SA in India--Test Matches

First topic message reminder :

as I said at the end of last test when many were getting worried......

India keep out Pujara again to accommodate Rohit?
OR
will Indian managment loose face and keep their pet Rohit out?

that Indians will find an explanation of convenience......and here it is from shastri...all set to show we will play 3 spinners, 1 seamer and 6 batsmen......including pujara and Rohit
and Rohit might bowll seam up posing to be the 2nd seamer if required.

Dhawan will play ahead of Rahul...understandable but everyone is on a short rope here with so well performing Rahul in the squad


Two days before the Test, team director Ravi Shastri spoke about a few of these issues. The number of bowlers, he said, depended on the conditions underfoot and overhead. Sri Lanka was oppressively hot so India needed that extra bowler there. It has cooled down in India's November now, and if the pitches turn as asked, India could beef up their batting and go with just four bowlers. The big question, then, is will this new leadership team of Virat Kohli and Shastri, who have shown an inclination towards pace, be okay with playing just the one quick?

"Tomorrow you can play four spinners if you give me a pitch that will turn on the first day," an emphatic Shastri said. "No rule that you have to play a fast bowler. West Indies played four fast bowlers in their time. No spinners. What stops a team from playing four spinners if you get a track of that kind?"

"Home conditions," Shastri added mischievously.

Neev to get India for 150 here. Harmer needs to go off and Mini Morkel, Rabada needs to come on. Need to blitz hard here

South Africa well on top as India are struggling at 122-5. Rohit and Saha at the middle, and both of them are struggling. Morkel has been brilliant, and Harmer has backed him up very well.

the problem...is score board not moving at all
very difficult pitch to get runs on

Nothing from Rohit time for Jadeja to play some shots?

the allrounders are doing their bit....jadeja 34, saha batting in 20s...and ashwin and Mishra need to do 20s also....so we will get to 230+

seems like a difficult pitch to bat on

Wriddhiman Saha has played 87 balls so far and has 22 against his name. I kind of feel for Saha, he is an admirable fighter, but as a batsman he's far too limited as a batsman. Is scoreless against seamers and doesn't look secure against spin either. Just doesn't lok in ever. But he doesn't give away his wicket easily usually. And his keeping is just about average. What can India do?
Morne Morkel back on.......

Ashwin's batting hasn't been on top level for some time. He's batting pretty much like a number 9 here....... When he used to be on top of his game with the bat, he looked good enough to bat 7 or even a 6 at a pinch.......
Massive blow here for SA, Morkel seems to have picked some injury.......

Morkel seems to have picked up a hamstring injury.......

Morkel has been Steyn like and young Rabada has been brilliant, but with Morkel down, Amla will have to rework his plans. Rabada just finished a spell, and Morkel isn't able to bowl now, so Amla will have to keep spinners on from both end. Pace from one and spin from the other has worked very well for them since lunch.......

msp83 wrote:Wriddhiman Saha has played 87 balls so far and has 22 against his name. I kind of feel for Saha, he is an admirable fighter, but as a batsman he's far too limited as a batsman. Is scoreless against seamers and doesn't look secure against spin either. Just doesn't lok in ever. But he doesn't give away his wicket easily usually. And his keeping is just about average. What can India do?
Morne Morkel back on.......

Saha is a very good batsman for test cricket......
he is playing an admirable inning where other stroke players have struggled .......that will make a difference to the bottom-line.

Saha is going no where......

Ashwin and Mishra should play their shots, another 20-30 for the last 2 wickets would be great for India.

The problem with Saha is not that he is defensive, but that he doesn't look secure even in defense. Hek's not an effective strokemaker, he isn't a secure defensive batsman either. But yes, he does have a fine temperament. How brilliant it would have been to have a player who would combine Rohit's ability and Saha's temperament?

The end is near, Ashwin goes and India are 9 down. India 215-9.......

SA has done better than they would have hoped...but the pitch si worse than they would have imagined

so we don't know how good is 215 a.o

however great opportunity for Amla to stand up and deliver a defining 100 and get SA to 300.....a lead of 85 could be decisive.

ABDV is due for a failure.....or at least we hope so

So its all over, bowled out for 215 as Harmer gets Mishra LBW.
Think India underachieved with the bat. The middle order was really poor. Vijay was done in with a fine one from Morkel, but the others didn't help their case. And had it not been for the seriously underrated Ravindra Jadeja and the fighting Wriddhiman Saha, it would have been terrible.

AB has to fail at some point, he really has to!!

Ishant opening the bowling and finding the edge in the first over itself but the ball not carrying.......

Hashim Amla ahead of Faf....... SA 9-2.

LOL... We really suck

well.....survival looking hard from the 9 overs we saw today...plucked out 2 SA wickets including that of Tahir.

but that's also a little bit because SA was looking at doing no more than survival...the've gotta play strokes

AB is the one player who can transcend conditions and play a truly special knock on a track like this. But Amla is sureshot class and can play spin pretty well. He has hit a rough patch though and India would hope that would continue for some more....... SA has to stay positive if they have to make something of this match.......

47/7 Its turning square!! India very fortunate to have won the toss and had a bat. Conditions have been trial by fire stuff since the second session.

Dane Vilas has been unlucky to make his proper bow in world cricket in such insane conditions, but you would think that he probably isn't gonna keep in the England series with de Kock in such rich form and Vilas averaging 5.

Vilas hasn't really looked the part with gloves or bat. Quinton de Kock having rediscovered his touch, should have been kept on for the tests. And I think he should be back in for the England series.......

With an absolutely massive lead conceded, South Africa need to replicate the Indian bowling effort. They have specialized in bowling sides out for double digit totals in recent times, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, they were all bowled out in the 40s by the Saffers. And in that historic test win against the Australians where the Australians were bowled out for 47, SA had conceded a massive lead.......
The pitch and the makeup of the attack are the differences here, India are no longer the best players of spin in the world but they still are better than the South Africans, and the South Africans have a couple of decent spinners and a couple of parttimers in their lineup. and There is no Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel may not be a hundred percent....... It is not all lost for South Africa, they have done it in the past, but this is just a huge mountain that they'll have to overturn.......

SA gets the big wicket! And it is that man Morkel....... Murali Vijay edges one to slip, almost gave Amla catching practice....... India 8-1. Can SA do it?
If they get through Pujara early, the rest of the Indian lineup isn't that good in these conditions.......

A valuable 31 from Pujara, cut short by Duminy when he was looking very much in control, with a ripper of a delivery. With both of India's best players in these conditions gone, I won't be surprised if the innings unravels from here on. The skipper in need of a score, and Rahane has to get some runs in home tests at some point....... Dhawan hasn't looked very convincing, but he's there and has played almost 50 balls.

Some terrible captaincy from Hashim Amla v Tahir. You've picked him in the side, you are so far behind in the game, it is wickets that can bring you back into the game, spinners have been taking most of the wickets, yet Amla just doesn't trust his frontline spinner. Yes, Tahir isn't the most economical bowler in the planet, yes he can bowl some absolute rubbish now and then. But he can be a wickettaker, and the captain can always give him some protection if too bothered about the runs. Really strange from Amla.......

Conspiracy from the Saffers here! They are making sure they'll have the opening partnership not doing too much for the next test by bowling Dhawan into some form so that he'll be retained for the next test!!! Some real rubbish from Duminy! By not bowling Tahir, what is Amla gaining?

kingraf wrote:47/7 Its turning square!! India very fortunate to have won the toss and had a bat. Conditions have been trial by fire stuff since the second session.
.

the ptich has been turning square from the first hour of day-1 and Had India bowled first...i doubt if SA would have scored too many more and India too many less.

such extreme is help to spinners all the time...and such difference between the quality of Indian spinners and their relatively superior batting skills against what SA has to offer with the ball in these conditions....that the toss is not an advantage.

Though India could struggle vs Pak or SL on a pitch like this.

A word on Kohli...no score is too small for him to defend in all kind of conditions......he defends it with quite something to spare

and is showing those who though thought white-washing Aus was a big deal......in Indian conditions....you can actually raze a top opponent to the ground

India lead by 282. The chase might well be out of South Africa's reach, but again, a disappointing show from the Indian batsmen. Vijay, that can happen to a batsman early in his innings, and Pujara was done in with a terrific ball. Kohli was downright irresponsible, particularly when he has been a bit inconsistent, particularly as he was set in that innings. Dhawan played a stupid shot, and yet another loose shot from Rahane......
The lineup of Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly and Dhoni wouldn't have made this track look like a minefield. The Indian batsmen are becoming poorer against spin, and as KPF said, they won't be able to get away with a spinning track against sides like Pakistan or even Sri Lanka.

Rohit has a bit of an opportunity to put together a bit of a score. He was out first ball caught behind but was saved by a poor umpiring call, up to him to make it count with at least 40-50....... Has made 20 so far. Would also need Ashwin to stick around.......

Ashwin's gone, so the end is near....... Looks like a bit of a rough call though, that did Ashwin in.......

--at the same time ....bear in mind though msp......with most practical good teams....the first team sets the tone for the second team
ie the second team if a good team....would do only do enough to comfortably beat the first....and not necessarily like a machine score 400 when bowling out the first side fir 100

--when its not a true pitch....it plays on the mind of bastmen...and forces them to play uncharecteristic loose or silly looking strokes......the extreme was when Amla shouldered arm to one that was on the middle stump

cricket ain't a video game......too many displays are scaled up or down relative to opposition and factoring pitch / environment in mind

What a complete and utter joke of a pitch. The term corruption springs to mind.
Thought I was watching highlights of yesterday's play... but no... already 28 wickets in nearly 3 innings before tea on Day 2?

If doctoring is not the word then the Indians are completely unable to prepare a proper sporting wicket. Like a video game as KP_f says.
Whilst it is kind of cruel to watch wickets fall every 5 overs... it is also sort of amusing for a neutral to witness such a farce of a game.

What's the story guys? To say there is no life in this wicket is a massive understatement.

Opportunity to create history for South Africa. No side has chased a total above 300 against India in India. Only 2 teams have chased above 200 to beat India in India...... They need 310 in 3 days and a bit!

Need two centuries to get there youd think. On a pitch which hasnt had more than one

Give them 2 sessions max... probably only 1.5... to be skittled out for around 110.

History will not be made here... unlike in Adelaide tomorrow.

Not a great pitch....... But at the same time, the limitations of the batsmen in terms of playing spin has contributed to the scenario. Amla, Faf, Harmer, and even Elgar played some pretty poor shots in the SA first innings, Kohli was horrible in the India 2nd innings as was Dhawan....... But the pitch could have been better while remaining sporting and turning.
Said that, still would gladly take it over the roads that they've imported in Australia recently....... Will there be a good pitch for the D/N test, LD?

The curator is taking a punt and leaving some grass on the pitch, msp. It's all very experimental really.
It has been very hot in SA in recent days but there's been a cooler change in the lat 24 hours or so. It's all a bit of a mystery, mate.
The tactic in the Shield game was to declare near sundown and send the opposition in (if it is possible the captains may try something similar) and then rip through the openers as NSW did to the South Australians recently.

This is why I am a little skeptical about this new innovation. Might give too much advantage to the more risk-taking (luckier) team.
Maybe that is good enough for some though. I just hope it's not chalk and cheese conditions all of a sudden... an hour or so apart.

A big crowd is expected late afternoon, early evening - there for the novelty experience no doubt but I'm not sure it will do justice the the tradition of Test matches played in this country. Time will tell.

The openers have taken the score to 17. They haven't looked entirely comfortable, but under the circumstances, this isn't bad.......
Wrote that a bit early, as van Zyl has given it away with a poor shot.......

Imran Tahir in as nightwatchman again, and he smashes the first ball down the ground for 4!!

This is both scary and entertaining at the same time.

Ashwin to van Zyl, OUT, oh no, loose shot. He will not be happy at all. Nicely tossed up from Ashwin, enticing a drive and van Zyl obliges, goes for it but hits it in the air and straight to short cover. After playing out several good balls, he loosely wafts at a playable delivery

another example msp...when pitch invokes serious doubts in the mind.....batsmen falls to seemingly loose and uncharacteristic shots

Hope the D/N experiment works...... Lets see how it unfolds......
And Vijay has dropped Elgar of Jadeja, and Tahir gets 4 more, 8 of 2 balls.

Tahir doesn't reckon he's bere as a nightwatchman. Think he thinks he's been promoted!

KPF, I think it is an issue of technique and temperament as much as it is about the pitch playing mindgames with the batsman. The likes of say VVS Laxman, wouldn't play such poor shots. The likes of Sehwag would get to the pitch of the bowler and hit the spinner out of the attack. He could do it because he could read the length and flight of the ball better. I don't think other than Pujara and Vijay, the others in the Indian lineup posses similar skill sets, and lets not even talk about the South Africans.

Just have a feeling the Saffers are more up for the challenge this innings. Jadeja and Ashwin will have to work harder......
They both a bit inconsistent with their lines too. Perhaps Kohli should give Mishra a couple of overs, only 3 more to go for the day.
Think SA would take 1 down for the day.......

Oh no! Tahir's gone, Mishra on and gets Tahir first ball.......

Amla off the mark confidently....... Thought he should have come in at the fall of the 1st wicket.

They can't work any less for top order wickets Msp!