Australia v India

[luckyluke]

Originally Posted by square leg umpire

Australia incredibly generous with their catching. 9 dropped catches is saying something.

Int it just. Are you England in disguise

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Jock McTuffnel v3

India a better side without Kohli as captain ?

I've always been impressed with Rahane, it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.

[MRNC4.0]

More dropped catches, an absolute dolly missed by Labuschagne. Utterly deplorable stuff.

[MRNC4.0]

Wicket flattening out, will be a good day for batting. That said it is turning, so the selection of Ashwin/Jadeja could prove a masterstroke. Even if Australia bat well I can't see India having to chase anymore than 150 maximum.

[Greatbatch]

A first innings lead of 131 for India, could have been more if Rahane and Jadeja didn't throw their wickets away but it still should be enough to win the match.

[MRNC4.0]

Predictable start from the openers. Well bowled Yadav however. So long Joe.

[Greatbatch]

Surely Burns gets replaced by Warner for the next test, out cheaply again and burnt a review as well.

[MRNC4.0]

Originally Posted by Greatbatch

Surely Burns gets replaced by Warner for the next test, out cheaply again and burnt a review as well.

The review was bizarre. Surely you know when you knick it. I don't think Warner is expected to be fit for the next Test. It will probably be Harris who comes in.

Wicket not doing a lot, don't think wickets will fall quickly here, but India bowling tight and Aus can't score. They will grind out a lead at some point but it won't be enough.

[MRNC4.0]

Originally Posted by MRNC4.0

The review was bizarre. Surely you know when you knick it. I don't think Warner is expected to be fit for the next Test. It will probably be Harris who comes in.

Wicket not doing a lot, don't think wickets will fall quickly here, but India bowling tight and Aus can't score. They will grind out a lead at some point but it won't be enough.

lol can we even get 37 ahead to give the bowlers a chance?

[ConfusedMale]

This has been an excellent bowling performance thus far by the Indians. Coming in to this series, I was worried that Labuschagne and Smith were going to plunder runs against us. After all, Smith always seemed to do so while playing against us, regardless of whether it is in Australia or India, and Labuschagne does all things that Smith does.

While Labuschagne has managed to score some runs, never really looking very fluent, Smith has looked very unsure and tentative. A big part of that, I feel, has been because Ashwin has bowled really well so far through this series. He has bowled with guile, flight, turn and bounce, varying his speed constantly. He has also limited the use of his umpteen variations which seem to affect his off spinning deliveries.

Apart from Ashwin doing well, the addition of Jadeja has been good. Our pacers have also bowled with good discipline, without really having the menace of the Aussie quicks. Our catching also has been better.

As for captaincy, I think it is better to have probably Rohit doing it for the limited overs and Rahane for the longer versions.

[ConfusedMale]

Looks like we will have to bat again. I hope we don't have to score more than 36.

[Greatbatch]

Australia taking the lead just before stumps but at 6 wickets down they will be struggling to set India a challenging run chase.

Any lead under 100 they should be able to chase comfortably but after being bowled out for 36 they wouldn't be totally confident.

[MRNC4.0]

Going to need a fair old tail wag to even put doubt into the Indians minds on this wicket. Bat until lunch at a minimum to make a game out of it, but even that won't paper over the cracks of another underwhelming effort from the top order. Burns & Head are done for mine, Wade probably gets a stay of execution but plays down the order. I fear Australia will just think Warner comes back and all their problems are solved. Unless their is a radical overhaul of the batting lineup & philosophy from the selectors, I think India start favourites in the remaining tests, despite their injuries and absence of Kohli. They've out-played Australia on 5 of the 6 days of this tour. Would be very harsh if they don't come out of the game with anything other than a comfortable victory.

[cg3]

Originally Posted by MRNC4.0

Going to need a fair old tail wag to even put doubt into the Indians minds on this wicket. Bat until lunch at a minimum to make a game out of it, but even that won't paper over the cracks of another underwhelming effort from the top order. Burns & Head are done for mine, Wade probably gets a stay of execution but plays down the order. I fear Australia will just think Warner comes back and all their problems are solved. Unless their is a radical overhaul of the batting lineup & philosophy from the selectors, I think India start favourites in the remaining tests, despite their injuries and absence of Kohli. They've out-played Australia on 5 of the 6 days of this tour. Would be very harsh if they don't come out of the game with anything other than a comfortable victory.

The reality is there will be some very, very nervous Indian batsmen once the Australian lead hits 36.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you about the mediocrity of the Australian batting line-up but they don’t need to be Hayden/Langer/Ponting reincarnate to beat a team that gets bowled out for 36.

[ConfusedMale]

Originally Posted by cg3

The reality is there will be some very, very nervous Indian batsmen once the Australian lead hits 36.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you about the mediocrity of the Australian batting line-up but they don’t need to be Hayden/Langer/Ponting reincarnate to beat a team that gets bowled out for 36.

With all due respect, I think it takes an exceptional session from one team alongside a really crappy from the other team to get a team bowled out for 36. I also don't expect it to happen again soon. Having said that, chasing anything close to 100 would be a tough ask, and we know that Indians historically struggle to get the tail out.

[sanskritsimon]

Green / Cummins is the highest partnership of the innings so far ...

Australia surely doomed nonetheless.

[MRNC4.0]

Good effort by the lower order again to drag us to a total of a sorts, but the wicket is looking very benign, India should have no problems getting these. Two down at worst. Yadav has been ruled out for the series. Seems to be a whipping boy but he's been quite good, and Saini looks a class below him and Siraj. I wonder if India might just opt to play the Leggie and go with 3 spinners? Pucovski is available for the third test. Would be amazed if he doesn't walk into the top of the order.

[ConfusedMale]

As always, India allowed the tail to wag, overdoing the short pitch stuff. We should still be able to get these runs easily. I wonder if we can probably fly in someone from India for the remaining two tests. If yes, could we probably see the return of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar?

Also, Aussies score 200 for the first time in the series, though India never gave them a chance in the second innings of the first test.

[Greatbatch]

India winning comfortably in the end, they would have been a bit nervous though after losing a couple of early wickets in their run chase.

Rahane a deserving MOTM, was the standout batsman and captained well too, a good fightback from them after the disaster in Adelaide and sets up the rest of the series nicely at one all.

[ConfusedMale]

Originally Posted by MRNC4.0

Good effort by the lower order again to drag us to a total of a sorts, but the wicket is looking very benign, India should have no problems getting these. Two down at worst. Yadav has been ruled out for the series. Seems to be a whipping boy but he's been quite good, and Saini looks a class below him and Siraj. I wonder if India might just opt to play the Leggie and go with 3 spinners? Pucovski is available for the third test. Would be amazed if he doesn't walk into the top of the order.

It was the worst, but we did manage to score positively and wrap it up without too many hiccups. We have been the better team thus far in the series, but we also had the worst session of batting by any team in 2020, if not the entire decade. It is nice to see the pitches offering some assistance to the bowlers, and our guys have been good enough to utilize whatever little help they could get. The quicks got some movement and bounce, the spinners got some turn and bounce, and we held on to most the catches that were offered. In the end, I think the inability of the Aussie batting to build partnerships and that of their fielders to hold on to catches have given India a definite edge in the series. The rare form slump of Steve Smith and the absence of David Warner too isn't helping matters.