Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[LDL]

WTC record at a glance

Travis Head became the first to score a century at the WTC.
Travis Head 147*

Steven Smith became the second man to score a century at the WTC.

Steven Smith 102*

Steven Smith 7th test hundreds in England venue
Steven Smith 31th test hundreds for Australia team
Steve Smith 9th test hundreds against India

That's Travis Head out 163
163 the highest individual total in neutral venue England.

Update continuing...

[Vaskiy]

Australian batsmen Travis Head and Steve Smith held firm after three quick wickets fell on the first day of the World Test Championship against India. These two batsmen have held the team together brilliantly. A crucial partnership of 251 runs came from these two batsmen for the fifth wicket partnership.  So far these two batsmen are unbeaten on the wicket. Travis Head 146 and Steve Smith 96 runs remain unbeaten.  

2nd day Of the Test Championship Final Australia currently scored at 348 for 3 wickets the team is in a commanding position.
Travis Head and Steve Smith resilient partnership has been a match changer for Australia in the World Test Championship against India. Their unbeaten stand of 251 runs after three early wickets showcase their outstanding batting skills. Travis Head aggressive batting style resembles an ODI match with an unstoppable 153 run not our while Steve Smith's consistent contribution has been commendable. Steve Smith scored a century 104 runs Not his third century at The Oval Ground.

2^nd day of the match seems to be good for India. Australia have lost 7 wickets scoring 407 runs. The massive partnership from Travis Head and Smith have come to an end during the first session of the day. Smith have scored 121 runs. Travis Head have played an excellent innings same as playing in a ODI match and ended his innings for 163 runs from 174 balls. Earlier the pitch is sensed to favour spin bowling and every wicket have fallen for fast bowling. Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have taken 2 wickets each.

[rojan]

Australian batsmen Travis Head and Steve Smith held firm after three quick wickets fell on the first day of the World Test Championship against India. These two batsmen have held the team together brilliantly. A crucial partnership of 251 runs came from these two batsmen for the fifth wicket partnership.  So far these two batsmen are unbeaten on the wicket. Travis Head 146 and Steve Smith 96 runs remain unbeaten.  
Travis Head's batting looks like he is batting in an ODI match. However, the second day's play will begin shortly, hoping Steve Smith can score a century and Travis Head can score a double century.

Australia came out to bat again today. Scored 410 runs in 107.1 overs. So far Australia has lost 7 wickets. Australia could have scored more runs if they had not lost 3 wickets so badly on day 1. Australia after losing 3 wickets.  Went under a lot of pressure. But now the run over wickets are all right. India initially put Australia team batsmen under a lot of pressure. But India started to perform poorly in bowling.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

Australian batsmen Travis Head and Steve Smith held firm after three quick wickets fell on the first day of the World Test Championship against India. These two batsmen have held the team together brilliantly. A crucial partnership of 251 runs came from these two batsmen for the fifth wicket partnership.  So far these two batsmen are unbeaten on the wicket. Travis Head 146 and Steve Smith 96 runs remain unbeaten.  
Travis Head's batting looks like he is batting in an ODI match. However, the second day's play will begin shortly, hoping Steve Smith can score a century and Travis Head can score a double century.

Australia came out to bat again today. Scored 410 runs in 107.1 overs. So far Australia has lost 7 wickets. Australia could have scored more runs if they had not lost 3 wickets so badly on day 1. Australia after losing 3 wickets.  Went under a lot of pressure. But now the run over wickets are all right. India initially put Australia team batsmen under a lot of pressure. But India started to perform poorly in bowling.

2nd day Australia still going strong,  427 runs on 7 wickets they can still make 500 + runs easily with these wickets and pace .
Australia started really off but Steven Smith and travis head strong partnership brought Australia in a stronger position.

[elevates]

It is too early to say but I have a feeling that anything above 400 runs would make it hard for Indian batters. Australia has lost 7 wickets but the they have already scored 422 runs. If the tail enders are able to add an extra 50 runs to the scoreboard then Australia would have a psychological advantage. Smith and Head batted like they won't be a next day. Just look at their SR, head has 93 and Smith has 45. That is very agressive batting by both of them. Expecting Australia's first innings to end today and India to start batting.

[kro55]

India bowlers started well but were not able to continue with the momentum. At the moment Australia has the upper hand. If Indian bowlers are not able to break this partnership then a score of 450+ is on the horizon. Head would try to get his double century at least and Smith would easily get his century. None of the Indian bowlers are looking good against these two batters. Shardul Thakur has been expensive out of all the other bowlers. On the second day the pitch might favour Jadeja. If India is unable to break this partnership then it would be very hard for them to chase the huge target these two batters will put on the scoreboard.

Smith and Travis Head give Australia a great lead as Australia fall by 3 wickets for 76 runs. Smith is batting slowly but Travis Head is batting fast. WTC (2021-2023) Travis Head striked the highest rate 81.91 this final.
If India does not get quick success in the bowling department on the second day, Australia will surely give a lead of 500 runs where it will be difficult for India later on. However, Ravindra Jadeja may be successful in the first session of the 2nd day.

Indian bowlers need to pick quick wickets in today's first session. If the Indian bowlers are not able to pick up quick wickets, Travis Head and Smith cannot break the pair then India is going to face big problems. At the end of the first day, the Australian team made a huge collection of 327 runs. If today's Australian batsmen can bat well then maybe they can declare an innings after collecting more than 550. If Australia is able to bat 60-70 overs today then it can undoubtedly be said that the team is heading towards a huge collection. If Australia plays so well in the first innings, the match may be a draw and the new Australia will win. India's chances of victory are slowly diminishing.

Travis Head's innings was simply incredible! I always love to see him and Steven Smith performing at their best, and it looks like they're determined to take on India's bowling line-up. This duo could prove to be a major threat if the Indian bowlers fail to make an early breakthrough on day two. It looks like against this bowling any team can score more than 500 runs without much trouble.
I wouldn't be surprised if Aussie team manages to surpass the 550-runs. This team is in great spirits and hopefully they'll continue with the same momentum throughout the rest of the match.

Indian bowlers bowled well in the first session of the second day. And now the match is under the control of the Indian bowlers. Travis Head and Steven Smith batted very well. Head scored 163 runs and Smith returned to the dressing room with 121 runs. And even then Cameroon Green and Starc could not stay at the crease for long. Australia has now collected 422 runs after losing 7 wickets. It seems that Australia team will be able to collect 460-480 runs very easily. The Indian team is not in a good position yet. Their batsmen must perform well.

[YinShuiSiYuan]

It is too early to say but I have a feeling that anything above 400 runs would make it hard for Indian batters. Australia has lost 7 wickets but the they have already scored 422 runs. If the tail enders are able to add an extra 50 runs to the scoreboard then Australia would have a psychological advantage. Smith and Head batted like they won't be a next day. Just look at their SR, head has 93 and Smith has 45. That is very agressive batting by both of them. Expecting Australia's first innings to end today and India to start batting.

Indian ballers should stop Australia from making any more runs and take 3 wickets as quickly as possible because 430 is already a huge trail to follow,  India should start batting today so that can come back stronger in giving lead  and have time margin in hand .
Australia literally surprised everyone with their batting , India definitely didn't have this in mind before choosing to field first.

[JSRAW]

Australia did lose 4 wickets but they won't be too unhappy with the scorecard. I reckon they have enough runs on the board and another 30-50 runs from here are bonus. 

Indians can only think about damage control and chasing the match, although today they did a fair job and didn't let Australia run away. Job is still not finished tho and they need to wrap up the tail otherwise it would hurt them badly.

[n0ne]

Australia did lose 4 wickets but they won't be too unhappy with the scorecard. I reckon they have enough runs on the board and another 30-50 runs from here are bonus. 

Indians can only think about damage control and chasing the match, although today they did a fair job and didn't let Australia run away. Job is still not finished tho and they need to wrap up the tail otherwise it would hurt them badly.

Day 2, By the end of session 1 Australia have scored 422/7. The tail end is building good partnership, Alex Carey have scored 22* runs and we can expect the innings of Australia to end around 500 runs. Even at this situation Australia is the favourite as the winning probability of India is just 12% which clearly shows that India should try hard to develop partnership. Today India will start the innings and it needs the focus should be much on standing wickets not on scoring big runs.

[MoonOfLife]

Australia did lose 4 wickets but they won't be too unhappy with the scorecard. I reckon they have enough runs on the board and another 30-50 runs from here are bonus. 

Indians can only think about damage control and chasing the match, although today they did a fair job and didn't let Australia run away. Job is still not finished tho and they need to wrap up the tail otherwise it would hurt them badly.

Day 2, By the end of session 1 Australia have scored 422/7. The tail end is building good partnership, Alex Carey have scored 22* runs and we can expect the innings of Australia to end around 500 runs. Even at this situation Australia is the favourite as the winning probability of India is just 12% which clearly shows that India should try hard to develop partnership. Today India will start the innings and it needs the focus should be much on standing wickets not on scoring big runs.

Alex Carey and Pat Cummins are batting very responsibly after losing the seventh wicket for 402 runs. Australia collected 453 runs after losing 7 wickets. And quite a good collection it is. Even if they fail to collect 500 runs, the Australian team will not face many problems. I don't think Australia's innings will stop before 480 runs. The two batsmen at the crease are batting very responsibly. The outcome of the match will depend on how the Indian batsmen bat today. Indian batsmen must play well.

[Haunebu]

469! Damn! India has their work cut out for them. I don't see them giving Australia a lead and they will probably trail behind them by a small margin. Head was the primary reason why they reached this score.

They lost 3 wickets within 100 runs and Head pulled them back up brilliantly along with Smith. Am pretty confident that the target would have been lower if Rohit went with Ashwin instead of Umesh.

[onecall123]

469! Damn! India has their work cut out for them. I don't see them giving Australia a lead and they will probably trail behind them by a small margin. Head was the primary reason why they reached this score.

They lost 3 wickets within 100 runs and Head pulled them back up brilliantly along with Smith....

Travis Head and Steve Smith were the standout performers for Australia, helping to reach 469 despite losing three wickets quickly. It's definitely not a bad target at all, and now the pressure is on the Indian batters because they'll take on the pace of the Australian bowlers.

.... Am pretty confident that the target would have been lower if Rohit went with Ashwin instead of Umesh.

Indian bowling line-up has been facing some criticism lately, especially since Ashwin's drop-off. Despite high expectations, their bowlers haven't been able to deliver what as expected.

[JSRAW]

Bhen Ch*d these guys don't take these WTC Finals seriously at all.

No practice matches before both finals, bas muh utha kar pahuch jayenge IPL se. Really pisses me off despite having so much talent and working their ass off in 2 full cycles they always let down everyone in the finals. Then they will say we lost because of bowling.

No Axar and Ashwin to bail you out so Koach and Puji need to step up big time.

[UmerIdrees]

Bhen Ch*d these guys don't take these WTC Finals seriously at all.

No practice matches before both finals, bas muh utha kar pahuch jayenge IPL se. Really pisses me off despite having so much talent and working their ass off in 2 full cycles they always let down everyone in the finals. Then they will say we lost because of bowling.

No Axar and Ashwin to bail you out so Koach and Puji need to step up big time.

The Super hero of IPL, Mr Gill , who was the most successful batsman in the home series IPL, Shubman Gill hammers highest IPL playoffs score, have you seen him how he got out in this final? He left the bowl which was coming straight to hit the middle stump. lol

The Indian team is tired of playing 2 consecutive months IPL and you have pushed them straight into the Test Final. Please have some mercy on them. They are not Robots, they need some time to do shopping with the money they earned in IPL 

[romero121]

India at the critical situation losing the wicket of Pujara. India have lost its third wicket at 50 runs. Second wicket had taken place same as that of Shubman Gill. Balls were completely misjudged and the ball hits the stump. Rahane have come to the crease, will Kohli and Rahane able to make good partnership to keep the Indian team at the better position. Australia bowlers are at their best, fast bowlers are doing well and there is good swing with the three bowlers (Green, Boland and Cummins).

[Sithara007]

Bhen Ch*d these guys don't take these WTC Finals seriously at all.

No practice matches before both finals, bas muh utha kar pahuch jayenge IPL se. Really pisses me off despite having so much talent and working their ass off in 2 full cycles they always let down everyone in the finals. Then they will say we lost because of bowling.

No Axar and Ashwin to bail you out so Koach and Puji need to step up big time.

Well.. Cheteshwar Pujara was the one who prepared really well for this match. But then he got out to Cameroon Green for just 14 runs. The good news for India is that Mitchell Starc once again looks wayward (picked the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli just now, thanks to an excellent catch from Steve Smith). Pat Cummins was also spraying the ball all around the wicket and it was Scott Boland who turned out to be the best bowler so far for the Australians. India need another 198 runs to avoid the follow on and the are four down at 71/4.

[noormcs5]

Bhen Ch*d these guys don't take these WTC Finals seriously at all.

No practice matches before both finals, bas muh utha kar pahuch jayenge IPL se. Really pisses me off despite having so much talent and working their ass off in 2 full cycles they always let down everyone in the finals. Then they will say we lost because of bowling.

No Axar and Ashwin to bail you out so Koach and Puji need to step up big time.

Well.. Cheteshwar Pujara was the one who prepared really well for this match. But then he got out to Cameroon Green for just 14 runs. The good news for India is that Mitchell Starc once again looks wayward (picked the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli just now, thanks to an excellent catch from Steve Smith). Pat Cummins was also spraying the ball all around the wicket and it was Scott Boland who turned out to be the best bowler so far for the Australians. India need another 198 runs to avoid the follow on and the are four down at 71/4.

Indian first and more important task is to save the follow on. Saving the match is the secondary target, the first mission would be to save the follow on and then see how the match progress. Indian has lost four wickets and I think the loss of Kholi would have created a lot of panic in the Indian dressing room.

Edit:- Rahane just survived as Cummins bowled a no ball and it was detected on the review, otherwise Indian would have lost another wicket.

[Haunebu]

Looks like India's ICC title drought will continue. India could have gotten close to the target or surpassed it if X-factor players like Pant, Axar and Ashwin would have been a part of the lineup, but that sadly didn't happen.

They could have restricted the Australians below 250 if they got Head early, but they messed up. One-sided match at this point.

[LittleBitFunny]

India at the critical situation losing the wicket of Pujara. India have lost its third wicket at 50 runs. Second wicket had taken place same as that of Shubman Gill. Balls were completely misjudged and the ball hits the stump. Rahane have come to the crease, will Kohli and Rahane able to make good partnership to keep the Indian team at the better position. Australia bowlers are at their best, fast bowlers are doing well and there is good swing with the three bowlers (Green, Boland and Cummins).

When Australia batted it felt like a batting-friendly pitch. But now the performance of the Indian batsmen seems to be a completely bowling-friendly pitch. India lost their fifth wicket for 142 runs. It was completely unexpected that India's experienced top-order batsmen would perform so poorly. But Ajinkia Rahane is still at the crease. He is quite an experienced batsman. With Rahane at the crease, India might be able to collect a decent total. But if India loses the wicket of Rahane, they will not be able to collect even 250 runs.

[Gulttam2a2]

India's condition on Day 2 of Test final is very poor. Australia built their huge mountain of runs. India's opening batsmen did not capitalize well. Gill and Rohit Sharma in the opening pair did not score big runs for India. The two opening batsmen went back to the dressing room very early which was very disappointing for India. Like Pujara and Kohli. Even the experienced batsman could not take advantage. Is India going to follow on then? If India wants to avoid follow on, they will have to score 270 runs, which seems impossible for India. No Indian batsman could stand in the face of Australia's bowling cannon.