[NPV]

There was a discussion amongst the commentary team that this was one of the most inexperienced Indian test playing 11’s since the 1960’s (hope I heard that right), despite all the apprehensions we went on to win. While crucial dropped chances may have had a big contribution, is this also a case of England not having enough video analysis for Jaiswal and Sarfaraz? (not taking anything away from their amazing batting).

That aside, I think the whole Bazball strategy is misplaced - I get the positive, aggressive game plan but it has to have a context. Not every situation lends itself to that approach. And as others have already pointed out, England gave away way too many runs to be able to chase it down. Fourth inning chases especially in excess of 300 are very tough and the stats from Test history will show this.

[ValarMorghulis]

We all need to also understand that while the English batters can still be excused for trying to chase faster scores, their bowling is downright pathetic.

Their 3 spinners won't find a spot in any of the Ranji teams in India and here they are trying to pass off as world class spinners in the national team.
The three are hardly able to bowl 6 decent balls. Every over, there is one definite freebie which pretty much releases all the pressure.
Even in the first two tests, all the wickets lost by the Indian team were basically gifts bar 1/2.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Patidar has good domestic numbers however he does not inspire confidence as an individual. Even he may not get many games once Virat & KL are back.

From what I've read, Patidar was selected ahead of Sarfaraz in the Squad because he had better numbers in the 'A' tours! Unfortunately Patidar couldn't make much of an impression in these limited chances which I doubt he'll ever get again considering he's not in his 20s & KL/Rohit will eventually get back. He has himself to blame for all those innocuous dismissals.

Finally kudos to the selection team to atleast give opportunities to Patidar, Jurel and Khan.

Its also thanks to the list of injuries that we're seeing so many fresh players being tried out. Don't think Selection Committee deserve any credit. They could have tried out new faces during the Bangladesh tour but didn't.

[Garth]

To me what was note-worthy was the way the English commentators kept going on and on about how England were capable to chasing down any target that this Indian team would throw at them, and how they were confident of an England victory.

The England team and the media seems to be hell bent on creating this false aura around their team and the bazball approach. It is entertaining when they get it right, but looks plain stupid when it comes unstuck as has been the case in the past two tests.

[schumi_pete]

What is hilarious about this English team is all the self-aggrandizing behaviour that has gone up a few notches with this whole "Bazball" cult nonsense.

Duckett saying Jaiswal's double hundred is inspired by Bazball is a great example of what I am talking about. At this rate, Bazball will claim the credit for what Viv Richards was doing to bowlers way before Baz was even conceived of !

I get that it pays to be more positive than negative in terms of mindset, but it is crazy to come out and say "the more runs they score, the better it is for us to chase" or "we will chase down even 600 runs". There is a reason why mountains of runs are hard to chase in the fourth innings of a Test match.. listening to this lot, one would be forgiven for thinking they are reinventing the sport itself !

[ValarMorghulis]

KL Rahul to play 4th test while Bumrah is expected to be rested.

Stokes close to bowling as well. Can't wait for the 4th test.

[volkman10]

Amul's take on Sarfaraz Khan makes joint fastest fifty on Test debut!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by schumi_pete

I get that it pays to be more positive than negative in terms of mindset, but it is crazy to come out and say "the more runs they score, the better it is for us to chase" or "we will chase down even 600 runs". There is a reason why mountains of runs are hard to chase in the fourth innings of a Test match.. listening to this lot, one would be forgiven for thinking they are reinventing the sport itself !

Well they did chase 380 or something like that against us last year. I remember once NZ (and Astle in particular) going hammer and tongs in a 500+ chase. He scored the fastest 200 in a test that time I think. In not too distant past, teams just used to try and save the game by by trying to bat the day in the fourth innings. Whatever be the result, I like it now as we have more interesting results now.

[PreludeSH]

Michael Vaughan had said at the end of 3rd day that England will lose the test. Not everyone gets carried away with Bazball.

Patidar is yet to come good for RCB I don't understand the talk about Bumrah being rested repeatedly. He didn't bowl much in this test and we really need him. We can't lose any test. I am sure he play all the games in IPL

[NPV]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Well they did chase 380 or something like that against us last year. I remember once NZ (and Astle in particular) going hammer and tongs in a 500+ chase. He scored the fastest 200 in a test that time I think. In not too distant past, teams just used to try and save the game by by trying to bat the day in the fourth innings. Whatever be the result, I like it now as we have more interesting results now.

Successful chases of big scores in the fourth innings aren’t easy or common (stats will prove this), they’re the exception rather than the norm. Declarations can be tricky, given the remaining time and overs left for the fourth innings, I think any team setting a target of 350 or thereabouts (more will be good obviously), when playing against this English Bazball test team or any other team should fancy their chances of winning. If a team chases 350+ to win, well they deserve to! The more results Test matches produce consistently, the better it will be for the game, we don’t want dreary tests that end in predictable draws.

Bazball has resulted in a fear factor for opposition teams and that can play on their minds negatively.

[ABHI_1512]

I am so happy for Sarfaraz Khan, he grabbed his chance with both hands and showed that the heaps of runs he scored in the Ranji Trophy was no fluke. The way he played the spin bowlers reminded me of the time when Indian Players used to dominate the overseas spinners like Shane Warne or a Muralidharan. Jaiswal is an enigma, I hope he continues to grow. Real test will be overseas and that we will have to see how they both shape up. For the moment though, lets enjoy the show.

Originally Posted by deehunk

Kapil Dev quit after Lara came down the pitch and smashed him in an ODI series, that was how the players thought about their pride. Here we see Anderson just wasting his time for reaching the 700 wickets milestone.

Kapil Dev was literally carried by the then Indian test team for almost three years before he finally broke Richard Hadlee's record of most test wickets. For those three years, the young and fast Jawagal Srinath was kept out of the test team. I have only seen one Indian player leave with pride and retire with respect till date and that is Sunil Gavaskar. Even Sourav Ganguly retired from the tests after he had his most successful series as a batsman which was a Indian record until recently before Jaiswal broke the record of most runs scored in a series of three tests or more.

Jimmy Anderson has still some fire left and that shows in his efforts. England doesn't have his replacement yet and it seems that he is not certainly wasting his time !!

[harry10]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Michael Vaughan had said at the end of 3rd day that England will lose the test. Not everyone gets carried away with Bazball.

Patidar is yet to come good for RCB I don't understand the talk about Bumrah being rested repeatedly. He didn't bowl much in this test and we really need him. We can't lose any test. I am sure he play all the games in IPL

I don't get this too.
We need to win the 4th test to win the series. Dharamshala forcast of rain is there. So why not play Bumrah in Ranchi, seal the series and if needed then rest him in Dharamshala. Maybe Ranchi will be a spin paradise, then also as a lone pacer Bumrah will be gold.

[Raghav07]

Around Patidar, I believe he has the skill to play Test cricket. He just needs to play Ranji Trophy.

Around Gill, he needs to notch up big scores consistently. For a top order batter, he is averaging under 35. Not good at all. He also needs to play more Ranji and India A games.

Around Sarfaraz, he is the undisputed No 6 batsman for India in Tests. He has performed up to our expectations. And he is aggressive, which is what India wants. A strike rate of above 90 and scoring 130 runs across 2 innings on Test debut is extraordinary. I hope he gets a 100 in the next 2 matches. I would love to imagine both Pant and Sarfaraz and Jaiswal in the same Test team, absolutely hammering everyone.

[Rahkehs]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

----------
I have only seen one Indian player leave with pride and retire with respect till date and that is Sunil Gavaskar.

------ !!

I second that! Rahul Dravid's name can be added to this list, he got 3 hundreds in the England Series before retiring. Even great Sachin, Dhoni kept dragging on when everyone felt they should have retired atleast a couple of years earlier.
It was painful to see Sachin struggling for the 100th century and in that process his test records deteriorated.

[SidTheChamp]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

We all need to also understand that while the English batters can still be excused for trying to chase faster scores, their bowling is downright pathetic.

Their 3 spinners won't find a spot in any of the Ranji teams in India and here they are trying to pass off as world class spinners in the national team.
The three are hardly able to bowl 6 decent balls.

So true. If they play in India, they will be thrashed in first class matches only. Because of this, Joe Root has been their premium spinner though he seems to have forgotten batting.

Even in the first two tests, all the wickets lost by the Indian team were basically gifts bar 1/2.

The first test pitch was tailor made for spinners i.e a turner. And England got to bowl the 4th innings when the ball was turning like anything. Since then the second and third Test pitches are more normal. So bowlers have to get that extra from their bowling only