Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[roksana.hee]

Pakistan tour of Australia | 2nd Test, Melbourne, December 26 - 30, 2023

Day 3 - Session 2: Australia lead by 161 runs.

Wow, the cricket match sounds intense! Australia's lead of 161 runs is impressive, especially with the unexpected performance from the Pakistan bowlers. Losing 4 wickets is a setback, but if the Pakistani bowlers can continue their good form, it might limit Australia's lead to below 230. The key will be how well the Pakistani batsmen perform. Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh's partnership on the pitch could be challenging for Pakistan, and a target of 350+ runs seems formidable. It's going to be an exciting match, and anything can happen in cricket!

[MusaPk]

Decent partnership between Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith. They were 16/4 and now these two have enabled them to reach 66/4. Lead is 116 runs as of now. If Pakistan can restrict the Australian lead to anything under 200, then they will be the firm favorites for this match. Mir Hamza took the last two wickets to fall, after Shaheen Shah Afridi provided the initial breakthroughs. But once again, Hasan Ali is looking like the weakest link in Pakistani pace bowling attack. Two more wickets and Australia are done for this match.

Smith and Marsh are doing the repair work for there team. Pakistan gave Aussies lead of 54 runs in first innings and that's proving to be quite runs now. Australians have score 107 runs so far and lead has gone up to 161 runs. Pakistan can only win if they have something to chase under 250 runs. Anything above 250 will be difficult for Pakistan to chase. Hasan and Jamal were fine in first innings but in second innings there performance is not up to the mark.

[Sithara007]

Smith and Marsh are doing the repair work for there team. Pakistan gave Aussies lead of 54 runs in first innings and that's proving to be quite runs now. Australians have score 107 runs so far and lead has gone up to 161 runs. Pakistan can only win if they have something to chase under 250 runs. Anything above 250 will be difficult for Pakistan to chase. Hasan and Jamal were fine in first innings but in second innings there performance is not up to the mark.

Pakistan seamers are wasting the early advantage they got. Steven Smith has settled in at one end and from the other end Mitchell Marsh is attacking the bowlers. I won't be surprised if Australia manages to get to a lead of 300 plus. If that happens, then it is all over for Pakistan. Given their fragile top order, anything above 220-230 is not going to be achievable for the Pakistani batsmen. Pakistan needs a couple of quick wickets. After Smith and Marsh, it is goig to be Alex Carey and then the bowlers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.   

[MusaPk]

Pakistan seamers are wasting the early advantage they got. Steven Smith has settled in at one end and from the other end Mitchell Marsh is attacking the bowlers. I won't be surprised if Australia manages to get to a lead of 300 plus. If that happens, then it is all over for Pakistan. Given their fragile top order, anything above 220-230 is not going to be achievable for the Pakistani batsmen. Pakistan needs a couple of quick wickets. After Smith and Marsh, it is goig to be Alex Carey and then the bowlers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.   

That's why Aussies are best in the world, despite losing 4 quick wickets they have a pair that has almost done the job for the team. It difficult to remove Aussies pair once they are settled. It's not possible to restrict Aussies to 220 or 250 now. The lead right now is at 175 and they have 6 batsmen to play. Shaheen and Mir Hamza were too god but not good enough to restrict Aussies to 200. 37 overs still to be played and Pakistan need to bowl out Aussies before stumps to have some chance in the game.

[Bureau]

Smith and Marsh are doing the repair work for there team. Pakistan gave Aussies lead of 54 runs in first innings and that's proving to be quite runs now. Australians have score 107 runs so far and lead has gone up to 161 runs. Pakistan can only win if they have something to chase under 250 runs. Anything above 250 will be difficult for Pakistan to chase. Hasan and Jamal were fine in first innings but in second innings there performance is not up to the mark.

Pakistan seamers are wasting the early advantage they got. Steven Smith has settled in at one end and from the other end Mitchell Marsh is attacking the bowlers. I won't be surprised if Australia manages to get to a lead of 300 plus. If that happens, then it is all over for Pakistan. Given their fragile top order, anything above 220-230 is not going to be achievable for the Pakistani batsmen. Pakistan needs a couple of quick wickets. After Smith and Marsh, it is goig to be Alex Carey and then the bowlers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.   

Marsh looks like he is now set to play the long inning as he has already got his half-century. Smith is playing extremely defensively against the pace attack of Pakistan. It would become hard for Pakistan to get these two out if they do not come up with an idea as they have already built up a 100-run partnership. The lead has already gone up to 175 runs and Australia would be going again for anything near to the 300-run mark. Pakistan has to break the partnership if they want to stop those runs getting added up to the lead.

[Sithara007]

Match is slowly slipping out of Pakistan's control. Marsh at 72 and Smith at 37. Looks like they are going to take Australia to a lead of 300-350 at least. Right now they are leading by 187. Shaheen has lost his mojo yet again and is being punished by the two Australian batsmen. At the moment, only Mir Hamza looks to be capable of getting a few breakthroughs. Also, the absence of a quality spinner is hurting Pakistan's chances yet again. When Pakistan was batting, don't forget the fact that Nathan Lyon picked up a 4-wicket haul. 

[JSRAW]

16/4 to 151/4 looks bad and 52 extras in the first inning is going to sting now even more.

When the Aussies were struggling at 16/4, I thought maybe Pakistan could create history in the boxing day test match but this golden opportunity seems to be slipping away. Gotta feel for Hasan, he bowled beautifully but test cricket can be harsh sometimes and you don't get any rewards.

[Haunebu]

16/4 to 151/4 looks bad and 52 extras in the first inning is going to sting now even more.

When the Aussies were struggling at 16/4, I thought maybe Pakistan could create history in the boxing day test match but this golden opportunity seems to be slipping away. Gotta feel for Hasan, he bowled beautifully but test cricket can be harsh sometimes and you don't get any rewards.

Smith and Marsh resurrected their innings at a crucial time when they were struggling unexpectedly. Mir Hamza was the one that impressed me the most among the Pakistan bowlers.

If Australia provide a target of 300 or higher, Pakistan is pretty much done in this test. Let's see what happens.

[Sithara007]

16/4 to 151/4 looks bad and 52 extras in the first inning is going to sting now even more.

When the Aussies were struggling at 16/4, I thought maybe Pakistan could create history in the boxing day test match but this golden opportunity seems to be slipping away. Gotta feel for Hasan, he bowled beautifully but test cricket can be harsh sometimes and you don't get any rewards.

Match has now slipped out of Pakistan's control. Don't know what happened to Aamer Jamal, he is being very wayward now. Both Smith and Marsh are hitting him all around the park. Smith is batting at 49, and it will be a morale booster for him if he can get a century at this ground, against such a quality bowling attack. Khurram Shahzad missed this match as a result of injury, but his replacement (Mir Hamza) did a decent job. As of now, Jamal looks like the weak point in Pakistani attack. Hasan Ali bowled well at times, but so far he hasn't taken any wickets.

[MusaPk]

Match has now slipped out of Pakistan's control. Don't know what happened to Aamer Jamal, he is being very wayward now. Both Smith and Marsh are hitting him all around the park. Smith is batting at 49, and it will be a morale booster for him if he can get a century at this ground, against such a quality bowling attack. Khurram Shahzad missed this match as a result of injury, but his replacement (Mir Hamza) did a decent job. As of now, Jamal looks like the weak point in Pakistani attack. Hasan Ali bowled well at times, but so far he hasn't taken any wickets.

Match slipped away from Pakistan but they have a happy ending of day-3 as Smith departs. On stumps day 3, Australia lead by 241 runs and they will now surely give a target of over 300 runs which wont be easy for a fragile Pakistani batting. Smith and Marsh are the heroes of Aussies in second innings. Four of there batsmen were not able to make it to double figures. Pakistan got Warner out early but were not able to control Smith and Marsh. Shaheen finally start taking wickets and need to bowl well tomorrow to restrict Aussies from reaching 300.

[Bureau]

A lead of 241 runs, all thanks to Marsh and Smith. I don't know whether Pakistan would be able to get those runs. Australia have only lost 6 wickets and plenty of batting is still left. I am sure they are eyeing for 300. Aamer Jamal bowled quite well in the first innings but is not bowling up to his reputation in the second innings. He hasn't been able get wickets and was not economical. It is now not easy for Pakistan to win the second test match.

[Patrol69]

Pakistan had 6 professional batsmen in the first six wickets they lost and one or two professional batsmen out of the last four and all but bowlers so the batting skills of the second order batsmen will never match the six first order batsmen. Pakistan will definitely be below the target that I have given. The number of runs to finish the second innings from behind is a plus point for Australia. Pakistan struggled a lot to bat on the second day so the fourth and fifth day will be tougher for Pakistan. On Test wickets in Australian conditions this behavior is usually observed from the wickets on the fourth and fifth days with the ball swinging considerably and the ball being fast enough to make it difficult for the batsmen to bat.

They are still trailing by 124 runs. And they do have a very long tail. Mohammad Rizwan is still out there, but at the other end they have Aamer Jamal. And then the tail starts with Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mir Hamza. Mitchell Starc was the only disappointment from Australian side. The other two pacers picked up 4 wickets, and then Nathan Lyon also picked up two. Anyway, let's wait and watch what happens tomorrow. If the Pakistani tailenders can restrict the Australian lead to 50-60 runs, then they will still have a chance in this match.   

Pakistan were a few runs behind Australia in the first innings and that could have been the reason for Pakistan's defeat. A few runs ahead in the first innings and a few runs in the second innings mean that Australia are 241 runs ahead of Pakistan so far. However, Pakistan are bowling much better in the second innings than in the first innings. The game ended in the third innings where Australia lost 6 wickets to score 187 runs. If Australia can score another 100 to 150 runs then Australia will win the second Test match. The Pakistani bowlers must pick up quick wickets early in the fourth day but they can still dream of winning this match.

[roksana.hee]

~~~

I agree, it's a tough situation, but you're right—we shouldn't underestimate the team. Comebacks can happen, and I'm hopeful they'll surprise us with a strong performance. It's an impressive lead of 241 runs for Australia, largely thanks to the contributions of Marsh and Smith. With only 6 wickets down and plenty of batting strength left, reaching 300 seems plausible for them.

[Bureau]

India, South Africa match is looking interesting as Dean Elgar inches toward his double century. He has already got 159 runs and is now slowly going towards, what might be his maiden 200 runs in test cricket. He is getting good support from Marco Jansen from the other side. India would need to break the partnership in the early hours of day 3 of the first test. An early wicket for India would put a break to the lead which is now of 57 runs.

[SATWAT]

Match has now slipped out of Pakistan's control. Don't know what happened to Aamer Jamal, he is being very wayward now. Both Smith and Marsh are hitting him all around the park. Smith is batting at 49, and it will be a morale booster for him if he can get a century at this ground, against such a quality bowling attack. Khurram Shahzad missed this match as a result of injury, but his replacement (Mir Hamza) did a decent job. As of now, Jamal looks like the weak point in Pakistani attack. Hasan Ali bowled well at times, but so far he hasn't taken any wickets.

Match slipped away from Pakistan but they have a happy ending of day-3 as Smith departs. On stumps day 3, Australia lead by 241 runs and they will now surely give a target of over 300 runs which wont be easy for a fragile Pakistani batting. Smith and Marsh are the heroes of Aussies in second innings. Four of there batsmen were not able to make it to double figures. Pakistan got Warner out early but were not able to control Smith and Marsh. Shaheen finally start taking wickets and need to bowl well tomorrow to restrict Aussies from reaching 300.

Pakistani cricket team having history of losing opportunities like these against Australia as they were at 16/4 they need to keep pressure and not allowed them to have anything which help them for rebuilding but sadly due to poor cricketing mind they allowed them and now things are completely away from them even they took both wickets, but now It's too late for them with right now 241 runs lead can touch 300+ which could be big challenge for the Pakistan with their batting lineup is having collapses in last three innings.
Bowlers done good job, but batting is surely having no depth and failure of top order is surely the biggest concern here which is not allowing to have any advantage but with this all still now things take good changes hopefully they will be able to have something good at the end.

[Swordsoffreedom]

India, South Africa match is looking interesting as Dean Elgar inches toward his double century. He has already got 159 runs and is now slowly going towards, what might be his maiden 200 runs in test cricket. He is getting good support from Marco Jansen from the other side. India would need to break the partnership in the early hours of day 3 of the first test. An early wicket for India would put a break to the lead which is now of 57 runs.

South Africa are yet to lose a wicket on the third day. Elgar and Jansen are batting well. South Africa has now collected 327 runs after losing 5 wickets. The team managed to take a lead of 82 runs. Unbeaten ELgar collected 172 runs. Slowly he is moving towards double century. Jansen collected 40 runs. South Africa will probably be able to take a lead of 170-200 runs. It is becoming impossible for India to win this match now. India will try to draw the match.

[BALIK]

A lead of 241 runs, all thanks to Marsh and Smith. I don't know whether Pakistan would be able to get those runs. Australia have only lost 6 wickets and plenty of batting is still left. I am sure they are eyeing for 300. Aamer Jamal bowled quite well in the first innings but is not bowling up to his reputation in the second innings. He hasn't been able get wickets and was not economical. It is now not easy for Pakistan to win the second test match.

I will not say that there is absolutely no chance of Pakistan winning. Australia amassed 187 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their second innings and took a lead of 241 runs. If Australia set a target of less than 300 then Pakistan has a slim chance of winning. I know it is very difficult to score 300 runs in the last innings and win. And Pakistani players are not in good form now. But Pakistan's batsmen are very talented. They have the ability to score 300 runs in the last innings and win if they bat responsibly.

[Sithara007]

India, South Africa match is looking interesting as Dean Elgar inches toward his double century. He has already got 159 runs and is now slowly going towards, what might be his maiden 200 runs in test cricket. He is getting good support from Marco Jansen from the other side. India would need to break the partnership in the early hours of day 3 of the first test. An early wicket for India would put a break to the lead which is now of 57 runs.

Dean Elgar is batting on 184, and looks like he will get his double century today. He has never scored a double ton before. Once he got to 199, but unfortunately he got out before adding one more run. That said, we need to appreciate the effort from Marco Jansen. The 6th wicket partnership is worth 110 runs, and Jansen has dominated this partnership till now. This is his highest score in test cricket. South Africa made the strategic move of promoting Jansen ahead of Bavuma. That worked. And ideally Bavuma should bat at no.11.

Edit: Dean Elgar out for 185. He will not get to his double century today.

[elevates]

And ideally Bavuma should bat at no.11.

Edit: Dean Elgar out for 185. He will not get to his double century today.

Bavuma is not fit for any format of cricket, why is he even part of the team is a mystery tome. Elgar hard luck that he missed again to get his double ton. I had a feeling that he might lose his concentration and commit a mistake. Lord thakur broke the partnership which is turning out to be good for the South African team. Jansen has already got his 50, looks like we might see him getting his first 100 in test cricket. The lead is still not that big, they would need to atleast add another 150 runs to make it look defendable.

[synchronym]

South Africa bowled out India for 245 runs in the first Test match between India and Pakistan. India batted first and losing three wickets for 30 runs, the Indian team was under a lot of pressure. When Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer batted, it seemed that the partnership between the two would continue and India would score big runs. But both got out after scoring 30 runs. With a lead of 245 runs, the South African team is batting brilliantly. The current score of the South African team is 392 runs for 7 wickets. Their current state of play looks to give India a lead of 250 runs.