Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Sithara007]

3rd missed opportunity in this decade.

2017 1st match of BGT - Ashwin-Jaddu didn't score with the bat and our batters failed as usual.
2021  Against England - No Jaddu and Axar, batsmen failed.
2023  Again BGT - Same story as 2017

Smudge as a captain is very aggressive, I really hope that he gets to captain his side. Bit unfair to Patty but Smudge is indeed a better choice.

Pat Cummins as a captain never impressed me. And nowadays it is very rare to have a pacer as the captain, especially in the test side. One of the reasons why Smith was removed as the captain was that his was getting overburdened. But now he seems to be perfectly managing both the responsibilities in a balanced way. Anyway the 4th match is very crucial. If Australia can somewhat win that one, it will be huge. Forcing a tie on India during the BGT, that too in India is more prestigious than winning the World test championship.

[rojan]

South Africa vs West Indies In the match I saw between these two teams, South Africa played very well. What I understood is that the players of West Indies are very weak in both bowling and batting. If West Indies could have performed a little better, then maybe the game will be between the two teams.  It was a bit of a hard fought battle in the middle. South Africa showed an amazing performance and they won the match. I was a bit worried which team would win first and then I saw that South Africa won the match.

[GigaBit]

South Africa vs West Indies In the match I saw between these two teams, South Africa played very well. What I understood is that the players of West Indies are very weak in both bowling and batting. If West Indies could have performed a little better, then maybe the game will be between the two teams.  It was a bit of a hard fought battle in the middle. South Africa showed an amazing performance and they won the match. I was a bit worried which team would win first and then I saw that South Africa won the match.

In the test of the first innings between South Africa vs West Indies, South Africa did well as they scored 342 in the first innings. Their collection in the second innings was comparatively less just 116. On the other hand, West Indies scored 212 in the first innings and 159 in the second. West Indies did a little better in the 2nd innings but their total was low due to this fact South Africa won the first Test by 87 runs. Next Mar 08 they will start playing another Test match where we can see some improvements as we got some good performance from West Indies team in the second innings of 1st Test.

[MusaPk]

In the test of the first innings between South Africa vs West Indies, South Africa did well as they scored 342 in the first innings. Their collection in the second innings was comparatively less just 116. On the other hand, West Indies scored 212 in the first innings and 159 in the second. West Indies did a little better in the 2nd innings but their total was low due to this fact South Africa won the first Test by 87 runs. Next Mar 08 they will start playing another Test match where we can see some improvements as we got some good performance from West Indies team in the second innings of 1st Test.

West Indies needed 246 runs to run but they fell short by 86 runs. Westindies were doing fine in first innings as they were 156/4 and then all out at 212. West Indies bowlers did a great job in second innings by bowling out SA at 116 runs. It was a great opportunity missed by struggling WI test site to win a test match.

[Sithara007]

West Indies needed 246 runs to run but they fell short by 86 runs. Westindies were doing fine in first innings as they were 156/4 and then all out at 212. West Indies bowlers did a great job in second innings by bowling out SA at 116 runs. It was a great opportunity missed by struggling WI test site to win a test match.

What do you expect from West Indies? They are probably the weakest tier-1 test team at the moment. They had such a great opportunity to get to a test win after bowling out South Africa for 116. Only Raymon Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood showed any sort of resistance with the bat. A lot was expected from Tagenarine Chanderpaul, but this time he failed with the bat. South Africa went in with an all-pace attack and it worked for them. One more test match is remaining in this series and will be played next week at Johannesburg. 

[mm2543363580]

Toss have played an important role in this match. Even if Indian batsmen have played same as the Australian players India could've reached good score. We don't know how the pitch will turn, and from the very first innings of the match it looks like the ground is bowling favourable. This time Australian bowlers have outperformed Indian bowlers performance. Lyon have took 8 wickets for 64 runs. Does anything big happens today.

One of those rare occasions when India lost a match on a turning track. Credit should be given to the captaincy of Steve Smith. His tactics worked perfectly and he made the bowling changes at the right occasion. Indian batsmen failed to get adjusted to the track, and on many occasions, they got out playing unnecessary strokes. Anyway, Australia will be having the momentum going to the 4th test match, which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in  Ahmedabad. If they can win that one, then the series will be tied 2-2.

Such a quick finish, wickets falling every now and then. The pitch has no mercy for poor batsmen. Highest runs scored in both innings are 60 by Usman Khawaja. This clearly tells how much support pitch has for bowlers. I wrote earlier that wikcets fell because the ball is not bouncing at all. May be they can design  a better pitch for 4th test otherwise India might lose the match and series may end in a draw.

That was already known Australia will win because of 75 runs chase which is definitely easy for any team .
Congratulations to Australian players for winning this test match after two defeats.  This test match is full of wickets and lesser runn chase.

[Haunebu]

Australia played really well in the third test and proved why they deserve to be in the WTC finals. Top and middle order Indian batsmen are still inconsistent as usual. Jadeja, Axar and Ashwin can't save them everytime.

I don't think Australia will win the final test though since I am expecting a draw or Indian win. Let's see what happens.

[pakhitheboss]

Indian team was once know for its strong batting line-up. At the moment it is getting more attention for its poor batting. I am not sure how an Indian batter is unable to play on a home pitch.

Virat Kohli is literally struggling to score in this series. If you do not agree then just check his batting stats. Rohit Sharma was good in the first test match but now he has no clue on how to face a spinner. Pujara is done and shoul be dusted. County cricket performance should not be taken into consideration in the next test series. Shubhman Gill should remember that he got this job because Venkatesh Prasad went after KL Rahul.

The Indian team cannot always rely on the lower order. I mean there was a time when the whole team were dependent on the middle order. Things have completely gone wrong with the Indian side. The last match is all that they have to win the BGT.

[JSRAW]

3rd missed opportunity in this decade.

2017 1st match of BGT - Ashwin-Jaddu didn't score with the bat and our batters failed as usual.
2021  Against England - No Jaddu and Axar, batsmen failed.
2023  Again BGT - Same story as 2017

Smudge as a captain is very aggressive, I really hope that he gets to captain his side. Bit unfair to Patty but Smudge is indeed a better choice.

Pat Cummins as a captain never impressed me. And nowadays it is very rare to have a pacer as the captain, especially in the test side. One of the reasons why Smith was removed as the captain was that his was getting overburdened. But now he seems to be perfectly managing both the responsibilities in a balanced way. Anyway the 4th match is very crucial. If Australia can somewhat win that one, it will be huge. Forcing a tie on India during the BGT, that too in India is more prestigious than winning the World test championship.

He did an excellent job in the home season tho and i guess won 9 matches against England, SA and the Windies but yeah those wins came at home conditions and your captaincy comes under scope when you are leading your team in hostile conditions, mainly tough away tours.

Well not overburdened per se but banned for some years due to the Sandpaper gate.

[CryptoBuds]

The Indian team cannot always rely on the lower order. I mean there was a time when the whole team were dependent on the middle order. Things have completely gone wrong with the Indian side. The last match is all that they have to win the BGT.

India's top-order performance was poor in both matches. We don't see better performances from Rohit and Kohli. But these two are the most experienced batsmen in the Indian squad. As the pitch was not batting-friendly, I expected a responsible performance from these two players. There is no doubt that every player in the Indian squad is talented. But their performance in the last match disappointed everyone. After a brilliant performance in the first two matches, no one expected bad batting. Hopefully, the Indian batsmen will not make the same mistake in the fourth Test match.

[Sithara007]

He did an excellent job in the home season tho and i guess won 9 matches against England, SA and the Windies but yeah those wins came at home conditions and your captaincy comes under scope when you are leading your team in hostile conditions, mainly tough away tours.

Well not overburdened per se but banned for some years due to the Sandpaper gate.

The wins against England were commendable, but South Africa and West Indies are not exactly top notch teams, at least in test format. Yeah.. I remember about the sandpaper gate. The ones who actually did the ball tampering got away with a warning, while Smith and Warner got suspended for a year. Anyway, although Smith lost one year of quality cricket, he came back in full force during the next Ashes series. But if he manages to get a 2-2 result in BGT, it will be hailed as one of his biggest achievements. And for that, he needs to score some runs in the 4th test. Although his captaincy tactics have been commendable, his contribution with the bat hasn't lived up to the expectations.

[Minor Miner]

West Indies needed 246 runs to run but they fell short by 86 runs. Westindies were doing fine in first innings as they were 156/4 and then all out at 212. West Indies bowlers did a great job in second innings by bowling out SA at 116 runs. It was a great opportunity missed by struggling WI test site to win a test match.

What do you expect from West Indies? They are probably the weakest tier-1 test team at the moment. They had such a great opportunity to get to a test win after bowling out South Africa for 116. Only Raymon Reifer and Jermaine Blackwood showed any sort of resistance with the bat. A lot was expected from Tagenarine Chanderpaul, but this time he failed with the bat. South Africa went in with an all-pace attack and it worked for them. One more test match is remaining in this series and will be played next week at Johannesburg. 

I don't expect much better performance from West Indies team in Test format. Because this team is always a bit weak in test format. Moreover, their squad now lacks experienced players. So their performance in Test format is very erratic now. Still, West Indies looked likely to win when South Africa lost all wickets for just 116 runs in the second innings, and set a target of 247 runs. But the performance of the West Indies batsmen was as usual very poor. And their collection in the second innings was only 159 runs. Although West Indies' bowling line-up has improved somewhat, their batsmen's performances are still erratic.

[Marvell1]

Australia played really well in the third test and proved why they deserve to be in the WTC finals. Top and middle order Indian batsmen are still inconsistent as usual. Jadeja, Axar and Ashwin can't save them everytime.

I don't think Australia will win the final test though since I am expecting a draw or Indian win. Let's see what happens.

Australia took the early advantage in this test match against India. And that's what enabled them to win this match. It is going to be interesting to see if Australia is actually able to win the last test match. Because that is going to level the series.

India is surely determined to try to win the test match or at least stay on the safe side and go out with a draw. Because even a draw is sufficient to ensure that they are winning the test series. So it is going to be hard for Australia to win. Because it is very possible that India is destined to be on the defensive from the very start.

[Haunebu]

India is surely determined to try to win the test match or at least stay on the safe side and go out with a draw. Because even a draw is sufficient to ensure that they are winning the test series. So it is going to be hard for Australia to win. Because it is very possible that India is destined to be on the defensive from the very start.

As long as the pitch is fine, I feel that India will most probably draw or win the match. One of the biggest weakpoints of Australia is that they don't have many consistent all-rounders while India has several currently.

If Australia's top or middle order doesn't perform well, it's most probably game-over for them in my opinion.

[JSRAW]

~snip~

If Australia's top or middle order doesn't perform well, it's most probably game-over for them in my opinion.

Don't forget our own top-middle order lol

They are not in good nick either. Rohit only played 1 match winning knock, Gill is a replacement but he needs to grab an opportunity with both hands. Pujara looked way too good in the last inning but he needs to repeat this in the next match. Kohli is just making Pikachu face, every time he gets out. Iyer also needs to take responsibility.

[teosanru]

~snip~

If Australia's top or middle order doesn't perform well, it's most probably game-over for them in my opinion.

Don't forget our own top-middle order lol

They are not in good nick either. Rohit only played 1 match winning knock, Gill is a replacement but he needs to grab an opportunity with both hands. Pujara looked way too good in the last inning but he needs to repeat this in the next match. Kohli is just making Pikachu face, every time he gets out. Iyer also needs to take responsibility.

The Indore pitch got 3 demerit points from ICC and was stated of poor quality which did not offer a good competition between bat and bowl. I think it's pretty much correct considering how short the match lasted it was too skewed for spinners ball not coming on the bat at all. I don't mind pitches favouring spinners or pacers but matches should alteast last till 4th day always on international level. That's the whole point of a test match. Pitch is first two matches was still fine as some or the other team managed to bat for some time atleast but this time both teams struggled badly.

[JSRAW]

Don't forget our own top-middle order lol

They are not in good nick either. Rohit only played 1 match winning knock, Gill is a replacement but he needs to grab an opportunity with both hands. Pujara looked way too good in the last inning but he needs to repeat this in the next match. Kohli is just making Pikachu face, every time he gets out. Iyer also needs to take responsibility.

The Indore pitch got 3 demerit points from ICC and was stated of poor quality which did not offer a good competition between bat and bowl. I think it's pretty much correct considering how short the match lasted it was too skewed for spinners ball not coming on the bat at all. I don't mind pitches favouring spinners or pacers but matches should alteast last till 4th day always on international level. That's the whole point of a test match. Pitch is first two matches was still fine as some or the other team managed to bat for some time atleast but this time both teams struggled badly.

I guess it serves them well after botching the venue of Dharamshala and airdropping Indore into the mix out of nowhere. It showed how casual they were with their preparation despite knowing that the BGT series is a very prestige and money making affair.

Virtually no issue with the demerits points but again our batters played poorly as well, which inflated the idea of a bad pitch.

[romero121]

~snip~

If Australia's top or middle order doesn't perform well, it's most probably game-over for them in my opinion.

Don't forget our own top-middle order lol

They are not in good nick either. Rohit only played 1 match winning knock, Gill is a replacement but he needs to grab an opportunity with both hands. Pujara looked way too good in the last inning but he needs to repeat this in the next match. Kohli is just making Pikachu face, every time he gets out. Iyer also needs to take responsibility.

The Indore pitch got 3 demerit points from ICC and was stated of poor quality which did not offer a good competition between bat and bowl. I think it's pretty much correct considering how short the match lasted it was too skewed for spinners ball not coming on the bat at all. I don't mind pitches favouring spinners or pacers but matches should alteast last till 4th day always on international level. That's the whole point of a test match. Pitch is first two matches was still fine as some or the other team managed to bat for some time atleast but this time both teams struggled badly.

It is not about the pitch. Just think of the performance coming from the Indian batters. Whatever the demerits, the home players should've the better understanding and perform well. Here everything took place in the opposite way with Australia playing well against the home team. All that required is the pressure free game, Australia in its second innings have scored 78 runs losing a wicket. They didn't had any pressure and it is already known the match is theirs.

[Sithara007]

I guess it serves them well after botching the venue of Dharamshala and airdropping Indore into the mix out of nowhere. It showed how casual they were with their preparation despite knowing that the BGT series is a very prestige and money making affair.

Virtually no issue with the demerits points but again our batters played poorly as well, which inflated the idea of a bad pitch.

Well.. the BCCI seems to have gone arrogant, after all the multi-billion deals with media rights and IPL franchise auctions. Previously, at least one former player was there in the top management (Sourav Ganguly). But now it is all politicians and their relatives. BTW, general elections are due in 12 months. There is a real chance that the opposition will come to power. If that happens, the Jay Shah-Anurag Thakur cabal will be replaced by Sharad Pawar-Srinivasan mafia. And that is going to be even worse.

No matter how bad the pitch was, it doesn't take away the fact that the Indians scored just 109 runs in their first innings. This is the same pitch where Australians managed to score close to 200. And the Australians had only one experienced spinner with them (Nathan Lyon).  The other two were making their debut in this series (Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy).

[Swordsoffreedom]

No matter how bad the pitch was, it doesn't take away the fact that the Indians scored just 109 runs in their first innings. This is the same pitch where Australians managed to score close to 200. And the Australians had only one experienced spinner with them (Nathan Lyon).  The other two were making their debut in this series (Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy).

India was defeated because of their poor performance. And I'd say it's a shame on them. The Indian players were well aware of the movement of the pitch. They made the pitch. And India has formed a suitable team for the pitch. Even then such bad batting cannot be expected from Indian players. In both matches, the performance of experienced top-order batsmen was poor. A good performance is expected from experienced batsmen on such a bowling-friendly pitch. Indian batsmen should have been more aware of their batting. Now I think Australia will win the last match too, and the series will be a draw.