Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[kro55]

Pakistan bowlers were in great momentum, and if there was no rain interruption, then they would have probably taken a few more wickets. And also, two out of form batsmen are at the crease now - Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith. The break will give them time to get adjusted and to prepare their strategy against the Pakistani pacers. And rain came at a time when two of the young pacers were bowling beautifully - Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamal. So far these guys are bowling so well, that the absence of Khurram Shahzad is not being felt. 

Australians are today slow in scoring runs. In 58 overs they have scored 158 runs with scoring rate of 2.8 runs per over. After losing 2 quick wickets, there is 50 runs partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Smith which just got broken. Pakistani bowlers are getting wickets but they should keep an eye on runs. With this rate, Australians may be able to score 300+ runs which wont be easy to chase. Shaheen Shah is wicket less so far and this is not a good sign for Pakistan.

Today was the first day  (concluded) of the Pakistan and Australia test match, and in this test, what pathetic bowling by all the pacers of the Pakistan team that played this match.

Shaheen Shah Afridi didn't take any wickets but in the early, Shaheen almost out David Warner but Abdullah Shafique dropped easy catch of David Warner and same this type of catch dropped by Babar Azam in the 2017 Champions Trophy of Virat Kohli, where Amir is bowling and Virat Kohli was on strike he tip the ball and the was gone on slip but Babar Azam dropped the catch.

The condition of Pakistan team is very bad now. Their performance in both batting and bowling is poor. They also missed a lot of fielding. I would say Pakistani players need to work harder.

Australian team batsmen are batting very carefully. They are playing well. At the end of the day Australia collected 187 runs in 66 overs losing three wickets. Labuchagne remains unbeaten with 44 off 120 balls. Travis Head is also unbeaten with 9 runs. Agha Salman managed to pick up two wickets. Shaheen Shah Afridi's bowling was not bad but he could not take a single wicket. As in the first match, the Australian team is the favorite in this match.

[Webetcoins]

The 4th wicket partnership is already worth 67 runs. And more importantly these two (Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli) are scoring runs at a brisk pace. Nandre Burger have been outstanding so far, but other bowlers need to step in and pick a few wickets. And for India, they went to this match with 5 bowlers. That means that if they lose two more wickets, then the tail starts with Ravichandran Ashwin. And they have 3 genuine tailenders in Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. I don't expect these three to add a lot of runs. 

Indian batsmen are batting very badly in the first test match. A more responsible performance I expected from the Indian batsmen. Because in the ODI series Indian players showed excellent dominance.

The Indian top order crumbled badly today. Apart from Virat Kohli and Iyer's partnership of 38 and 31 runs, no other batsman in the top order batted well. India lost 6 of their top order batsmen for just 121 runs. Rahul and Shardul Thakur are batting now. India is likely to lose all wickets before 200 runs if Kl Rahul fails to play a big innings.

After winning toss South African done good decision of bowling first and their bowlers give them good support with having few early wickets which bring India under huge pressure now we are in second session of the day India already lost their all top order and have not good runs on board 148 for 6 KL Rahul and Shardu Thakur both trying to rebuild their inning and have 21 runs partnership but still it's long way to go for them.

After having good time in white-ball mostly batsmen not able to have something good in their first inning of this test, but things can take good turn in second inning, but now we also need good bowling from the Indian bowlers as well on this supportive wicket which is famous for having good support both fast and spin bowlers Kagiso Rabada is leading bowler who take 4 wickets with Burger giving good support.

[synchronym]

The 4th wicket partnership is already worth 67 runs. And more importantly these two (Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli) are scoring runs at a brisk pace. Nandre Burger have been outstanding so far, but other bowlers need to step in and pick a few wickets. And for India, they went to this match with 5 bowlers. That means that if they lose two more wickets, then the tail starts with Ravichandran Ashwin. And they have 3 genuine tailenders in Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. I don't expect these three to add a lot of runs.  

Indian batsmen are batting very badly in the first test match. A more responsible performance I expected from the Indian batsmen. Because in the ODI series Indian players showed excellent dominance.

The Indian top order crumbled badly today. Apart from Virat Kohli and Iyer's partnership of 38 and 31 runs, no other batsman in the top order batted well. India lost 6 of their top order batsmen for just 121 runs. Rahul and Shardul Thakur are batting now. India is likely to lose all wickets before 200 runs if Kl Rahul fails to play a big innings.

After winning toss South African done good decision of bowling first and their bowlers give them good support with having few early wickets which bring India under huge pressure now we are in second session of the day India already lost their all top order and have not good runs on board 148 for 6 KL Rahul and Shardu Thakur both trying to rebuild their inning and have 21 runs partnership but still it's long way to go for them.

After having good time in white-ball mostly batsmen not able to have something good in their first inning of this test, but things can take good turn in second inning, but now we also need good bowling from the Indian bowlers as well on this supportive wicket which is famous for having good support both fast and spin bowlers Kagiso Rabada is leading bowler who take 4 wickets with Burger giving good support.

India did not bat that well in the first test match of South Africa vs India. India lost six wickets for just 140 runs. None of India's first-string batsmen have been able to form a good partnership, which has resulted in wickets falling at very few runs. The state of play for India looks like they might be all out within 250 runs. If India get all out within 250 runs, it will be very positive for South Africa for the first Test match.

[Patrol69]

The play of the first day has been completed and Australia seems to be in a good position. They have only lost 3 wickets but at the same time, they have not been able to score as many runs as they should have in my opinion. They have only been able to get 183 in 66 overs which is not much honestly. But Pakistan has to start picking up quick wickets as well. No one from Australia has a strike rate of 50 or more so far and Pakistan will have to keep putting pressure on them to get wickets. Fielding of Pakistan has to improve.

Pakistani bowlers have done a decent job not allowing Australians to score freely today. Even then Australia manage to score 187 runs on day 1. First day play was interrupted by rain and a draw here due to rain will be welcomed by Pakistan. Shaheen need to find his form back as he is the main bowler and its not good for Pakistan that Shaheen is showing such poor performance. Pakistan should try to bowl out Australia before 300 to remain in the contest. If Australia surpass 300 then it will be difficult for Pakistan to make a come back.  

Australia scored 187 runs for 3 wickets in the first innings against Pakistan on the first day of the second Test match. Australia is currently in a good position against Pakistan in terms of run rate and wickets. On the second day, the Australian batsmen will surely enter the field with an extra confidence. If Australia's innings is above four hundred after completing the first innings then Pakistan will be under a lot of pressure in this match. Australia has already won the first Test against Pakistan by a huge margin. In Australian conditions, Australian bowlers are able to achieve the kind of bounce and swing that the bowlers of other countries in Asia can not achieve, due to which Australia is ahead in all those matches.

[Essential10]

The 4th wicket partnership is already worth 67 runs. And more importantly these two (Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli) are scoring runs at a brisk pace. Nandre Burger have been outstanding so far, but other bowlers need to step in and pick a few wickets. And for India, they went to this match with 5 bowlers. That means that if they lose two more wickets, then the tail starts with Ravichandran Ashwin. And they have 3 genuine tailenders in Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. I don't expect these three to add a lot of runs.  

The fourth-wicket partnership ended at 68, with Shreyas Iyer out and Virat Kohli unable to last long. The top five batsmen of India's batting line-up returned to the pavilion after taking the team's 107 runs. South Africa's 2 pacers have taken 6 wickets so far. In one word, Rabada has bowled brilliantly, so far he has bowled 13 overs and taken four wickets for 36 runs. Nandre Burger has taken two wickets so far on his debut. KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur continue to battle it out, with India 155 for 6 as the second session continues.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The 4th wicket partnership is already worth 67 runs. And more importantly these two (Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli) are scoring runs at a brisk pace. Nandre Burger have been outstanding so far, but other bowlers need to step in and pick a few wickets. And for India, they went to this match with 5 bowlers. That means that if they lose two more wickets, then the tail starts with Ravichandran Ashwin. And they have 3 genuine tailenders in Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj. I don't expect these three to add a lot of runs. 

Indian batsmen are batting very badly in the first test match. A more responsible performance I expected from the Indian batsmen. Because in the ODI series Indian players showed excellent dominance.

The Indian top order crumbled badly today. Apart from Virat Kohli and Iyer's partnership of 38 and 31 runs, no other batsman in the top order batted well. India lost 6 of their top order batsmen for just 121 runs. Rahul and Shardul Thakur are batting now. India is likely to lose all wickets before 200 runs if Kl Rahul fails to play a big innings.

After winning toss South African done good decision of bowling first and their bowlers give them good support with having few early wickets which bring India under huge pressure now we are in second session of the day India already lost their all top order and have not good runs on board 148 for 6 KL Rahul and Shardu Thakur both trying to rebuild their inning and have 21 runs partnership but still it's long way to go for them.

After having good time in white-ball mostly batsmen not able to have something good in their first inning of this test, but things can take good turn in second inning, but now we also need good bowling from the Indian bowlers as well on this supportive wicket which is famous for having good support both fast and spin bowlers Kagiso Rabada is leading bowler who take 4 wickets with Burger giving good support.

Kl Rahul and Shardul Thakur are batting very responsibly. After losing 6 wickets for 121 runs, now India's collection is 163 runs. India have already collected 42 runs from this pair.

If you don't do well in the first innings, it is much more difficult to collect big  in the second innings. If India want to make the match competitive then they need to  collect atleast 250+. Collecting  less than this is more likely to see South African dominance in the match. I know  that India's bowling order is not weak, even then, if they collect less than 250  in the Test format, India will be under pressure. Kl Rahul must play a big innings today.

[wiss19]

Today was the first day  (concluded) of the Pakistan and Australia test match, and in this test, what pathetic bowling by all the pacers of the Pakistan team that played this match.

Shaheen Shah Afridi didn't take any wickets but in the early, Shaheen almost out David Warner but Abdullah Shafique dropped easy catch of David Warner and same this type of catch dropped by Babar Azam in the 2017 Champions Trophy of Virat Kohli, where Amir is bowling and Virat Kohli was on strike he tip the ball and the was gone on slip but Babar Azam dropped the catch.

I don't think Pakistani bowlers done poor job with their fielders consistently dropping catches so they can't give anything special in these conditions with we have 27 extra runs as well which are 10% more than Australian total score mean things are not going into their favour but still this was not bad day at all after winning toss and giving Australian first bat on rain hit first day of the second test match which is playing on Boxing Day.

In third over of the day we have a simple catch dropped by Saud Shakeel which give another chance to David Warner but sadly this time he fails to convert this into century but still done decent job with his opening partner Usman Khawaja, and they reach 90 runs then we have some good bowling from the Pakistani bowlers specially Hassan Ali done good job and now second days first session is going to be interesting for the both teams.

[Minecache]

The play of the first day has been completed and Australia seems to be in a good position. They have only lost 3 wickets but at the same time, they have not been able to score as many runs as they should have in my opinion. They have only been able to get 183 in 66 overs which is not much honestly. But Pakistan has to start picking up quick wickets as well. No one from Australia has a strike rate of 50 or more so far and Pakistan will have to keep putting pressure on them to get wickets. Fielding of Pakistan has to improve.

Pakistani bowlers have done a decent job not allowing Australians to score freely today. Even then Australia manage to score 187 runs on day 1. First day play was interrupted by rain and a draw here due to rain will be welcomed by Pakistan. Shaheen need to find his form back as he is the main bowler and its not good for Pakistan that Shaheen is showing such poor performance. Pakistan should try to bowl out Australia before 300 to remain in the contest. If Australia surpass 300 then it will be difficult for Pakistan to make a come back.  

Australia scored 187 runs for 3 wickets in the first innings against Pakistan on the first day of the second Test match. Australia is currently in a good position against Pakistan in terms of run rate and wickets. On the second day, the Australian batsmen will surely enter the field with an extra confidence. If Australia's innings is above four hundred after completing the first innings then Pakistan will be under a lot of pressure in this match. Australia has already won the first Test against Pakistan by a huge margin. In Australian conditions, Australian bowlers are able to achieve the kind of bounce and swing that the bowlers of other countries in Asia can not achieve, due to which Australia is ahead in all those matches.

The first day of the boxing day test match started just like the first test match between them. In the early hours of the game, Warner gave a catch and it was dropped. Classic Pakistan dropping catches in crucial moments. Abdullah Shafique dropped the catch of David Warner he scored around 2 runs.

Pakistani Bowlers have shown improvements though. Consistently creating chances but again, their fielding is holding them back. I know some of the catches were hard, but you have to catch some of them. You don't get chances all time and Australian batters won't give you second chances. Feels good to see that the Pakistani Bowling side has improved. Hasan Ali is looking very good right now. But I think that the 1st day of test was “won” by Australia. Only 3 wickets have fallen. Australia is looking like they can score big.

The thing that will decide this match is how Pakistan will bat. Have they improved their batting like their bowling has improved is the question. If they have, there is a chance they can win this match or draw this match.

[3kpk3]

India is getting decimated by the South Africans at the moment thanks to Rabada and Burger who keep chipping away their wickets. Rahul is their lone warrior and is trying to take them closer to 250 with the tail-enders.

On the other hand, Warner surpassed Waugh and is the 2nd highest run-getter for their team across all formats and it looks like the 2nd test will go to the Aussies or end as a draw.

[rojan]

In today's 1st Test match of South Africa vs India, India team came to bat. In 58 overs, they scored 202 runs for 8 overs. India team did not perform well in batting today. India team batsman Rohit Sharma got out for 5 runs in 14 balls.  Virat Kohli is out for 38 runs in 64 balls. Shubman Gill is out for 2 runs in 12 balls. But India team batsmen are under pressure to perform well from South Africa team bowlers. It seems that India team will not be able to score 260 runs before India team all.  will be out.

[CryptoBuds]

India is getting decimated by the South Africans at the moment thanks to Rabada and Burger who keep chipping away their wickets. Rahul is their lone warrior and is trying to take them closer to 250 with the tail-enders.

KL Rahul is still at the crease with 70 runs. But there is no qualified batsman to support him. The match is now being delayed due to rain. Rain is definitely a boon for India right now. Before the rain started, India collected 208 runs in 59 overs, India lost 8 wickets

Kagiso Rabada destroyed India's batting order today. Bowling 17 overs, he gave only 44 runs, and he picked up 5 important wickets. He picked up the wickets of Kohli, Rohit, Iyer, Aswin and Shardul Thakur. India could have collected big in the first innings if any of the batsmen could survive at the crease.

[JSRAW]

This is seam bowling heaven where one team went with a full seam attack so don't let the scorecard fool you.

It's not a 350-400 pitch but a 250-285 runs pitch at best and I reckon it will be a low scoring match where even 70-80 runs inning would be considered epic. India needs to add 40-50 more runs and i think they are set for the first inning.

[WatChe]

India is getting decimated by the South Africans at the moment thanks to Rabada and Burger who keep chipping away their wickets. Rahul is their lone warrior and is trying to take them closer to 250 with the tail-enders.

On the other hand, Warner surpassed Waugh and is the 2nd highest run-getter for their team across all formats and it looks like the 2nd test will go to the Aussies or end as a draw.

Its because of KL Rahul India have crossed 200 and they now eyeing 250. From South African side, Kagiso Rabada has already got 5 wickets and he has got good support from Jansen and Burger. South Africa must try to get rid of KL Rahul as quickly as possible otherwise India may be able to cross 250. KL rahul is in terrific touch at the moment scored 70 runs on 105 balls that include 2 sixes.

[noormcs5]

Australia dominating performance at the end of day 1 scored 166 runs loss of 3 wickets in 66 overs. Australia bastmen Marnus Labuschagne is playing at 44 runs not out and travis Head is playing at 9 runs. Pakistani bowlers Salman ali agha picked 1 important wicktes of David Warner and Hassan alo also picked 1 crucial wicket of Usman khawaja who is playing well and out in 42 runs, just missed his half century by 8 runs short. Pakistan bowlers didn't perform well only picked 3 wickets and dropped catches would helped Australia to set a big total in 1st innings of second test match.

On the first day has been finished of Pakistan & Australia's second test match, and on this day the Pakistani bowling speed was unbearable, what a bowling done by Aamir Jamal, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, by the way, this type of bowling that Pakistan did was just like a Naseem Shah that he did in the World Cup final of 2022 against England when the world-class batsmen were on strike Ben Stokes and Buttler.
Both batsmen could play any ball of Naseem Shah, what an outswing and in-swing did by him.

[onecall123]

In today's 1st Test match of South Africa vs India, India team came to bat. In 58 overs, they scored 202 runs for 8 overs. India team did not perform well in batting today. India team batsman Rohit Sharma got out for 5 runs in 14 balls.  Virat Kohli is out for 38 runs in 64 balls. Shubman Gill is out for 2 runs in 12 balls. But India team batsmen are under pressure to perform well from South Africa team bowlers. It seems that India team will not be able to score 260 runs before India team all.  will be out.

The match delayed due to rain.
South African bowlers delivered an impressive performance in today's test match, with Kagiso Rabada securing his maiden Test five-for against India. India finds themselves under pressure, but KL Rahul continues to fight for the team. Rahul consistently shows up when needed, displaying resilience regardless of the conditions. It won't be surprising if India somehow manages to cross the 250-run mark in this innings.

[AirtelBuzz]

India is getting decimated by the South Africans at the moment thanks to Rabada and Burger who keep chipping away their wickets. Rahul is their lone warrior and is trying to take them closer to 250 with the tail-enders.

KL Rahul is still at the crease with 70 runs. But there is no qualified batsman to support him. The match is now being delayed due to rain. Rain is definitely a boon for India right now. Before the rain started, India collected 208 runs in 59 overs, India lost 8 wickets

Kagiso Rabada destroyed India's batting order today. Bowling 17 overs, he gave only 44 runs, and he picked up 5 important wickets. He picked up the wickets of Kohli, Rohit, Iyer, Aswin and Shardul Thakur. India could have collected big in the first innings if any of the batsmen could survive at the crease.

Kagiso Rabada destroyed the Indian batting today.Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma played the worst for India today, both of them had a very poor batting performance today.I had high hopes for Virat Kohli but he disappointed getting out for just 38 runs.But Lokesh Rahul is still playing well even as he remains unbeaten on 70 runs. However, there is no batsman to give him proper support.

[Bitcoin Smith]

This is seam bowling heaven where one team went with a full seam attack so don't let the scorecard fool you.

It's not a 350-400 pitch but a 250-285 runs pitch at best and I reckon it will be a low scoring match where even 70-80 runs inning would be considered epic. India needs to add 40-50 more runs and i think they are set for the first inning.

So many in replies shows not many of them are actually watched test cricket, they just go by the scoreboard.

It was unlucky in the end because India could have crossed 250 mark if play lasted for a little longer but tomorrow morning that is going to be difficult and also weather prediction is not great for tomorrow either, so let's hope KL can make as much as he can.

India too have 4 pace bowling attack, so it isn't going to be easy peasy for SA to bat in 2nd inning.

[Haunebu]

Rain interfering as usual. India can reach the 250 mark as long as Rahul doesn't get out and some tail-ender should survive. Am expecting the South African bowlers to try and remove the tail-enders asap.

The Indian bowlers need to perform well in order to get a lead in the first innings. However, this match could also end as a draw thanks to rain.

[Cheema02]

In today's 1st Test match of South Africa vs India, India team came to bat. In 58 overs, they scored 202 runs for 8 overs. India team did not perform well in batting today. India team batsman Rohit Sharma got out for 5 runs in 14 balls.  Virat Kohli is out for 38 runs in 64 balls. Shubman Gill is out for 2 runs in 12 balls. But India team batsmen are under pressure to perform well from South Africa team bowlers. It seems that India team will not be able to score 260 runs before India team all.  will be out.

South Africa bowling performance in this match is outstanding and their decision of bowling first against India is good beacuse india lost their 8 wickets in just 208 runs score. Kl Rahul is playing an important innings of 70 runs in 105 balls that helped india to much to cross 200 runs in end of first day of test match. South Africa bowling is amazing especially Kagiso Rabada who picked 5 wickets by giving 44 runs in 17 overs also picked top wickets including Rohit Sharma and Virat kholi. India will looking to cross 250 plus total in Frist inning of test match because Kl Rahul is playing very well at 70 runs unbeaten.

[Iranus]

In today's 1st Test match of South Africa vs India, India team came to bat. In 58 overs, they scored 202 runs for 8 overs. India team did not perform well in batting today. India team batsman Rohit Sharma got out for 5 runs in 14 balls.  Virat Kohli is out for 38 runs in 64 balls. Shubman Gill is out for 2 runs in 12 balls. But India team batsmen are under pressure to perform well from South Africa team bowlers. It seems that India team will not be able to score 260 runs before India team all.  will be out.

South Africa bowling performance in this match is outstanding and their decision of bowling first against India is good beacuse india lost their 8 wickets in just 208 runs score. Kl Rahul is playing an important innings of 70 runs in 105 balls that helped india to much to cross 200 runs in end of first day of test match. South Africa bowling is amazing especially Kagiso Rabada who picked 5 wickets by giving 44 runs in 17 overs also picked top wickets including Rohit Sharma and Virat kholi. India will looking to cross 250 plus total in Frist inning of test match because Kl Rahul is playing very well at 70 runs unbeaten.

The way India started their innings, I thought they would lose all their wickets between 150-170. South African bowlers bowled well today. Rabada's bowling in particular was excellent today. Rabada took 5 wickets out of 8 wickets. But Kl rahul is still unbeaten with 70 runs. Rahul wants to score a century. But there is no experienced batsman at the crease to support Kl Rahul. My guess is that India's innings will end in the first 10-15 overs tomorrow. Probably India will be able to collect like 220-240.

The outcome of this match will now depend on the Indian bowlers. If the Indian bowlers do not bowl well, there is no chance of winning this match. However, the first day's play was delayed due to rain. If the match is delayed due to rain in the coming days too, the chances of a draw will increase.