[suhaas307]

Play delayed due to wet outfield.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I hope the match is not called off!

I'm certain the bowlers can skittle them out for under 200 today.

Only hope no one is injured in the bargain.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I'm certain the bowlers can skittle them out for under 200 today.

I hope that is a possibility, would love to see an Indian victory in this test series.

Right now they're almost 70-1

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by NPV

I hope that is a possibility, would love to see an Indian victory in this test series.

Right now they're almost 70-1

It appears that RSA are playing on an entirely different pitch! Notwithstanding the fact that the Indian bowlers haven't had that 'zing' in them this morning, the pitch hasn't 'assisted' them in any way.

Were the bowlers relying on the pitch to get them the wickets today? Seems like it!

Hope they regroup and approach this differently.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

It appears that RSA are playing on an entirely different pitch!
...
Were the bowlers relying on the pitch to get them the wickets today? Seems like it!

True, the "new" day 4 surface isn't like the ones used for play on the previous 3 days

Slowly inching away from India towards another south African victory and a clean sweep!

*So much for all that criticism of Dean Elgar's technique, he is well on the way to making a good score and a crucial one at that. He's probably going to have the last laugh.

[Chetan_Rao]

Probably a combination of moisture from overnight rain, some heavy rolling and the softening-prone Kookaburra with a smaller seam.

Originally Posted by NPV

...So much for all that criticism of Dean Elgar's technique, he is well on the way to making a good score and a crucial one at that. He's probably going to have the last laugh.

Lacking confidence is a fairer assessment. Happens to everyone sometime, and he's done well after not playing a good innings throughout the series, yesterday's knock on the grill wouldn't have helped either.

Test cricket is a solid trial of one's character, not just cricketing skill.

[Chetan_Rao]

The beauty of test cricket on display again. Just when the match looked like getting away, one good catch and another good delivery pull it right back into the balance.

None of the remaining SA batters are in great form, if they're 5 down within 170-180, India have the upper hand.

[PPS]

Looks like its going to be an exciting finish!
Elgar & Faf are more grafters & not stroke players like ABD. Just hope the pitch starts acting up now just like the last session yesterday. The new ball is still too far away.

[Chetan_Rao]

Am I the only one thinking this should've been a full 5-test series? Indian lost the first two from arguably winnable positions, but no game has been entirely one-sided so far.

The ongoing one has reinvigorated the side, and another two would've been a gripping contest. If scheduling was an issue, we could've done the Sri Lanka series later or skipped it altogether.

Irrespective of who wins this one, this series will feel like unfinished business.

P.S. 2-1. Too late to cancel the ODIs and play tests instead?

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Am I the only one thinking this should've been a full 5-test series? Indian lost the first two from arguably winnable positions, but no game has been entirely one-sided so far.

I was thinking the same. India hit the bottom and started clawing its way up.

This match reminded me of the Perth win. The most difficult pitch, where India had the highest chance of losing. And the team proved the naysayers wrong.

Eng and Aus can't expect beating this Indian team to be a walk in the park, especially with this bowling attack.

We do need to get team selection and fielding sorted out. Those two runout misses were ridiculous. And the catching over the three test matches :-(

Btw, I am not ready to give up on Rohit and Dhawan for the Aus series. They are not suitable for England. But I would think they are ideal for the hard and bouncy Aussie pitches where the ball doesn't move laterally. They did do pretty well during the world cup.

[Sawyer]

I agree; ODIs are neither here nor there. Play two more tests, or at least one more and then just the T20s. If we played one more test, we could very well draw the series, and that would be a better reflection of the true quality of both teams on such surfaces. Which for India, is very creditable.

The England series in a 5 test match one, thank goodness. The Australian one to follow may be 4.

[searacer932]

Today's progress showed that the pitch was not 'dangerous'. It was a tough pitch but not a 'dangerous' one.

- Du Plessis call for 'curated' pitches spectacularly backfired
- Really proud of the players for playing out of their skin on a tough pitch.
- Never once they complained about the pitches unlike the South Africans who complained about the Centurion pitch
- I am quite sure if India had batted first in the 2nd test match they would have had a great chance to win that match.
- All of these pitches were bat first pitches
- And very amusing to see some members having a go at Kohli for his supposedly animatics. He is a competitive sportsman and not an Indian ambassador to the UN!! Some comments seem to say that if he is less theatrical India would have won the series 3-0. Amusing!

And Mr.Gavaskar was absolutely spot on. I am quite that if India was chasing on this pitch and if it was Dhawan, instead of Elgar, who was hit on the grill some members here would have said that the match should go on and it's a case of poor technique and the players should not cringe and the members would have blamed the technique rather than the pitch.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

...If we played one more test, we could very well draw the series....

If I remember right, a fourth test was cancelled to accomodate an extra ODI.

[NPV]

Very happy with the result of this one, India really deserved a win for their gritty performance and never say die attitude. Ironically, Dean Elgar's knock went in vain and he was left stranded without partners at the other end.

[nilanjanray]

No one is talking about the tailenders. Without contributions from Bhuvi, Shami etc., South Africa would have been under far less pressure.

And great point made by Jonty. The better fielding side won the series :-)

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

No one is talking about the tailenders. Without contributions from Bhuvi, Shami etc., South Africa would have been under far less pressure.

I'm very impressed by Kumar. Consistent pace over a long-ish spell, disciplined line/length, can extract assistance from pitch and ball plus a handy bat down the order. Arguably our actual all-rounder in this series.

And great point made by Jonty. The better fielding side won the series....

There was some great analysis about India's slip fielding in particular (stance & hand positioning) during this series, and fielding is inarguably a game-changer in the modern game. I still remember Mohammed Kaif often justified being picked for games by his fielding alone, anything he contributed with the bat was a bonus.

There's no dearth of fielding talent (Jadeja, Rahane, Pandya to name a few), but discipline and concentration demanded by tests is lacking.

Nothing a good coach can't fix, maybe hire Jonty for outfielding and get Dravid for some slip-catching lessons?