Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[Sithara007]

Earned some decent profit by betting on a draw between India and Australia and I hope the remaining tests don't get washed out. 4th test is the big one for both teams and I am expecting India to win this series now.

Ash Anna took a retirement!

Damn. This stunned me. Am a fan of Ashwin and it feels sad to see such a legend retired from international cricket, but the silver lining is that he is still playing in the IPL.

Under Kohli/Rohit axis, Ashwin was overlooked in favor of less experienced spinners. His batting expertise was not used, as he was asked to bat down the order at no.9 or no.10. Anyway, India will be without a genuine allrounder after his retirement. A few years ago, there was a lot of criticism directed at Ashwin, claiming that his performance in SENA countries is not up to the mark. But recently, most of his stellar performances came while touring these nations. BTW, Jadeja is also 36 years old. At the most he has 2 years of international cricket left.

[Shishir99]

He won't be able to save his team though since the target is way too big. Only rain can save India now and force a draw while the same can be said about England who are getting decimated by the Kiwis.

Let's not talk about the target yet because we are still playing the first innings and it is end of the day three. I hope the batters will come to the crease with a positive mindset on day four and try to play as many balls as they can. There are two possible outcomes at this moment. No one; Australia win, Number two; Draw. I hope India won't be all out just in a single session and they won't have to bat again on follow-on. If that does not happen, then the match might end up with a draw. The rain may help to washout a day or a couple of sessions at least. That will help India a lot I guess.

Hey Haunebu, remember what I was talking about? It happened actually. The tailenders were able to play a little bit and they avoided the follow-on. Australia knew what was going to happen if they could not bowl them out too quickly. But India avoided the follow-on which actually helped them to draw this match.

Farewell to Aswin. It was a great journey! What a cricketer he has been! Thanks to his team mates they tried hard not to lose this match. I thought he would play this entire series. But his retirement was effective immediately which bothered me a little bit. I hope he did not take this decision emotionally.

[Cheema02]

On the 5th day, the Australian team did not perform well in batting in the second innings. Currently, the Australian team has lost their main wickets with few runs, Australia has scored 89 runs in just 18 overs and lost 7 wickets. The bowling performance of the Indian team was very good at the beginning of this match and Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have bowled exceptionally well. Each of them has bowled well against Australia and has taken wickets, due to which the Australian team could not increase the runs today. However, at the moment, the lead of the Australian team is 274, if they can bowl out the Australian team soon today, then India will have a lot of chances. Since there is still a lot of chance of Australia winning, if the Indian team can bat well today, then they will also have a chance of winning.

Tea has been taken, and at the most 30-35 overs remain in this match. On top of that, rain is expected to resume at any time from now. Given this, it is impossible for India to chase down the target of 274. And that means that they are out of contention for the WTC finals unless miracles happen in the next few months. BTW, Bumrah was again exceptional. Australian batsmen doesn't know how to handle him, and this time even Travis Head and Steven Smith were unable to score too many runs.

I think Australia's wickets are falling fast because they are playing very aggressively. Australia wanted to declare the second inning by setting a good target and they declared at a target of 275 runs. Indian bowler took the advantage and Australia declared on his 89 runs in a loss of seven wickets. India's bowling performance was outstanding in the second inning, especially Jasprit Bumrah picked 3 important wickets by just giving 18 runs only, and Muhammad Siraj picked the most crucial wicket of Travis Head at 17 runs. Travis Head played a classic inning in the first inning of the test match and also picked Akash Deep. India started chasing and scored 8 runs without losing any wickets. Then rain came and the match was ended without any result. If this match was not drawn due to rain, then Australia was the favorite to win this test match.

[Sithara007]

Hey Haunebu, remember what I was talking about? It happened actually. The tailenders were able to play a little bit and they avoided the follow-on. Australia knew what was going to happen if they could not bowl them out too quickly. But India avoided the follow-on which actually helped them to draw this match.

Farewell to Aswin. It was a great journey! What a cricketer he has been! Thanks to his team mates they tried hard not to lose this match. I thought he would play this entire series. But his retirement was effective immediately which bothered me a little bit. I hope he did not take this decision emotionally.

Things worked out in tandem for India. For Australia, Lyon was out of form, and Hazlewood was out injured. And this meant that the Australians were overdependent on Starc and Cummins to clean up the tail. These two were exhausted, and the Indian tailenders used it to their advantage. Mitchell Marsh and Travis head, and perhaps Steven Smith as well could have been used as part-time bowlers, but the Australian captain completely ignored them. But in the end it was Travis Head who cleaned up the tail.

[Haunebu]

Under Kohli/Rohit axis, Ashwin was overlooked in favor of less experienced spinners. His batting expertise was not used, as he was asked to bat down the order at no.9 or no.10. Anyway, India will be without a genuine allrounder after his retirement. A few years ago, there was a lot of criticism directed at Ashwin, claiming that his performance in SENA countries is not up to the mark. But recently, most of his stellar performances came while touring these nations. BTW, Jadeja is also 36 years old. At the most he has 2 years of international cricket left.

Yeah. Both Ashwin and Jadeja were together responsible for some of the biggest Indian test series wins in history which is why they are my favourite spin bowling combo in tests and no others can come close.

Bowlers like Sundar, Axar etc have really big shoes to fill going forward. Just wish Ashwin retired on a brighter note like Broad etc.

Hey Haunebu, remember what I was talking about? It happened actually. The tailenders were able to play a little bit and they avoided the follow-on. Australia knew what was going to happen if they could not bowl them out too quickly. But India avoided the follow-on which actually helped them to draw this match.

Yeah. Bumrah and Akash played really well and helped their team in a huge way though rain would have still saved them even if they had to follow on.

[pakhitheboss]

At an age of 38 years a brilliant spin bowler after Kumble has retired today from all formats of the game. I never expected him to retire suddenly! It is my personal view. It is now done and I feel we as a community of cricket enthusiasts might see Rohit and Virat declare their own retirement in coming weeks or might be months.

There is only one question that bothers me why he retired now? I assume his parents or simply to say his father is not doing good with his health now. What he did today makes me proud and sad as this is ASH, one of the best spin bowlers that India got and he proved it. 

[UmerIdrees]

What's wrong with the Australian top order. Almost everyone is playing like shit. They are now 28/4, with almost the entire top order and half of middle order back in pavilion - Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh. And this time Jasprit Bumrah is getting excellent support from Akash Deep, and both of them have taken 2 wickets apiece. But the problem for India is that two in-form batsmen are at the crease now - Travis Head and Steven Smith.     

They were trying to play aggresive because they had good lead already and wanted India to bat quick, if they had played defense India would have had much harder time to get breakthroughs.

They weren't in mood of draw I guess, and were confident in their bowling, Hazlewood is injured though, so that sucks for them.

BUT, rain is definitely in mood of draw.

What’s going on in this test match, Unbelievable !!!  Look like Australia want the result in any case. They made a quick 89 runs but lost so many wickets in the process. 89 runs in 18 overs , could have been much better if they didn’t lose all these wickets. The Australian top order totally failed but Travis Head again give some resistance, made 17. Pat Cummins scoring a quick 22 in 10 balls and then they declare.

Australia might be thinking to get all the Indian team out in one and half session but again the rain ruin their chances to give it a try. Well even though the match will be draw but it was thrilling first and second session today.

The match between India and Australia has finished without a result. Australia was winning in every condition as they were leading the score from the first innings but although, the rain was interrupting every day that is why we cannot see the match results and it ended in a draw.

In the second innings, the Indian team did good bowling but that it was more because Australia playing freely and not caring much about the wickets. However, the next game is on 26th December and it will be an important game in the context of this series.

[Compromise me]

On the 5th day, the Australian team did not perform well in batting in the second innings. Currently, the Australian team has lost their main wickets with few runs, Australia has scored 89 runs in just 18 overs and lost 7 wickets. The bowling performance of the Indian team was very good at the beginning of this match and Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have bowled exceptionally well. Each of them has bowled well against Australia and has taken wickets, due to which the Australian team could not increase the runs today. However, at the moment, the lead of the Australian team is 274, if they can bowl out the Australian team soon today, then India will have a lot of chances. Since there is still a lot of chance of Australia winning, if the Indian team can bat well today, then they will also have a chance of winning.

Australia's batting disaster has reduced the chances of winning the match. India still need 267 runs to win and have all the wickets. The weather has become a major factor during the second session of the fifth day and the lack of light has made it difficult to play on the field. However, it seems that the current Test match is likely to be drawn. I will praise the Indian bowlers because they did not allow the Australian batsmen to score runs in the second innings and still have a chance to win the match. Bumrah took 3 valuable wickets for 18 runs in 6 overs, besides Siraj and Akash Deep took 2 wickets each. If India can hold their own like on the fifth day, this Test will undoubtedly be a draw. And if India is able to take the lead given by Australia, then there is a chance of winning. However, the notable thing about the match is India's avoidance of follow-on and Akash Deep batting well as a bowler and taking the team to a respectable position by forming a partnership with Bumrah.

That was altimate because 5 days match could not play and rain interrupted in this match and that is the reason of draw match. The result could be if 5 days match will be play but that could not possible and we saw only 3 days game . Australian International test cricket team was favorite for that match because they gave handsome target in this match.  Three matches of series are ended and both teams are on same level because both teams won 1 match and 2 matches are remaining and competition is tough because both teams are best teams of the World .
But Australian batters are in super form , especially  Travis Head who is making runs in every match and he is in form batter and he always like to play against India . Indian batting is looking very weak in the front of Australia bowlers and they should improve their performance in next match to win  this series.

[Mahdirakib]

Well... I understand that they were trying to score runs as quickly as possible, but scoring 445 in the first innings and then being reduced to 89/7 in the second innings was like perplexing. And even worse, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep were among the wickets. IMO, this is was an unexpected turn of events.

But sometimes you should expect such things when the rain interrupted a match in this way. The condition of the pitch changes when it is covered for rain, the ball behave inconsistently for this. The top order batsmen of Australia didn't play in aggressive style to make a big score quickly. Only Pat Cummins had batted in the aggressive style. The rain has played an important to the result of this match.

[hafiztalha]

I think Australia's wickets are falling fast because they are playing very aggressively. Australia wanted to declare the second inning by setting a good target and they declared at a target of 275 runs. Indian bowler took the advantage and Australia declared on his 89 runs in a loss of seven wickets. India's bowling performance was outstanding in the second inning, especially Jasprit Bumrah picked 3 important wickets by just giving 18 runs only, and Muhammad Siraj picked the most crucial wicket of Travis Head at 17 runs. Travis Head played a classic inning in the first inning of the test match and also picked Akash Deep. India started chasing and scored 8 runs without losing any wickets. Then rain came and the match was ended without any result. If this match was not drawn due to rain, then Australia was the favorite to win this test match.

But all effort of both team was ruined at the last of 3 rd test game, rain was came and match was concluded without any result and series was still tie 1-1. 3 games was played and 2 more games left to play and both have same chance to win the game. In 3 rd game, Australia team winning chance is less, their effort was good in 1 st turn but they played very bad in 2 nd turn. In 2 at turn, they made 445 runs and in 2 nd, they scored 89 runs only. Bumrah was bowled very well, he took down 3 wickets in 6 overs and gave 18 runs. In 1 st turn, his effort was brilliant and took down 6 wickets and gave 76 runs. Indian have almost 250 runs to chase in 2 nd turn and very easy to win this but rain was came and drawn this game. Let's see in next two games, how both teams will perform.

[ZAINmalik75]

What's wrong with the Australian top order. Almost everyone is playing like shit. They are now 28/4, with almost the entire top order and half of middle order back in pavilion - Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh. And this time Jasprit Bumrah is getting excellent support from Akash Deep, and both of them have taken 2 wickets apiece. But the problem for India is that two in-form batsmen are at the crease now - Travis Head and Steven Smith.     

Well may be they were with a aim to get the match results instead of abundant or draw results and that's why they were giving away his wicket easily because they were sure about his victory as they have enough Target on board and thier bowlers also has ability to defend against Indian top batting side, but unfortunately rain once again intrupt and things goes in favor of draw I mean indian side. Let be honest 270 around target can't be impossible for Indian team to match if jasiwal and Rahul give them a decent start and Kohli showed his magic and Carry on the innings then may be things goes in favor of them. Anyway hope so rain will not runied things in rest of test matches and we will have a very interesting results

[Webetcoins]

Australia came on the 5th day and tried to score quickly but they lost 89/7, it is really confusing to see the difference in runs between the first innings and the second innings. Moreover, it was a really sad ending where the match was drawn between the two teams, with the third Test match ending with an unexpected twist at the last minute. However, since the series is currently tied 1-1, we cannot predict who will win the next two matches. However, in these two matches, India and Australia will try hard to maintain their dominance and win the series.

89 for 7 is surely miserable for the fans, but things were well calculated by the Aussies because we already lost nearly more than two and half days and things were clearly heading for the draw they have done something funny and have figures like these at the end we have only 2 overs for the Indians to bat and go for the chase of 275 but now with this result we can hope something interesting for fourth test which is going to play on Boxing Day at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Indian batting is concern for them, and they need some improvement with this we can expect them on good way of having good end of this series because Aussies are also not into their full touch and Bumrah alone is doing impressive job which helping his team for staying into hunt for another win BGT.

[HelliumZ]

Well... I understand that they were trying to score runs as quickly as possible, but scoring 445 in the first innings and then being reduced to 89/7 in the second innings was like perplexing. And even worse, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep were among the wickets. IMO, this is was an unexpected turn of events.

But sometimes you should expect such things when the rain interrupted a match in this way. The condition of the pitch changes when it is covered for rain, the ball behave inconsistently for this. The top order batsmen of Australia didn't play in aggressive style to make a big score quickly. Only Pat Cummins had batted in the aggressive style. The rain has played an important to the result of this match.

This test match was stopped entirely due to rain on the first day, the second day was played on the third day due to rain and poor light for some time. Basically rain is the only reason behind the draw of this test. However, due to the rain, the pitch condition completely changed, due to which Australia was on the verge of getting all out while batting aggressively in their second innings. Moreover, if India got a chance to bat the remaining 5 overs on the fifth day, there was definitely a possibility of India getting all out, but only due to lack of light, the game was called off and the match ended in a draw.

[romero121]

At an age of 38 years a brilliant spin bowler after Kumble has retired today from all formats of the game. I never expected him to retire suddenly! It is my personal view. It is now done and I feel we as a community of cricket enthusiasts might see Rohit and Virat declare their own retirement in coming weeks or might be months.

There is only one question that bothers me why he retired now? I assume his parents or simply to say his father is not doing good with his health now. What he did today makes me proud and sad as this is ASH, one of the best spin bowlers that India got and he proved it. 

It is good to announce their retirement when they're in form. Many players made a mistake playing for a long time, and they were forced to announce their retirement. Such a scenario shouldn't happen with the players. Another thing is that it is being expected one, but none expected the announcement to happen in between the test match series. With 537 test wickets, he takes the second position for the most test match wickets for India. He has played 106 matches to reach this record. Anil Kumble has made 619 test match wickets in 132 test matches. Maybe if Ashwin had played that many test matches, he might've come closer to or defeated that record.

[ThemePen]

It is good to announce their retirement when they're in form. Many players made a mistake playing for a long time, and they were forced to announce their retirement. Such a scenario shouldn't happen with the players. Another thing is that it is being expected one, but none expected the announcement to happen in between the test match series. With 537 test wickets, he takes the second position for the most test match wickets for India. He has played 106 matches to reach this record. Anil Kumble has made 619 test match wickets in 132 test matches. Maybe if Ashwin had played that many test matches, he might've come closer to or defeated that record.

Announcing retirement when player is still doing well is smart decision. It lets them leave game while they were still playing at their best. Many players have played for too long and then had to retire because they were not playing well anymore. Ashwin surprised everyone by announcing his retirement during test match series which shows he knows himself well and wants to be remembered for his great career. It is interesting to think about whether he could have taken more wickets than Anil Kumble but Ashwin decided to retire on his own terms and we should respect that and I also respect his decision. Ashwin had amazing career and cricket fans everywhere will remember him for it.

[noormcs5]

What's wrong with the Australian top order. Almost everyone is playing like shit.  

You have a fairly good cricketing sense but sometimes you say bizarre stuff, i don't why but okay.  
✂✂✂✂

Well... I understand that they were trying to score runs as quickly as possible, but scoring 445 in the first innings and then being reduced to 89/7 in the second innings was like perplexing. And even worse, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep were among the wickets. IMO, this is was an unexpected turn of events. Now India's morale will be boosted after today's performance. At the moment, the series is drawn 1-1, and now no one can predict the outcome of the next two tests, scheduled to be played at Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

Yes, scoring runs quickly was the right tactic from Australia but they lost so many wickets so quickly and it put a dent in their run rate. I think they couldn't score as fast as they should have and the reason was losing wickets all along.

Also I don't know how the Indian team morale will be boosted after this match   They know they poorly performed and only rain saved them. They would be going into the next match with extra caution and that may again hurt them.

Yes, I would say something similar to the Australian camp that their morale will be down because they did show a better game but to no advantage.

[laijsica]

It is good to announce their retirement when they're in form. Many players made a mistake playing for a long time, and they were forced to announce their retirement. Such a scenario shouldn't happen with the players. Another thing is that it is being expected one, but none expected the announcement to happen in between the test match series. With 537 test wickets, he takes the second position for the most test match wickets for India. He has played 106 matches to reach this record. Anil Kumble has made 619 test match wickets in 132 test matches. Maybe if Ashwin had played that many test matches, he might've come closer to or defeated that record.

Announcing retirement when player is still doing well is smart decision. It lets them leave game while they were still playing at their best. Many players have played for too long and then had to retire because they were not playing well anymore. Ashwin surprised everyone by announcing his retirement during test match series which shows he knows himself well and wants to be remembered for his great career. It is interesting to think about whether he could have taken more wickets than Anil Kumble but Ashwin decided to retire on his own terms and we should respect that and I also respect his decision. Ashwin had amazing career and cricket fans everywhere will remember him for it.

Yes it is good that players should decide to retire while they are performing well and it creates opportunities for emerging players and with respect and team discipline. Over time, if the performance is bad, people criticize which can damage the career of the players so it is a decision to retire from the national team for the country with respect. Ashwin has enjoyed a very good career in the national team and he has played 106 Tests and taken 537 wickets and 116 ODIs and 72 wickets in 65 T20 matches. In his colorful cricket, he has scored 6 centuries in Tests and has the honor of scoring 14 fifties. His decision to retire after the Brisbane Test match created emotions among his teammates and I think it was a good decision for Ashwin and he will be immortal in Indian cricket. Ashwin has earned the honor of ending a brilliant career of almost 14 years and becoming a more mature cricketer with time and it is expected that he will be seen regularly at the club level.

[Haunebu]

Also I don't know how the Indian team morale will be boosted after this match  They know they poorly performed and only rain saved them. They would be going into the next match with extra caution and that may again hurt them.

Yes, I would say something similar to the Australian camp that their morale will be down because they did show a better game but to no advantage.

Their morale definitely went down and it probably went even lower after Ashwin retired, but it ain't everything. There are other important factors to consider too such as bounce back rate etc.

India has proven over time that they are amazing at bouncing back from losses pretty quickly which is why the fourth test should be a close one as long as rain doesn't interfere again.

[Shishir99]

Things worked out in tandem for India. For Australia, Lyon was out of form, and Hazlewood was out injured. And this meant that the Australians were overdependent on Starc and Cummins to clean up the tail. These two were exhausted, and the Indian tailenders used it to their advantage. Mitchell Marsh and Travis head, and perhaps Steven Smith as well could have been used as part-time bowlers, but the Australian captain completely ignored them. But in the end it was Travis Head who cleaned up the tail.

The rain helped India a little bit. But once I saw that India already avoided the follow-on, it was predictable that the match was going to be a draw. Credit to the lower-order batters who batted well. Especially Nitish Reddy, Bumrah, and Akash Deep. These three tail-ender batters played almost 24 overs, which means almost a session while the top-order batters failed to stay in the crease.

According to Cricbuzz, Travis Head has suffered a groin injury, and his participation in the next Test is uncertain. Travis Head is the headache for India. If he does not play in the next match, India won't have to face this guy! I hope Jaiswal will find himself as well.

[Lidger]

Against Australia's 445 in the first innings, India scored 156 in their first innings and have already lost 6 wickets. The first 6 batsmen scored 156 runs so it can be said that the next four batsmen will not score much. Maybe another big defeat against Australia awaits Team India. After playing the first two Test matches, both the teams got enough time. Hopefully these two teams have worked on their weaknesses and opponent's weaknesses before taking the field against each other, especially India needed to do this more. The Indian batsmen have performed the same in the third Test as they did in the first two Tests. Had some batsmen not added some runs to the scoreboard, India would have been all out before long. 

However, I expect good things from those who are still at the wicket.  In such a big match, if the competition between the two teams is not equal, it is not fun to watch the match.

The match is sure to be a draw. Every day's play is being delayed due to rain. The match is also being delayed on the fourth day. India have scored 167 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their second innings. Australia scored 445 runs in their first innings. The Indian team is still trailing by a huge margin of 228 runs. There is no possibility that India will be able to take the lead in this match. India's target should be to try to stay at the crease and try to draw the match.

KL Rahul played a wonderful innings of 84 runs. Besides, Jadeja is unbeaten on 41 runs. No other batsman in the Indian squad has been able to bat well. Especially the performance of the two important batsmen of the Indian squad, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is weak in this match too.

The result of the match was what you expected the third test match between Australia vs India ended in a draw due to rain. Australia would have won the third Test match against India had it not been for the rain problem. However, given the way Australia have performed against India so far in the entire Test series, they will surely be happy with this performance. India have been badly beaten against them and in no Test match has India been able to compete hard against Australia. There are still two Test matches to go and Australia will look to beat India in the last two Tests as well to sweep India 4-0 in the Test series.