Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[elevates]

Indian cricket is now tightly coupled with there film industry and that's why there is too much showoff in Indian cricket. They are too good at there home ground but average performer when playing outside.

It was always like this Bollywood and Cricket both have been associated or linked with each other. When India and Pakistan had good relations some Pakistani players were frequent to Bollywood parties and some had their girlfriends from the industry. Glamour and Cricket go hand in hand in India there is no denying it. Indian team is good in their home ground like other teams that is why we use the term home ground advantage. Playing in SENA countries has always been difficult for cricket teams from the subcontinent due to the pitch.

West Indies playing good against Cricket Australia XI, on day West Indians lead by 356 runs and they have bowled out Cricket Australia XI in there first innings on just 175 runs. West Indies dont have the capability to beat Aussies but they must give there best here to make sure they don't lose by big margins.

West Indies unless they win I won't say they are playing well. Again it is not the proper Australian team that they are playing with as it is the B team.

[Sithara007]

West Indies unless they win I won't say they are playing well. Again it is not the proper Australian team that they are playing with as it is the B team.

It is not even the B team. It is the 4th string or 5th string side, because most of the reserve players are participating in the Big Bash League. I checked the Cricket Australia XI squad and the only familiar names were Peter Handscomb and Jake Doran. None of the other players have much of first-class experience. The Australians just put together a team somehow to offer the West Indians some match practice. And even then batsmen such as Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kirk McKenzie could score a lot of runs.

[synchronym]

Indian cricket is now tightly coupled with there film industry and that's why there is too much showoff in Indian cricket. They are too good at there home ground but average performer when playing outside.
West Indies playing good against Cricket Australia XI, on day West Indians lead by 356 runs and they have bowled out Cricket Australia XI in there first innings on just 175 runs. West Indies dont have the capability to beat Aussies but they must give there best here to make sure they don't lose by big margins.

When was the last time the West Indies performed well against Australia while playing in Oz? I remember a tour two decades back when Ramnaresh Sarwan had his career almost destroyed as a result of poor performance there. And then he got into some ugly spat with McGrath as well. Australian bowlers are deadly while bowling at home. Only a very few opposition batsmen have been successful against them. On top of that, this time West Indies doesn't have a lot of experienced players in their squad.

I also think that West Indies may not win the Test series against Australia but surely West Indies players can give their best if they want to. Because Australia team has some great batsmen and bowling both their batting and bowling are very good so it is expected that Australia will easily win the test series against West Indies. But as the game of cricket is a game of uncertainty if West Indies players can perform well then surely they can turn around in T20 against Australia because West Indies play T20 very well. Let's finally see how well the West Indies team can perform against Australia

[JSRAW]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

[Essential10]

I also think that West Indies may not win the Test series against Australia but surely West Indies players can give their best if they want to. Because Australia team has some great batsmen and bowling both their batting and bowling are very good so it is expected that Australia will easily win the test series against West Indies. But as the game of cricket is a game of uncertainty if West Indies players can perform well then surely they can turn around in T20 against Australia because West Indies play T20 very well. Let's finally see how well the West Indies team can perform against Australia

West Indies are in Australia to play the series in all formats. Australia is definitely an experienced and strong team at home. West Indies won their last Test match against Australia at home in 2003. The first Test of the West Indies-Australia series will begin on the 17th in Adelaide. West Indies toured Australia with many new players. After the retirement of David Warner, we can see one of Australia's best batsmen, Steven Smith, as the opening batsman in the first match in the new role. I don't think West Indies will get much result in the series. I think West Indies will not be able to make much impact in ODI and T20 series after the Test series.

[Texac]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

I think they'll squad is pretty good. India should not have any other problems with the squad. Could be better. And if the players also could keep themselves out of drama, the squad might have been different. But it is what it is now. They still have quite some time before the test starts. They will have to play against Afghanistan before that.

Anyway, I still think India could be able to play pretty well against England in the test. Comanche is going to be played in India so they are going to have an advantage anyway.

[Sithara007]

I think they'll squad is pretty good. India should not have any other problems with the squad. Could be better. And if the players also could keep themselves out of drama, the squad might have been different. But it is what it is now. They still have quite some time before the test starts. They will have to play against Afghanistan before that.

Anyway, I still think India could be able to play pretty well against England in the test. Comanche is going to be played in India so they are going to have an advantage anyway.

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan? He seems to be a selector's favorite. He and Arshdeep somehow manages to get selected to the Indian national team most of the time. One thing that I don't understand is why we have this Ranji Trophy competition. The top wicket takers are almost never considered for national team selection. Jalaj Saxena was the topper in 2023. Anyway, let's leave him as he is 37 years old. But what about Shams Mulani, Kishan Singha and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja? What do they need to do, in order to get selected?

[Haunebu]

Just found this clip from twitter and it turned out to be a great clip.

https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1745380355287236936?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Novak vs Smith! 2 freaking legends from different sports. Felt great to see Novak's hilarious reaction to Smith surviving his lethal serve. Australian surviving in the Australian Open basically.

[Bitcoin Smith]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

Even if Ishan picked, I don't think he has his spot to play, so they went for the actual spot contenders.

Pant will not take the risk of getting into the longest form of cricket after that injury, which is understandable, and his target will be IPL for now.

3 keepers is kind of joke but who knows what team management is thinking and this is home series they can take the things lightly.

[libert19]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.
~image cut~

There are rumours that Rahul will not wicket keep in this series and focus solely on batting, considering rumours to be true, KS Bharat will likely wicket keep and Dhruv Jurel is added as an extra, good for the experience even if he don't get chance to play.

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan?..

Same question, tbh.

[JSRAW]

~snip~ They are too good at there home ground but average performer when playing outside.

Just curious, you came to this conclusion on what basis? Is it because they haven't won any ICC tournaments or what?

Indians were always good at home, but in the last 7-8 years, they have peaked in test cricket. They drew in England, almost won in South Africa and drew a series in a recent tour, they hardly lose in SL, BAN, and WI (Not much tour of NZ). They won 2 BGT series in Australia. You can make the argument that they crumble in the ICC tournament in knockouts as it's a fair assessment but saying that Indians are average in the away condition is not an honest opinion and sounds like rhetoric.

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

Even if Ishan picked, I don't think he has his spot to play, so they went for the actual spot contenders.

Pant will not take the risk of getting into the longest form of cricket after that injury, which is understandable, and his target will be IPL for now.

3 keepers is kind of joke but who knows what team management is thinking and this is home series they can take the things lightly.

He was in the SA squad so there was a strong case for him but the kind of thing i am hearing about his problem is not cricketing but disciplinary.

I doubt if they can afford to take things lightly, don't forget WTC qualification is in the line and drawing/losing series at home has far bigger consequences.

~snip~

There are rumours that Rahul will not wicket keep in this series and focus solely on batting, considering rumours to be true, KS Bharat will likely wicket keep and Dhruv Jurel is added as an extra, good for the experience even if he don't get chance to play.

Yes, that might be the case. Bharat is an excellent keeper but his batting is just alright. Dhruv Jurel is an explosive batter and in his short gig, he did impress many in the Ranji. I think they might opt for Bharat first, if he does well then they will proceed with him and also it's a long series so there is a chance of Dhurv making his debut.

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan?..

Same question, tbh.

In Indian conditions you need work horses and Mukesh and Avesh fit the bill. Siraj also started his career like this.

[Bureau]

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan? He seems to be a selector's favorite. He and Arshdeep somehow manages to get selected to the Indian national team most of the time. One thing that I don't understand is why we have this Ranji Trophy competition. The top wicket takers are almost never considered for national team selection. Jalaj Saxena was the topper in 2023. Anyway, let's leave him as he is 37 years old. But what about Shams Mulani, Kishan Singha and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja? What do they need to do, in order to get selected?

Avesh Khan is the worst choice that is correct and he always manages to get selected. He is not that kind of a bowler to give confidence to the captain. I doubt he will be part of the playing squad. I think Rohit will go with three seamers like he did in South Africa. India has three wc in this team and druv jurel if plays would be debuting.

[Patrol69]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

Most of the players in the squad that India announced for the first 2 Test matches against England are regulars and the best players in the India team. Since the game is against England, the Indian Cricket Board has not announced the team by resting any player. We can easily guess which 11 players will play in the starting XI from the squad that India announced for the Test against England. If we make a XI from this team, there may be two changes to the official XI of India, but most of the players will remain in the original XI, which is the XI that we have already considered. 

Test series against England is always challenging for India and the upcoming Test series is a big challenge for India.  Considering India's good performance in all the series till the series against England, India can dream of another series win.

[noormcs5]

I also think that West Indies may not win the Test series against Australia but surely West Indies players can give their best if they want to. Because Australia team has some great batsmen and bowling both their batting and bowling are very good so it is expected that Australia will easily win the test series against West Indies. But as the game of cricket is a game of uncertainty if West Indies players can perform well then surely they can turn around in T20 against Australia because West Indies play T20 very well. Let's finally see how well the West Indies team can perform against Australia

West Indies are in Australia to play the series in all formats. Australia is definitely an experienced and strong team at home. West Indies won their last Test match against Australia at home in 2003. The first Test of the West Indies-Australia series will begin on the 17th in Adelaide. West Indies toured Australia with many new players. After the retirement of David Warner, we can see one of Australia's best batsmen, Steven Smith, as the opening batsman in the first match in the new role. I don't think West Indies will get much result in the series. I think West Indies will not be able to make much impact in ODI and T20 series after the Test series.

On 17 January, we got again a test series of the Australian team against West Indies, and before this test series a tour match was held which was drawn because it was a match of 2 days, if this match had at least 5 days so maybe we can see the result of this match but in this match, West Indies also didn't played too good.

West Indies team played average. The first test match will be playing in Adelaide, and the tour match was also played in Adelaide. West Indies team is in the tour of Australia and before this test series Pakistan team was on a tour of Australia. Quite a busy schedule for them.

[elevates]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

Ishan Kishan acted like a child, like we did in your school or college days to bunk classes 😁. He knows it won't go well with the selectors now after his big lie. Disciplinary action cannot be taken but dropping him for some time would make him realize his fault. I understand his frustration of being on the bench while being part is the team.

BCCI got three wicketkeeper this time and if I am correct they want a good standby wicketkeeper if an injury occurs. Rishab Panth injury created a vaccum at that time. They got Bharat but he did do well and they were left with none other than him. Pujara and Rahane again left out, I feel bad for these two as they are being forced to announce their retirement.

[synchronym]

Indian squad for the first two tests

- Kishan messed up due to recent drama where he took things for granted, now he is advised to play Ranji.
- Pant is still doing rehab i guess, 3 wk for the home series seems funny. On turning tracks KL might not keep well, maybe that's why they opted for an extra keeper.

Most of the players in the squad that India announced for the first 2 Test matches against England are regulars and the best players in the India team. Since the game is against England, the Indian Cricket Board has not announced the team by resting any player. We can easily guess which 11 players will play in the starting XI from the squad that India announced for the Test against England. If we make a XI from this team, there may be two changes to the official XI of India, but most of the players will remain in the original XI, which is the XI that we have already considered.  

Test series against England is always challenging for India and the upcoming Test series is a big challenge for India.  Considering India's good performance in all the series till the series against England, India can dream of another series win.

India has announced their team before playing the test match against England, the way they have arranged the team, every player has performed well, but they are expected to play well in the test series against England. 2023 world cup we have seen very bad performance of England England really batted very bad due to which the world cup did not go well for them. If England can bat well and bowl well then maybe they can do well in the Test series against India. But I think India will be ahead of England in this test match because India has performed well. Now finally let's see how well England can perform against India.

[Haunebu]

India-Afghanistan 2nd T-20 is about to start soon. I hope Afghanistan performs really well in this encounter and surprises everyone to make the series more entertaining since a whitewash is expected and boring.

I feel they have better chances if they bowl first since they have some explosive batsmen especially lower down the order.

[Sithara007]

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan? He seems to be a selector's favorite. He and Arshdeep somehow manages to get selected to the Indian national team most of the time. One thing that I don't understand is why we have this Ranji Trophy competition. The top wicket takers are almost never considered for national team selection. Jalaj Saxena was the topper in 2023. Anyway, let's leave him as he is 37 years old. But what about Shams Mulani, Kishan Singha and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja? What do they need to do, in order to get selected?

Avesh Khan is the worst choice that is correct and he always manages to get selected. He is not that kind of a bowler to give confidence to the captain. I doubt he will be part of the playing squad. I think Rohit will go with three seamers like he did in South Africa. India has three wc in this team and druv jurel if plays would be debuting.

Dhrv Jurel is a good player, and he performed well in the U19 tournaments and later in the Indian first class matches. On the other hand, Avesh Khan got a ton of chances given to him on a platter by the selectors, and still failed to perform as per expectations. But I agree that India may go with three seamers, because that's what they have done in the recent times. in a decade or so, the Indian bowling setup has changed from 1 seamer/3 spinners to 3 seamers/1 spinner. And with the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin due sometime soon, there will be close to zero chances of witnessing two full time spinners in the Indian squad. 

[Ayers]

India-Afghanistan 2nd T-20 is about to start soon. I hope Afghanistan performs really well in this encounter and surprises everyone to make the series more entertaining since a whitewash is expected and boring.

I feel they have better chances if they bowl first since they have some explosive batsmen especially lower down the order.

In the first t20 match, Afghanistan did try to perform well. I thought Afghanistan had given a pretty decent target. Of course, when the appointment is in India, anything under 170 is not very safe. And India also proves that very well.  India was able to win the match without any problems in the end. I just expected a better bowling performance from Afghanistan. Afghanistan did get the first week as quickly. But they were unable to do much after that. I think Afghanistan seriously missed the bowling of Rashid Khan. With him, I believe they had a better chance to defend the target. But at the end of the day, it is what it is and you cannot say that as an excuse.

[Bitcoin Smith]

Everyone else is OK. But Avesh Khan? He seems to be a selector's favorite. He and Arshdeep somehow manages to get selected to the Indian national team most of the time. One thing that I don't understand is why we have this Ranji Trophy competition. The top wicket takers are almost never considered for national team selection. Jalaj Saxena was the topper in 2023. Anyway, let's leave him as he is 37 years old. But what about Shams Mulani, Kishan Singha and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja? What do they need to do, in order to get selected?

Avesh Khan is the worst choice that is correct and he always manages to get selected. He is not that kind of a bowler to give confidence to the captain. I doubt he will be part of the playing squad. I think Rohit will go with three seamers like he did in South Africa. India has three wc in this team and druv jurel if plays would be debuting.

Team India will be playing with 2 pace attack bowling side in my opinion so they went with the back up options they already have and this is happening in India the player will be there to replace if someone got injured. I am worried about Bhuvi, he is doing extraordinary in the Ranji since his comeback and he is one of the few bowlers who can swing both sides with high accuracy still haven't been provided an opportunity is a bit disappointing.