Rest of the World

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Duty281 wrote:

JDizzle wrote:

Duty281 wrote:So the most likely scenario is an Australia/New Zealand final at Lord's.

There are many things wrong with the WTC - points system is convulsed and perhaps not particularly fair - but Test cricket at neutral venues is something worth getting excited about! Shame it is only one game.

Yeah, I can't personally say that I am a fan of the WTC. The points system doesn't work properly, fixtures are of unequal value and weighting, and boiling an entire test championship down to one solitary fixture to decide the winner doesn't seem right to me.

That said, I think that Australia and New Zealand are the two best test teams in the world right now and, if that is the final, it would be the right fixture. A shame, as you say, that it's only one game and not, at least, a three-game series.

The current system is a temporary fudge to get around the unforseen situation and make the best of whatever fixtures could be fulfilled.

Had it gone to plan all the teams wouldve played home and away fixtures and had equal opportunities to earn points. That hasnt been the case, but at the same time I dont think anyone can argue theres not a clear top 3 teams with England sat just behind them and the rest of the world a significant step back from that.

One off game may be a bit unfair in that the toss could well play a major part in deciding it, but its always been about providing a focused big televised event rather than genuine competition. However the remaining fixtures pan out we should end up with two teams who deserve to be in the final even if New Zealand have just played at home. A long series in a neutral country just isn't viable in the modern calendar or that interesting to anything other than the hardcore fans.

New Zealand, after that Ajaz high, are in deep trouble going into tea at 38-6. Siraj did whatever damage he could before the spinners got in on the act by taking out the first 3 wickets, then Axar Patel got a wicket in his 2nd over, Ravichandran Ashwin hit the timber first ball! and Jayant Yadav got 1 of his 3rd ball!
All down to Tom Blundell and the bowlers to give the New Zealand score some respectability now. Jamieson can certainly bat, Southee can give it a good thrashing on his day, and Somerville and Ajaz are capable of hanging in there. On a demanding pitch, against a quality bowling lineup, its going to get tougher and tougher though.

Wowzers just saw the New Zealand bowler took all ten wickets. Crazy achievement.

It is an incredible achievement, now he's also going to have to score a double hundred with the bat, as NZ are in what I would say it just a little bit of trouble!

After New Zealand managed to score 1/4th of their runs in the innings so far in one Jayant Yadav over to get them pass 50, R Ashwin produces yet another double strike over to reduce them to 53-8

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Time for India to fire up the two day test wickets to beat another under manned side at home…

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Time for India to fire up the two day test wickets to beat another under manned side at home…

Looks like it will be at least a 3 day pitch, and maybe even a 4 day one if India bat long enough

Amazing from Ajaz Patel, a shame it'll come in a losing effort, though that would be unique as both Laker and Kumble's ten-fors came with victory for their teams.

I watched the NZ series in only small bits and highlights

A 2 test series does not build enuf hype and NZ inspite of their world champion status are low profile compared to Aus, Eng, SA or Pakistan (although we don't play Pak)

The series will be remembered for

--A expected walloping of NZ at Mumbai....and inspite of as expected it was Ind's largest win by 372 runs and NZ's biggest defeat


--an unexpected thriller of a draw at Kanpur with last pair playing out nearly 10 overs and Ajaj playing out nearly 5 of those.
A pitch so dead and slow you wonder how teams lost 17 and 19 wickets respectively

Fully expected though that some curator will screw-up one pitch during every home series
also puts into enormity the one each wins that Eng & Aus have been able to take off India in their last tours

--Ajaz has always looked a good spinner when there is something very marginal in the pitch.....I remember from some of the games in UAE
he puts enormous amount of Body & shoulder into giving it a rip....and he has some body and biceps...that gets him drift in...and then his spin away become hard to handle.

Although I don't care much for personal stats...this is a monumental personal feat.

--Rahane is out for good I think....Kohli living on borrowed time as he has lost his eye/ reflexes and picks the line of the ball quite late and off the pitch...ain't gonna get too many international runs...won't play for too long.

He is on his way out....Pujara still will hang on for another year or two I think

The future of India batting is with
Rohit, Rahul, Mayank, Gill, Iyer, SKY, Vihari

--Good to see Jayant back.....I always wondered why they dumped him after an excellent series he had vs Eng about 5 years back

So India rapping up a massive win on the morning of day 4. After Daryl Mitchell and Henry Nicholls put up a bit of fight, India had managed 2 late inroads yesterday, and it didn't take them much time to pick off the last 5 today. Ravichandran Ashwin finishing up with 8 wickets in the match, and Jayant Yadav took 4 in the 2nd innings.
Though they won the series comfortably in the end, some of the questions they had prior to the series still remains. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara still haven't done much of note, and the skipper hasn't produced a big test innings either. Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill reaffirmed the depth of this Indian side, and perhaps the time has come for 1 or 2 of them to get a more regular look in, for someone like Rahane. Think Shreyas should now start the series in South Africa even if Rahane is selected in the squad. I would rather not have Rahane in the squad, instead give him an opportunity to play some domestic cricket, and like Sourav Ganguly late in his career, if he can produce a 2nd wind, he very well can come back. Even for Cheteshwar Pujara, the South Africa series has to be the last opportunity. And with Siraj yet again showing what he can do, think the seam bowling pecking order should be Bumrah, Shami and Siraj, followed by Umesh/Ishant, with the former getting ahead at home and the veteran away.

Duty281 wrote:Amazing from Ajaz Patel, a shame it'll come in a losing effort, though that would be unique as both Laker and Kumble's ten-fors came with victory for their teams.

Notwithstanding that Mayank performed incredibly well with 150 and 62, I can't help feeling that Ajaz should have pipped him to the MotM award. It seems increasingly rare for such an award to be given to a member of the losing side which imo is wrong.

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Amazing from Ajaz Patel, a shame it'll come in a losing effort, though that would be unique as both Laker and Kumble's ten-fors came with victory for their teams.

Notwithstanding that Mayank performed incredibly well with 150 and 62, I can't help feeling that Ajaz should have pipped him to the MotM award. It seems increasingly rare for such an award to be given to a member of the losing side which imo is wrong.

Quite astonishing, and quite wrong, for Patel not to get the MoM. His was an amazing feat and it really should not have mattered that it was in a losing cause.

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Amazing from Ajaz Patel, a shame it'll come in a losing effort, though that would be unique as both Laker and Kumble's ten-fors came with victory for their teams.

Notwithstanding that Mayank performed incredibly well with 150 and 62, I can't help feeling that Ajaz should have pipped him to the MotM award. It seems increasingly rare for such an award to be given to a member of the losing side which imo is wrong.

Didn't realise that, utterly daft decision. Patel has achieved something that has only been done twice previously in the long history of test cricket...it's the most obvious MOTM award you'll ever see!

I was unable to watch much of this one but obviously an overwhelming victory for India to take the (unfortunately too brief) series...well done them.

As to the MoTM : it is a bit of a fun award in a lot of cases - and as guildford points out has increasingly become the preserve of the winning team. Not sure the decision in this case is actually wrong though.
The ten wicket haul is of course extremely rare and one could argue deserves the award for that alone. On the other hand though it didn't actually influence the result of the match : ten for 119 is more a case of only one bowler being effective - and fortunate - enough to take wickets than of someone destroying a batting line-up. As much an indictment of the other bowlers as a mark of individual brilliance (and in truth no matter how well someone bowls , to take all ten requires a fair bit of luck for them and none for their bowling partners - ask Tony Lock !)
Mayank meanwhile scored a huge % of his team's runs on a pitch which seems to have given spin bowlers a fair bit of help - and helped his team to a thumping win.

You could reasonably see it either way but I am not exactly outraged by the choice actually made.

Could be worse, could be Bangladesh.

Pakistan were 188/2 at stumps on day three in the first innings (lots of rain), but Bangladesh still lost after being bowled out for 87 in the first innings and then, following-on, fell about 5 overs short of batting out a draw.

Vital WTC points for Pakistan.

West Indies, playing their first T20 since the WT20 debacle, recalled Shai Hope to their T20 team after a two-year absence.

No, West Indies, that is not the answer!

Competitive test cricket. Not likely to happen at the MCG, but South Africa and India will start a three-test series on Boxing Day in Centurion. This will be South Africa's first test series of the current WTC cycle, while it'll be India's third.

India are favourites for the series, but it's worth remembering that they have never won a test series in South Africa after seven attempts, losing six of those.

Probable XIs both looking quite strong:

South Africa - Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Quinton de Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duaan Olivier (Nortje is out with injury), Lungi Ngidi.
India - KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane/Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Ishant Sharma.

Expecting a close series. It will be played behind closed doors due to the current situation in South Africa.

Duty281 wrote:
It will be played behind closed doors due to the current situation in South Africa.

Do you mean Covid or the general lack of spectator interest for tests in SA?

A fair point, they might not have needed to close the doors to ensure people stay away.

Duty281 wrote:A fair point, they might not have needed to close the doors to ensure people stay away.

A 'warning - test cricket' sign would prevent public gatherings in SA and NZ.

The Nortje injury is such a huge one for SA - not really sure Ngidi is what he was hyped to be a half decade ago, and you'd rather only have one of Ngidi/Olivier in the side rather than both imo.

Both batting lineups look weak-ish on paper, would expect the bowling units to ensure a lower scoring series. Think India will create history and win their first series in SA

Duty281 wrote:Competitive test cricket. Not likely to happen at the MCG, but South Africa and India will start a three-test series on Boxing Day in Centurion. This will be South Africa's first test series of the current WTC cycle, while it'll be India's third.

India are favourites for the series, but it's worth remembering that they have never won a test series in South Africa after seven attempts, losing six of those.

Probable XIs both looking quite strong:

South Africa - Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Quinton de Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duaan Olivier (Nortje is out with injury), Lungi Ngidi.
India - KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane/Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Ishant Sharma.

Expecting a close series. It will be played behind closed doors due to the current situation in South Africa.

Surely it's Shreyas Iyer vs Jinx for that number 5 spot? I'd presume it's Iyer's spot to lose now after his debut.

In Centurion conditions I'd guess that Umesh Yadav must have a good chance to play as well. His pace and cutter will be very useful on a hard pitch.

SA aren't weak but India certainly look the stronger side. Without Nortje the Proteas attack will be reliant on Rabada. India's attack is far more rounded.

It will be brilliant to see Olivier back in Test cricket. His early record was Jamieson-esque. He to get in the XI for Yorks over the summer but has been taking wickets for fun back in SA.

If Axar continues to be used as a subcontinent specialist he could end up with a spectacular record. That height, pace and accuracy pinning batsman to the crease whilst getting decent turn away from right-handers makes him lethal on subcontinent pitches. I'm not wishing to distract from England's pummeling but the Australia tour to India in November will be a big test for the Aussie batsman. Ashwin to the stack of left-handers in their side then Axar and Jadeja to attack Labuschagne and Smith. Relentless.

Harbhajan has retired from cricket apparently. Absolutely staggered to be honest, staggered that he was still playing!

Duty281 wrote:Competitive test cricket. Not likely to happen at the MCG, but South Africa and India will start a three-test series on Boxing Day in Centurion. This will be South Africa's first test series of the current WTC cycle, while it'll be India's third.

India are favourites for the series, but it's worth remembering that they have never won a test series in South Africa after seven attempts, losing six of those.

Probable XIs both looking quite strong:

South Africa - Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Quinton de Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duaan Olivier (Nortje is out with injury), Lungi Ngidi.
India - KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane/Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Ishant Sharma.

Expecting a close series. It will be played behind closed doors due to the current situation in South Africa.

India are not the Favorites
India has a Big problem & that's called Kohli...he has not been getting runs for a long time...many ( including me) believe his decline is terminal as he seems to have lost his eye ( reflexes) and reads the ball off the pitch.....and on top of that he acts with arrogance and high handedness in selections with a sense of entitlement.

India has other problems also primarily in batting composition.....now that they have brought Rahane and Pujara, the have to play both at-least in the first test.....this means 3 dead batsmen out of 5...and there is Zero hope I have of any redemption inning from Kohli & Rahane atleast
On top of that Indian spin bowling all rounder Jadeja who is as good as a specialist batsman is not in the squad.....and in SA conditions Ashwin ain't an allrounder...that makes the top and middle order quite shallow
Bowling will be in the hands of Bumrah, Siraj, Shami, Shardul and Ashwin and will be quite fine & superior to SA.......but because of not enuf runs on the board, Ind will lose the first test and the series I believe 2-1

If Kohli does not score runs and heavily.....I believe given all the political-dynamics in the background, he will be sacked after this series if he does not score runs and we lose the seirres.

Hoping for a close series.
South Africa have the home conditions, they have Rabada, and they have a more than competent seam bowling support in Olivier and Ngidi, along with the all-rounder Mulder. Keshav Maharaj is a fairly good spinner though his record against India isn't the greatest. Elgar is one of the better opening bats in the world today, Markram is finally coming into his own, and Rassie van der Dussen has showed the same maturity and temperament that he did in limited overs in test cricket as well. And then there is Quinton de Kock, at least for the first test, and possibly for the 2nd too. Bavuma, where would he be batting? Will it be him at 4 and Rassie at 3? With Kyle Verreynne slotting in at 5? Or, will they bring in Rickleton, who bats in the top order for his FC side by the look of domestic scoreboards, and have Rassie at 4 and Bavuma 5? Verreynne to come in for de Kock and take the gloves when he would be unavailable on peternity leave? I would go for the 2nd option. I feel Rassie and Bavuma are best for 4 and 5. Verreynne doesn't seem to have the game for number 3, from my limited introduction to him in the West Indies.

As for India, it surely is an opportunity to create history, and I hope they would do just that. It won't be easy though. The bowling unit, even when missing Ravindra Jadeja, is good and rounded, with R Ashwin, the superior of the 2 world class spinners we have, coming back into the 11. The seam bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have class, and they both have experience in these conditions. Think on current form, Siraj surely is way ahead of Ishant Sharma, and Shardul Thakur has to come in ahead of both Umesh Yadav and Ishant, as he offers that balance, and that spark with the bat.
The batting unit, and batting selections would have questionmarks all over it. Just as he found his test game and was establishing himself as a well rounded opening batter, Rohit Sharma is ruled out injured. Mayank Agarwal, despite his fabulous performance in the New Zealand series, I am not very sure would be up to the challenge in South African conditions. Both Cheteshwar Pujara and the skipper are quite short of runs though Pujara should be in at 3 with Kohli, under the pump, and under the BCCI scanner for the defiance that he has shown regarding the ODI captaincy issue coming in at 4. Shreyas Iyer should surely have first claims on that number 5 slot after his fine debut against New Zealand. If not Iyer, it should be Hanuma Vihari who has been the first middle order reserve batter for India for a while who should get that nod particularly as he made runs in the A team series against SA A in South African conditions. Ajinkya Rahane might end up being the starter going by Kohli's selection madness trackrecord though, and Rahane just doesn't deserve a place in the 11 on the basis of his current form ahead of either Iyer or Vihari. Rishabh Pant is still number 7 rather than 6 in SENA conditions in my book and that's where we are going to miss Jadeja big time. Ravichandran Ashwin, despite his batting revival from the Australian series onwards, is very much a number 8, rather than the batter who could do a job at 6 in the last tour. Shardul too is more 8... So we lack a number 6 batter in there, and the number 3 and 4 are struggling, one of the openers is coming in with a poor record in swinging, seaming conditions, the other has just found his way back and then got injured. Against Rabada and co, this batting unit is what makes me less confident about that history being made...

msp83 wrote:As for India, it surely is an opportunity to create history, and I hope they would do just that. It won't be easy though. The bowling unit, even when missing Ravindra Jadeja, is good and rounded, with R Ashwin, the superior of the 2 world class spinners we have, coming back into the 11. The seam bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have class, and they both have experience in these conditions. Think on current form, Siraj surely is way ahead of Ishant Sharma, and Shardul Thakur has to come in ahead of both Umesh Yadav and Ishant, as he offers that balance, and that spark with the bat.
The batting unit, and batting selections would have questionmarks all over it. Just as he found his test game and was establishing himself as a well rounded opening batter, Rohit Sharma is ruled out injured. Mayank Agarwal, despite his fabulous performance in the New Zealand series, I am not very sure would be up to the challenge in South African conditions. Both Cheteshwar Pujara and the skipper are quite short of runs though Pujara should be in at 3 with Kohli, under the pump, and under the BCCI scanner for the defiance that he has shown regarding the ODI captaincy issue coming in at 4. Shreyas Iyer should surely have first claims on that number 5 slot after his fine debut against New Zealand. If not Iyer, it should be Hanuma Vihari who has been the first middle order reserve batter for India for a while who should get that nod particularly as he made runs in the A team series against SA A in South African conditions. Ajinkya Rahane might end up being the starter going by Kohli's selection madness trackrecord though, and Rahane just doesn't deserve a place in the 11 on the basis of his current form ahead of either Iyer or Vihari. Rishabh Pant is still number 7 rather than 6 in SENA conditions in my book and that's where we are going to miss Jadeja big time. Ravichandran Ashwin, despite his batting revival from the Australian series onwards, is very much a number 8, rather than the batter who could do a job at 6 in the last tour. Shardul too is more 8... So we lack a number 6 batter in there, and the number 3 and 4 are struggling, one of the openers is coming in with a poor record in swinging, seaming conditions, the other has just found his way back and then got injured. Against Rabada and co, this batting unit is what makes me less confident about that history being made...

If the pitch is a seaming one...& given the frailty of our batting;
Do you think Ind might play a 6th batsman in Vihari instead of Ashwin...who can also roll his arm over for 5 overs of spin

VTR wrote:Harbhajan has retired from cricket apparently. Absolutely staggered to be honest, staggered that he was still playing!

I too dunno what he was playing for the last 5 years

KP_fan wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Competitive test cricket. Not likely to happen at the MCG, but South Africa and India will start a three-test series on Boxing Day in Centurion. This will be South Africa's first test series of the current WTC cycle, while it'll be India's third.

India are favourites for the series, but it's worth remembering that they have never won a test series in South Africa after seven attempts, losing six of those.

Probable XIs both looking quite strong:

South Africa - Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Quinton de Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duaan Olivier (Nortje is out with injury), Lungi Ngidi.
India - KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane/Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Ishant Sharma.

Expecting a close series. It will be played behind closed doors due to the current situation in South Africa.

India are not the Favorites
India has a Big problem & that's called Kohli...he has not been getting runs for a long time...many ( including me) believe his decline is terminal as he seems to have lost his eye ( reflexes) and reads the ball off the pitch.....and on top of that he acts with arrogance and high handedness in selections with a sense of entitlement.

India has other problems also primarily in batting composition.....now that they have brought Rahane and Pujara, the have to play both at-least in the first test.....this means 3 dead batsmen out of 5...and there is Zero hope I have of any redemption inning from Kohli & Rahane atleast
On top of that Indian spin bowling all rounder Jadeja who is as good as a specialist batsman is not in the squad.....and in SA conditions Ashwin ain't an allrounder...that makes the top and middle order quite shallow
Bowling will be in the hands of Bumrah, Siraj, Shami, Shardul and Ashwin and will be quite fine & superior to SA.......but because of not enuf runs on the board, Ind will lose the first test and the series I believe 2-1

If Kohli does not score runs and heavily.....I believe given all the political-dynamics in the background, he will be sacked after this series  if he does not score runs and we lose the seirres.

I think in fairness, as Olly highlighted, both batting line-ups aren't the strongest; India moreover because a number of their top order, as you point out, are out of form.

If you fancy South Africa they're about 2/1 to win the series.

Slightly surprised to see Indian fans a bit lacking in confidence here : I guess their poor record in SA is a big factor - and they will miss Rohit. But surely there isn't a lot in that SA squad to frighten the horses ?

Even given the Indian batting looks a bit vulnerable , they still have a few players in there who just might prove the old adage about class v form : I for one am not quite ready to write off Kohli. And some of their later order can handle a bat when required , as we saw in Australia last year (though the absence of Jadeja might hurt).

My main query on SA though is their batting. Can see Bumrah & co making a bit of a mess of them if the pitches have any spice. We will see.

Anyway I hope we do see a good series . But my (virtual only !) money is on India.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/south-africa-vs-india-2021-22-stats-south-africas-dominance-in-centurion-and-indias-middle-order-muddle-1294284

Cricinfo coming out with some beautiful stats before this test. Some of the best ones:

1) Centurion is the toughest venue for an away side to get a test win. South Africa's test record at this ground is 21 wins and 2 losses - one of those two losses being the contrived 2000 loss v England.

2) The batting average in South Africa is the second lowest in tests since the start of 2018, standing at just 25.

3) It's pace that takes wickets in South Africa, there's little incentive for the spinners. Pace averages 25-30 runs fewer per wicket than spin. Very unsurprising.

4) India's test batting really is shocking over the past couple of years. I hadn't realised just how bad it is. Kohli is only averaging 26 in that time with no centuries. Pujara a little better and Rahane a little worse. It's almost England-esque.

5) Olivier has the best SR of any test bowler in history to have taken 30+ wickets, though it's nearly been three years since he last played a test.

for boxing day tests my money is on SA

Pitch has seam movement and bounce
But spongy bounce and pitch is slow ...because of underlying moisture it seems...should get faster as game progresses

SA have been wayward , both sides with line and bad with length and have dropped a sitter behind stumps.
Indian openers have cashed in and aged, out of form middle order not yet tested


SA have picked Jansen thr left armer who on his physical built, action reminds me of Alan Mullaly . Fourth seamer Mulder is only 125kph probably an all-rounder looked ordinary

So far very good, better than expected

The line has been SA's problem.....too far outside off making it easy to leave....and when trying to pull it in...drifting on leg and down the leg

The pitch requires a very tight line on off and 4th/5th stump outside off corridor and when bringing it in no more than middle stump

Not a great start - but many rusty guys in the squad, so not that big a surprise. For many of the guys, this is their first game since the world cup, and their first Test match since June vs the West Indies. In that time India have played in a world Test final, and had a series in England and then at home vs New Zealand. There's many reasons I've gone off Test cricket, not least living in the sticks in Australia where the only person I talk cricket with is Muhammad the Pakistani-born butcher where I get my meat. But the lop-sided nature of the tour schedule doesn't help. Anyway, here's hoping we've dusted the cobwebs off and have a better second session.

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:As for India, it surely is an opportunity to create history, and I hope they would do just that. It won't be easy though. The bowling unit, even when missing Ravindra Jadeja, is good and rounded, with R Ashwin, the superior of the 2 world class spinners we have, coming back into the 11. The seam bowling unit led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have class, and they both have experience in these conditions. Think on current form, Siraj surely is way ahead of Ishant Sharma, and Shardul Thakur has to come in ahead of both Umesh Yadav and Ishant, as he offers that balance, and that spark with the bat.
The batting unit, and batting selections would have questionmarks all over it. Just as he found his test game and was establishing himself as a well rounded opening batter, Rohit Sharma is ruled out injured. Mayank Agarwal, despite his fabulous performance in the New Zealand series, I am not very sure would be up to the challenge in South African conditions. Both Cheteshwar Pujara and the skipper are quite short of runs though Pujara should be in at 3 with Kohli, under the pump, and under the BCCI scanner for the defiance that he has shown regarding the ODI captaincy issue coming in at 4. Shreyas Iyer should surely have first claims on that number 5 slot after his fine debut against New Zealand. If not Iyer, it should be Hanuma Vihari who has been the first middle order reserve batter for India for a while who should get that nod particularly as he made runs in the A team series against SA A in South African conditions. Ajinkya Rahane might end up being the starter going by Kohli's selection madness trackrecord though, and Rahane just doesn't deserve a place in the 11 on the basis of his current form ahead of either Iyer or Vihari. Rishabh Pant is still number 7 rather than 6 in SENA conditions in my book and that's where we are going to miss Jadeja big time. Ravichandran Ashwin, despite his batting revival from the Australian series onwards, is very much a number 8, rather than the batter who could do a job at 6 in the last tour. Shardul too is more 8... So we lack a number 6 batter in there, and the number 3 and 4 are struggling, one of the openers is coming in with a poor record in swinging, seaming conditions, the other has just found his way back and then got injured. Against Rabada and co, this batting unit is what makes me less confident about that history being made...

If the pitch is a seaming one...& given the frailty of our batting;
Do you think Ind might play a 6th batsman in Vihari instead of Ashwin...who can also roll his arm over for 5 overs of spin

Thankfully KPF, Kohli hasn't seen this! With his selection trackrecord, a mad idea like this would have appealed to him! But yes as I feared, he did it with Shreyas/Vihari, and instead of either of them, playing an utterly undeserving Ajinkya Rahane. Hope Rahane will take this chance, and return the favor with a big ton. Don't think anything else would work. He has been living on that 1 ton exactly a year ago, and then 30s and 40s, not even 50s really!

This is a much better than expected start from India. Rahul has looked quite solid, Agarwal a bit more flashy, but doing the job. South African bowlers not helping themselves, bowling on both sides of the wickets, as KPF said, its the line that has been a major issue. Olivier may have burned a fridges when he did what he did 3 years ago, but now that they've picked him, quite surprised they didn't play him today. Jansen is young and inexperienced. The only things going for him over Olivier is him being a left-armer, and his batting abilities that should allow him to be batted at 8 with Keshav Maharaj coming in at 9 also more than handy with the bat...

I think the last match in Eng was one game too many already for Rahane

but
Once the selectors included him in squad means they wanted to give him.
ONE MORE CHANCE

I think selectors believe Rahane deserves as much a run as Kohli, who has been just as bad as Kohli in the Same span
Once they drop Rahane , by same measure of fairness they will have tk drop Kohli too.

Also look at Agarwal, Iyer, Vihari , Rohit and Jadeja ...when fit how can you keep all of them out for Rahane and Kohli

SA has a wicket! Agarwal gone LBW on review, didn't seem a confident one, and didn't seem out live. But Tracking suggested Agarwal had to march off and that's it. Ngidi with the strike for SA.

Agarwal didn't look out on slomos as it looked both high and going down
But
Ball tracking surprised all
SA get reward for pulling thr line into the stumps
And Pujara falls first ball
Again bounce and ball in line with stumps

And Pujara gone first ball!

Kohli and Rahul stabilizing the innings. The ball seems to be doing just that little bit more, nothing dramatic though, after lunch...

Think South Africa should have Rabada and Ngidi operating from one end in short spells, and the others have to be operating from the other end. Mulder and Maharaj after that double break from Ngidi, seems like easing a bit of pressure.

Have a feeling the pitch will quicken up as the day progresses.

Kohli has played a couple of trade mark cover drives
But not yet looking in full.flow.....
SA lacking intensity and fire. Brought benign Maharaj too early and for too long.

On a good day when Kohli gets in....he gets 30s , 40s and low 50s
That's why for all of 2020 and 2021 his average is in 20s
He cannot focus for long enuf else there was no need to chase that one

Rahane needs to be positive

Ball is coming on quicker and faster on to the bat.
Better for strokeplay
And more bounce /kick off a length for bowlers
Not a spinners pitch unless you bowl top spin

Great 100 from Rahul...after good show in Eng
Rahul, Rohit, mayank, iyer and Jadeja are top 5 bastmen on form and if fit, who should not /cannot be kept out for too long

Rahane has played his shots and moved on to 34. He these days keep giving it away around this period, that's if he gets going.

So 272-3 at stumps! Great start to the series for India. Brave call from Kohli to bat on a greenish looking track with overcast conditions. Brilliant start from the openers, with Rahul going on to make a fine unbeaten hundred and an attacking 60 from Mayank. Pujara got a first ball duck, and Kohli just gave it away. Rahane has got a start, will have to do it all over again tomorrow, hope he doesn't stay satisfied with 30s and 40s, he just can't...
Great that the rain stayed away, hope for the same tomorrow.