they really lacked the most was their spin bowling.Sri Lanka won the second test match by 246 runs.

SL - 378 & 360/8d

PAK - 231 & 261(77)

Sri Lanka won by 246 runs.

[BobK71]

Pakistan lost the second Test match to Sri Lanka.Due to the lack of good players in the Pakistan team, they lost this second test match.

Here I have a contradiction to your statement. I have ‍seen most of the player are very much established in Pakistan cricket but i agree they are playing in the 2nd test is really poor performance. I believe they have the power to beat Sri Lanka. They have already shown in the first Test how to grab victory. But they have to change the way they play. The bowling action needs to change as well as they have to focus their batting side.

[KennyR]

Pakistan lost the second Test match to Sri Lanka.Due to the lack of good players in the Pakistan team, they lost this second test match.

Here I have a contradiction to your statement. I have ‍seen most of the player are very much established in Pakistan cricket but i agree they are playing in the 2nd test is really poor performance. I believe they have the power to beat Sri Lanka. They have already shown in the first Test how to grab victory. But they have to change the way they play. The bowling action needs to change as well as they have to focus their batting side.

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.

[tygeade]

Pakistan lost the second Test match to Sri Lanka.Due to the lack of good players in the Pakistan team, they lost this second test match.

Here I have a contradiction to your statement. I have ‍seen most of the player are very much established in Pakistan cricket but i agree they are playing in the 2nd test is really poor performance. I believe they have the power to beat Sri Lanka. They have already shown in the first Test how to grab victory. But they have to change the way they play. The bowling action needs to change as well as they have to focus their batting side.

While I am watching this game of cricket I never have any Pakistani team predictable because they have never been solid most of the time one day they are hero's and just after this amazing win on second day they all are as zero's which is their nature, and it's surely a beauty of Pakistani cricket.

Today I watch all match and feeling there were nothing wrong in pitch, and they can easily survive this all day but sadly due to some poor hitting they completely go down and lost match in just first 50 overs of the day here nothing special done by Sri Lankan bowlers because they were doing just good in line and length and Pakistani batsmen were giving their wickets like crap now it's time for them to have some better quality batsmen in test format because it's important for them to work on this as soon as possible.

[Webetcoins]

Big comeback for Sri Lanka. The whole team gave the  and the win by 246 runs is really big. The difference in scoring has made the winning happen with a big difference of score. In both the innings Sri Lanka managed to score above 350 runs whereas Pakistan was able to score only 230+ runs in both the innings. In the second innings Pakistan had a good start, but they weren't able to continue as the lower order started to fall consecutively.

There is no doubt it's big comeback by Sri Lanka with the help from Pakistani team as well because first they help them in fielding and bowling then they give them good encouragement in batting with their poor selection of shots and having some hurry for going back to pavilion.

I was expecting good fight because pitch was completely flat and there was no help available for any bowler but at the end they have done all without any serious trouble and now back at third spot in WTC final table which is now very interesting because all five teams still in and have fair chance for qualifying for final with now for me Australia vs India is hot favorite because others are having tough challenging matches waiting for them in coming days.

[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.