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I think SA are ahead now. They will be disappointed if they dont win from this stage.

We may be going to NZ. But its only for the limited overs. No tests there. Probably BCCI thought there wont be many turning up at odd hours to follow test cricket for 5 days. :Frustrati

Perhaps a smart decision if looking at it from a financial point of view. And even otherwise, after England i think its NZ where the ball swings the most & our batsman as everyone knows really struggle against swing.

Yupe. Financially yes.
But I think as a cricket lover, I would like to see what this Indian team can do in New Zealand as well. We do have a set of bowlers who can really make it work.
Would have made for interesting watching for me at least.

These days teams are very reluctant to enforce follow-ons. Nobody wants to have to face the prospect of getting high pressure runs to win a match batting last on a wearing pitch. So it's understandable that Kohli did not enforce the follow on. But having said that, the prediction of rain over the next few days should have been taken into consideration along with the fact that you are almost 300 runs up.

50 odd for 5 in the second innings is not as much a of a worry as the prediction of rain is. If we get full 5 days of play, India winning this match is a very likely event :).

PS : Watched live Bumrah getting Shaun Marsh out off the last ball before lunch. I don't know when I last enjoyed an Indian bowler getting a wicket like that so much. Was an absolute beauty!! clap:

The match looks dead and buried for Australia unless a significant amount of time is wiped out. India losing 5 wickets might actually work in their favor (however bad it looks on the batsmen).
Let the chest thumping begin for my teenage brats.

Ditto.
Not to overlook NZ are perhaps the most likable team in world cricket. Especially Williamson. Would have been a great contest.

Following on is always a tricky situation. We all felt the same but team management knows the ground reality so there must be reasons behind batting again.. Also we gifted our wickets. Still, we already have enough. Another 50 runs take us to 400. I don't see Aussies even making 200-250 on this pitch.

Most of the Australian media houses are already proclaiming this a tall order for Australia and potential 2-1 outcome. However, this Guardian article gives a very sound and interesting viewpoint; definitely worth a read.

India bowled 67 overs and out of which 25 was from the spinner. So there must be a reason why the 3 fast bowlers didn't bowl again after bowling 42 overs between them.

Maybe Kohli was going by past statistics.
It seems like Kohli will retain the record for the 6th time too.

BTW, extremely poor application by Indian middle order. It seemed they wanted to prove that there was a demon in the pitch and scare the Aussies for their 4th innings.

This one is hilarious
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...28-p50onw.html


On SMH, there's another article that's more interesting. Malcolm Knox I think.
He says the three differences between last summer's Ashes winning team and this team are - Warner, Smith and lack of reverse swing... Who says they are linked ��https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...28-p50ol0.html

Did anyone watch the video footage of Tim Paine's banter (sledging) with Rishabh Pant ? :)
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/...-at-mcg/338332

Was amazed looking at the six hit by Pant, just before getting out.
There's a very positive feeling about this team; reminds me of Ranatunga's Sri Lankan team of the 90s - aggressive and ready to make mistakes.


Ooh - that's a dirty article raising very dark questions! Potentially true, but I'd rather he says it upfront, but he's definitely making the right points.

Yea, Twitter is abuzz with it. It was actually quite funny! :)

Reading about the last noises made by bhpians about Kohli as the captain and Shastri as the coach is it fair to say that if Kohli was not the captain and Shastri was not the coach, then India

- would have won 3-0 in SA
- would have won 5-0 in England
- would be leading the Aussie series 2-0 as we speak

And just now I heard Pant's banter when Paine was at the crease. He was saying (to Jadeja who was bowling) you have a special guest the temporary captain. Payback time.

If Australia's top and middle order had Cummins' temperament, this would be a really interesting game. Not very often does one deliver a MoM performance and end up on the losing side in a Test.

India's two takeaways from the game: give Agarwal an extended run and manage Bumrah's fitness (strike bowler personified).

His entertaining cameos of 20's aren't going to win us any test matches unfortunately! Biggest worry is his poor keeping, he is dropping 1 catch every innings & his footwork is very poor while keeping.

He should have been rested for either the T20's or ODI's in NZ ideally.