[PPS]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Why are we playing 3 seamers today ?

From a few tweets which i read, the pitch has a slight green tinge! Thought it was a given that 3 spinners would play.

[Eddy]

Prediction for the Australia series guys ?

I think it'll be extremely competitive. Aussies have been here for almost a month practicing. But three of the four matches are being played at new venues so that kind of negates the home advantage and experience. Let's see, I hope we get rank turners.

Mitch Stark is the guy to watch out !

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Prediction for the Australia series guys ?

I think it'll be extremely competitive.

Yes, I think it will be a very competitive series and at this point seems both teams are evenly placed so chances of a one-sided easy series can be ruled out.
Should be interesting to see how the pitches behave at venues like Dharamshala that have only seen shorter format games before.

Players to watch:
For India - Virat Kohli, Ashwin, Jadeja (these 2 guys are very close in test bowling rankings now), KL Rahul + Karun Nair (test of skill for young batsmen).

For Aussies I think it will be Steve Smith, Warner (both in great batting form) and Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Nathan Lyon in the bowling department.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Aussies have been here for almost a month practicing.

Month? I thought they arrived here last week. They are playing their warmup match today at Brabourne.

Mitch Stark is the guy to watch out !

Starc is a lethal bowler when on song but we'll have to see how he does on slow Indian pitches & the SG ball which he is not used to! Our openers need to give us a good start, something which they haven't done off late. Aussies certainly won't be a walkover, just hope Indian team doesn't become too complacent.

[Eddy]

I meant a month in these conditions - they were practicing in Dubai.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Prediction for the Australia series guys ?

I would say 3-0 in favour of India. If we get flat tracks, Indians will be made to work hard for their victory. If we get spinning tracks, we can win easily.

I'm sure Kohli will play 5 batsmen+Keeper+5 bowlers. Ashwin+Jadeja+J Yadav can more than make up for the 6th batsman.

We need to get a few minor things sorted out:

1. KL Rahul has to tighten up his game and score consistently. I don't think there's any doubt about his ability, he just needs to scoring consistently.
2. Vijay and Pujara need to convert their good starts into big hundreds.
3. I think India needs to be ready to play without Shami. He seems to be prone to Injury and we need to have a bowler rotation policy.

[vibbs]

I dont expect rank turners. The pitches will aid spin for sure, but wont be the kind we saw in series against SA. I might not even be surprised to see a tinge or more of grass for the first couple of days in one or two test matches. May be Pune or Dharamshala?

For India to get a good victory margin in the series, Kohli needs to fire and so does Rahane. These two are the backbone of the batting line up. I feel the pacers will make their presence felt a bit more in this series. Watch out for Umesh and Bhuvi!

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Watch out for Umesh and Bhuvi!

Highly unlikely that they will play together again. Kohli will start with Umesh and Ishant, plus three spinners. And Shami could return for the third test.

I hope Kuldeep Yadav gets a look in.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Highly unlikely that they will play together again. Kohli will start with Umesh and Ishant, plus three spinners. And Shami could return for the third test.

I hope Kuldeep Yadav gets a look in.

Yeah Thats more likely. But I have not yet been able to look at Ishant Sharma as a dependable pace bowler. He is almost the Fast bowling version of our 'Talent'.

[Eddy]

The Aus vs India A is underway. As expected, Smith is in the runs.

Kuldeep Yadav not picked in this match, a smart move and maybe Kohli thinks that he will play ahead of Jayant if we play 3 spinners.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Kuldeep Yadav not picked in this match, a smart move and maybe Kohli thinks that he will play ahead of Jayant if we play 3 spinners.

With the Aussies, I think a surprise element will always be handy, hope it's really the reason for his omission in this match. Also, what about Amit Mishra ? I think he deserves a more consistent place in the playing eleven.

[landcruiser123]

Can someone tell me whether I can buy tickets for day 3 of the 2nd test between India and Australia?

Bookmyshow is the official partner for online ticket sales and they have season tickets (unlike for Pune) only, which are not worth it.

I don't mind going to M Chinnaswamy stadium to buy it sometime next week. KSCA office doesn't pick up their phone and doesn't respond to FB messages.

[Bubby]

Why on earth Pandya chose to field after winning the toss, what is the point of giving batting practice to players like Warner, Smith (86 n.o.), Marsh (49 n.o.). Its not even tea and Australia are 180/2.

That too when none of the bowlers from India A team will feature in playing XI in the first test, apart from Pandya perhaps.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think he deserves a more consistent place in the playing eleven.

I don't think he has enough zip and pace in the air or off the wicket to be a threat in test matches.

Anyway, he is injured so out of reckoning.

[avingodb]

I don't know what they achieve by 3-day tour games. 4-day games at least create chances of a result. I remember in one of the past tours, Mumbai had defeated Australia before the test series which was a good welcome gift for them. 4 days games would also test the mettle of your list A team to survive much better opponents.