[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Still a joke, chasing 333 with our fragile batting in 4th innings. I would be happy to be proven wrong,

Champions are made when they bounce back after putting into the corner, that's why I said Aussies will come super hard. Time to see what mettle Indian batsmen are made of. But I agree, looks unlikely.

but I would consider it a victory if they are able to bat 90 overs tomorrow and get a draw. The last wicket partnership killed it for us, a 280 run chase would have still looked a possibility, hoping against hope that sharmaji made some runs.

If it stretches to 90 overs, we are surely winning the game. I will give draw a very least probability. We just need an opening wicket stand of 50 odd runs somehow, then see the game change.

But credit to Bumrah for making a match out of this and making Australia batting whole day long, if they had got runs quicker and had a go at us for 10 overs we would have been 30/3 at this point, with both Sharmaji and Kohli Sahib back in dressing room.

True, if Bumrah wouldn't have plucked the timely wickets we would have been staring down the barrel.

Oh man, having said that, the pressure in the dressing room, hotel room, dining table would be palpable, specially on batters. I hope they won't come to bat with sleep deprivation and lost like a zombie.

Originally Posted by rx100

It would be too much to chase down nearly at 4 runs per over on a 5th day pitch.

IMO, pitch hasn't thrown any demons yet. They will need to play session by session and if somehow we don't lose the first wicket for 15 overs (hoping/praying/demanding/fingers crossed) run rate won't come into play. We have enough IPL stars in the playing XI to take care of that, thanks to GG what an eyesight coach had to make a team like that, specifically for this day.

[rx100]

I think Pat Cummins missed a trick by not declaring with some 3-4 overs to go. That would have made this interesting match. Now the chance of draw has increased and I would say 55% chances of Oz win, 30% of draw and 15% for an India win.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

If it stretches to 90 overs, we are surely winning the game. I will give draw a very least probability. We just need an opening wicket stand of 50 odd runs somehow, then see the game change.

It would be too much to chase down nearly at 4 runs per over on a 5th day pitch.

[NPV]

This test is poised well after seeing multiple See-saw swings, Australia still have the edge but then India is in with a chance to manufacture yet another miraculous victory! Aussie grit and determination seen again in their lower order resistance after another gem by Marnus Labuschagne helped by some luck as well. Fingers crossed, hope this ends with a win for India

[Col Mehta]

What a great advertisement of Test Cricket! Going into the fifth day and all results are possible with some real character displayed by both teams.

Things would have been different had Jaiswal caught Labuschagne when he was at 47(?). These runs scored by the lower order are going to bite India tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get a decent start by our openers tomorrow morning with Rohit scoring some runs at a good pace. With that, we do have batsmen wo could win this one or at least apply themselves to draw if things go south in the first session.

Alram set for 4:30 am IST!

[NomadSK]

Damn these Chokers are keeping their tag alive !!

148 to win and they are struggling at 116/8, Pakistan helping India for WTC spot or SA is already in ?

[rx100]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Damn these Chokers are keeping their tag alive !!

148 to win and they are struggling at 116/8, Pakistan helping India for WTC spot or SA is already in ?

No, they are not. They need at least one win to guarantee the final. If they lose both matches, then chances are bleak.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/w...9?platform=amp

[NomadSK]

Test cricket at its best. What an intriguing game of test cricket. SA managed to cross the line just by 2 wickets.

Jansen - Solid, Rabada - Wreckless, Abbas - tormentor in chief, what a lovely bowler.

Tail enders saving Australia and Tail enders saving South Africa today.

Are scoring runs so easy, Afghanistan at 515/3 against Zimbabwe, chasing 586 1st innings with a double centurion and a centurion. Seems both teams love batting.

Interesting what would be in store for us tomorrow, alarm set for early early morning !

[harry10]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Damn these Chokers are keeping their tag alive !!

148 to win and they are struggling at 116/8, Pakistan helping India for WTC spot or SA is already in ?

And they won comfortably in the end.
Markram has been off whole year but did good this match. Bavuma is quite underrated. He keeps playing good knocks when team really needs it.

I believe with this win SA has more or less qualified. Fight for 2nd spot continues and tomorrow will be vital for that.

The passionate cricket lover in me wants to wake up at 5.30am. But, I don't want to be disappointed in case we have an early collapse so will wake at leisure and see how it goes. Whatever the result I just want a great fight from our team.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

What a great advertisement of Test Cricket! Going into the fifth day and all results are possible with some real character displayed by both teams.

Things would have been different had Jaiswal caught Labuschagne when he was at 47(?). These runs scored by the lower order are going to bite India tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get a decent start by our openers tomorrow morning with Rohit scoring some runs at a good pace. With that, we do have batsmen wo could win this one or at least apply themselves to draw if things go south in the first session.

Alram set for 4:30 am IST!

Hang on Col. Shahab, we still need to take the last wicket... which is a B I G. S T R E T C H 51 run partnership what the hell.

[PPS]

Really perplexed with this conservative approach of Cummins & Australia! Ideally they should have had a crack at the Indian batsman for 5-6 overs but its quite clear they rate our brittle batting very highly & perhaps they're wary of the Pant factor. India should not even think of a Win unless Rohit & Virat play at a brisk pace since they have been consistently insipid. Still feel Australia is in the drivers seat but fortunately for India the pitch still looks good but they need to somehow play out the first 30 overs.

Originally Posted by Eddy

Pant has been our best test batter in the last 4-5 years. Even in this series, he is in the top 4 run scorers in our team. And remember, tests is Pant's best format batting wise.

Fact is Pant has got starts & has been underwhelming this series! But thats what you get with his high risk game. Feel he should bat below Reddy henceforth.

[Eddy]

Any chance of rain tomorrow?

[Laxmistart]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Any chance of rain tomorrow?

2% chance of rain as per Accuweather! but looks like real storm will be on the field tomorrow!!

[antz.bin]

Current lead is 333
If the eventual target is 340

And India manage to score 250 in the overs 30-80.

That still leaves them with 90 to score without losing many wickets in the first 30.

India scored at 3.09 in the first innings. Australia is down to 2.78 in this innings

So it is not easy to score fast here. The guys who have scored the fastest after Konstas on day 1 have been Jaiswal and NKR. Even those guys have only managed strike rates of 65ish or about 4 runs per over.

The only silver lining here is that even Scott Boland was able to keep the best of the Indian stuff out. So if push comes to shove, India can shut shop and bat out a draw.

Australia has very little chance of winning so they rightly haven't gone for the kill today. If the Aussie innings last any more than 8 overs tomorrow, there is not enough time to bowl India out since India will probably abandon any attempt to chase the target down.

Best case scenario is an overnight declaration and Rohit Sharma goes hammer and tongs as soon as he is ok with sighting the ball. Even a quick fire 30-35 from him will help restore some momentum in the team about the chase and help us get closer to the target. The rest can keep playing like they did till over #41 in the 1st innings and then re-evaluate around the 30 over mark.

[StarrySky]

Given the current state of our batting, I will be surprised if we don't fold by tea, no matter whether the Aussies declare overnight or get a few more tomorrow morning.

[Eddy]

Australia did the smart thing by not declaring overnight. They’ll now have the choice of roller on the 5th day. They’ll use the heavy one to hasten the pitch deterioration.