[PPS]

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.

Kuldeep could be the surprise package if picked, only thing in favour of Jayant is his batting prowess. We can't afford to have a long tail, Ashwin can't bail you out with the bat everytime, Jadeja hasn't fired with the bat much.

[hemanth.anand]

Yesterdays' Women World cup qualifier match between India and SA was amazing. I only saw the last over. India needed 9 runs of 6 balls with 8 wickets down. first ball was a run and a runout. with 9 wickets down and 8 needed of 5, there were 3 dots. All 3 were runs not taken intentionally to avoid the tail ender facing. Then there was a 6 and a 2 with a dive. Thrilling finish for India to finish on top of the table. SA finished 2nd. 4 teams qualify for the open spots of the world cup involving 8 teams.

Today's India Australia men's test match. Australia have won the toss which is a huge advantage it seems as per the pitch which is expected to deteriorate very fast! If India Manage to negate that advantage, they should be getting a huge morale boost.

[Eddy]

Mathew Hayden reborn folks....

[PPS]

Renshaw retired hurt because he had to go to the toilet !

https://sports.ndtv.com/india-vs-aus...toilet-1662857

"It came pretty suddenly. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes before Davey (Warner) got out, I asked Richard (umpire Kettleborough) how long there was till lunch and he gave me the answer of "half an hour" and I was struggling a bit then. It wasn’t an ideal situation to be in," said Renshaw.

So how did skipper Smith react knowing about his problem, Renshaw answered: "He (Smith) wasn't too thrilled about it but he understands that when you need to go to the toilet, you’ve got to go to the toilet."

[vibbs]

7 wickets down now and trailing by 165 runs on the second day of a test match. Anyone following this match live on TV? Is this pitch really that bad? Or is this a case of batsmen fed on flat tracks folding out at the first sight of a bowler friendly pitch?

[Eddy]

The pitch is a rank turner. I switched off after the sixth wicket fell. This one is gone I believe.


2012 Redux :X

[PPS]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Is this pitch really that bad?

Watching the match on tv, pitch isn't that bad as India's scoreline suggests! That Wankhede pitch long ago where Clarke got those wickets was the worst i've seen.
Its a combination of decent bowling, reckless shots by Rahul which started the collapse & some good catching,good luck which sees Australia in such a commanding position.
Brilliant strategy by Aussies to praise the Indian team so much that they've made them overconfident!

[hemanth.anand]

41 overs, 109 runs and 11 wickets till now. And its exactly midway in the day.
People were interested to see how this pitch would behave on Day 4 and 5 and the match looks like it will be over on Day 3 itself. Sigh!

[carwatcher]

Few wickets fell due to poor shot selection. Indian team already looks in IPL T20 mode.

[vibbs]

Seems India got their fifth lowest innings score against Australia. I beleive we might well need our highest Fourth Innings score if we are to win this.

[NPV]

What's happening ?
India all out for 105 in first innings and Aus are 28/2 in their second!
With a 155 run lead, Aus are definitely placed very strong in this match, India need herculean efforts, first in bowling department to get them all out in and then a great batting show to win it from here.

Seems like all earlier predictions/expectations have gone totally wrong!

[Eddy]

We'll lose by 150 is my prediction :(

[Chetan_Rao]

The pitch isn't bad, but even if it is, there's no justification to try and hoick the bowler over the top at 8 down. Whatever happened to knuckling down and trying to survive the session? The last seven fell for a grand sum of 11 runs!

Personal opinion only, but this is what T20 is doing to proper cricket. Barring a few exceptions, most Indian players don't seem to have the temperament to adjust between formats.

P.S. Credit where it's due, Australia's close catching is out of this world. Handscomb pulled off a couple of absolute blinders.

[vibbs]

I think Australia will be all out by Tea tomorrow with a second Innings score of around 300. That would give India around 450+ to chase in the fourth Innings with two days and a session in Hand.

KL Rahul, Vijay and Pujara will get 50 odd, Kohli yet another double and Rahane will score a hundred.

India will win the match by Tea on the fifth day.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by vibbs

India will win the match by Tea on the fifth day.

I doubt the match will go into the 5th day! If Indian team continues to bat in IPL mode, match could very well end tomorrow itself. This so far looks like a good wakeup call for Team India.