Rest of the World

First topic message reminder :

Big partnership in the context of the game. If they can add another 20-odd, the lead becomes noteworthy in a low scoring slug fest. As is Jansen showing he may well become a #7, while Keshav is playing with the poise of a man who has 3 Test 50s. Very organised. He probably has done himself a disservice, especially in a South African side both devoid of batsmen and obsessed with pace, in not working a little harder on his batting to be a #7.

Vihari neither able to play strokes for run....nor able to farm strike
Hi limitation is frustrating to the Indian cause here

Vihari just isn't in much rhythm. Has managed to hold an end together but not able to bring any life to the innings. This is why I would favor someone like Shreyas at 5 in the long-run. Has a more diverse game does Iyer.

KP_fan wrote:Vihari neither able to play strokes for run....nor able to farm strike
Hi limitation is frustrating to the Indian cause here

That's why I don't see him as a top, 40+ averaging test batter. Doesn't seem to have the game for it.

That's Bumrah done. He was batting more in his old, Pre-England mode today. Had brought a degree of reassurance to his lower order batting since England, even in the first innings here, he did look in decent control. This was more wild swings and hope.

250 up for India. Lead by 223.

The pitch is still demanding but not impossible. 223 will be difficult, but not beyond range, particularly if there are couple of good partnerships. The roller should quieten the pitch a bit, so if the South African top order can give them a good start, they would very well be in the game.

msp83 wrote:

KP_fan wrote:Vihari neither able to play strokes for run....nor able to farm strike
Hi limitation is frustrating to the Indian cause here

That's why I don't see him as a top, 40+ averaging test batter. Doesn't seem to have the game for it.

Look at the positive side...he has played 72 balls without being beaten really on a difficult pitch like this

Just the situation he finds himself is not suited for his game

He will be an ideal replacement for the Dravid, Pujara slot at No. 3

Vihari had managed to keep Siraj away for a while, but as he ends Olivier's overs with back to back boundaries, Ngidi will have the prospect of trying to knock Siraj over. India 266-9, leading by 239.

SA need 240......Vihar's 40* gives him an averge of 60 from the game ...closes the door for Kohli to return or at least I hope so

Ngidi does the job straight away, Siraj's done bowled... So 266 all out it is, South Africa need 240.

240 to get. Should be more than enough.

Only way South Africa chase this down is via an aggressive approach. It's not the type of pitch where you can bat 120 overs and nudge your way to victory. They'll need to score at over 3 an over, play shots, try and knock the Indian bowlers off their line and length, and force the field into retreat. It's a slim hope, but the only one they have.

240 a big chase, but the totals have progressively gotten bigger, and the pitch is only three days in. I don't think we'll win, but that's more an indictment on how bad our middle order is than anything else.

Duty281 wrote:240 to get. Should be more than enough.

Only way South Africa chase this down is via an aggressive approach. It's not the type of pitch where you can bat 120 overs and nudge your way to victory. They'll need to score at over 3 an over, play shots, try and knock the Indian bowlers off their line and length, and force the field into retreat. It's a slim hope, but the only one they have.

Yes a very difficult pitch 40 min after the affect of heavy roller has worn off
SA let India get 50 to 70 runs too many

Kohli should surely be back for the next game. His back should be ready after 3 days of rest, and there is going to be another 5 days to the next game.
None of Pujara, Rahane and Vihari have made an ironclad case for themselves. All played important hands in the context of the game in the 2nd innings, but none got that one big, decisive innings. So think it'll be Vihari sitting out when the skipper returns.

Markrum gets an edgy boundary to get the South African innings underway. He is a fine talent, but hasn't got going in this series. South Africa would be hoping this is the innings where he's going to come good. He's an aggressive player, and if he gets going, Rahul will have to think of that reducing target more often than he'd like to.

South Africa off to a flying start. Think that's the right approach for them, they are not grounding out a win here, they really have to hunt it.

The new ball, on this lightly rolled pitch, isn't doing a great deal. Time for South Africa to try and cash in.

As SA try to chase down a fourth-innings target, what about Bangladesh?

They've had arguably their greatest Test win today in NZ and they've done it without two of their best-ever players.

I just wonder whether there was a degree of complacency in the NZ ranks. They've had such a fantastic home record of late they must have thought with their pace attack that they would steamroller B'desh.

I expect the home side to come storming back in the next Test but it will still have been a terrific effort from B'desh.

As for the exciting SA-I Test, I still fancy India to bowl out the hosts.

That was a world-class over from Thakur. Had Markram guessing on those last four deliveries. Big wicket to take and should halt the early charge.

Agree that NZ's defeat was partially down to complacency. A number of their dismissals in the first innings were sloppy. They probably thought a score in the low 300s was more than enough.

Bumrah and Shami have been trying too hard
SA look comfortable...but when wickets start tumbling they do ina heap
time to bring shardul back

I think Bumrah has bowled incredibly poorly. Thakur has shown that if you bowl a consistently good length you'll get results; Bumrah has been banging it in or pitching it up.

India need at least two more before stumps tonight.

No more breakthroughs - 118/2 at stumps, well poised with South Africa ahead, but India still have room and time to fight back. Maybe 60-40 in South Africa's favour?

South Africa were about 20-30 runs short of what I thought they'd end up with at stumps. Elgar the key to the chase, he's the glue that holds the thing together. India probably deserved more than two wickets, but they were perhaps guilty of trying to force the action a little too much, with plenty of overpitched and short deliveries.

Should be a cracking final day.

Duty281 wrote:I think Bumrah has bowled incredibly poorly. Thakur has shown that if you bowl a consistently good length you'll get results; Bumrah has been banging it in or pitching it up.

It's an odd but quite common thing that with quicker bowlers. It's not a new phenomenon either. I can remember being frustrated with England's faster bowlers going either too short then too full at times going back to Flintoff and even Gough during his quicker days. Mitchell Johnson was very liable for it on days when it didn't click for him as well.

Far more often than not just bowling a good length but quicker than others can will bring the desired result.

Lillee has spoken since retirement and his move into coaching/mentoring about how he looks at his already prolific years before the back injury and wonders if he could have been even more lethal had he been more patient with a good line and length as he was after the back injury.

If you're a genuinely quick bowler the best tactics are usually similar to a fast-medium bowler but a lot quicker.

Im not sure India tried to force the action tbh, if anything KL didn't try hard enough once Keegan was dismissed. It's easy to say, I know, but on a pitch where horizontal shots are pitched high on the high risk scale, I think KL putting an at deep backward point/third man, instead of backward point and even gully for the last hour was a missed trick. Instead of balls hitting the outside half of the bat going to the fielder, they've gone for one and absolutely no pressure has been exerted.

Brilliantly poised test natch, with South Africa ahead but India not out of it.
Jas Bumrah had an offday, never quite hitting his best lengths consistently. Dean Elgar truly outstanding. A couple of wickets early though, the script can change very quickly.
And yes, I agree with Raf, KL has been a bit off the game, did miss Kohli in the field today...

Shardul was brilliand again, Shami produced some real nasty stuff without breaking through. Ashwin did his job, and got the important breakthrough. Siraj bowled like the unfit bowler that he has become in this test. Doubt whether he will be back to fitness for the next test, will have to consider Umesh or Ishant.
India will have to keep the belief up. If they get Elgar early, and then manage 1 or 2 more early, then South Africa has Marko Jansen at 7, he may well evolve into an all-rounder, but he's not there yet.

The way game stands its 70-30 in SA favour .
India's problem was shami and bumrah trying too hard....to blast off wickets and win the game
When they should be bowling line, length witj pace and let the pitch do the damage.
But we have seen it becomes a diffrent ball game when Elgar falls....and the rest come.down quite quickly
India needs to let shardul bowl 10 overs from.one end and shami and bumrah 5 each from the other
Game will be made or Broke in those 20 overs

Loved that Thakur over to Markram !  Brilliant stuff.

Didn't stay up for the later stuff : SA have surprised me by getting into a seemingly favourable position . But you'd think if a couple of wickets go early it might still unravel. We should know quite early this evening.

Good Test Match .

I'd still make India favourites, the second half of these chases are always trickier than the first half would suggest.

Neither CI nor broadcaster seem to be informing accurately how long this rain in Johannesburg cricket-ground area last

In an annoying twist of fate, it seems the Centurion forecast thundershowers never happened and now the light drizzle which was supposed to only take an hour or two to clear may in fact wash out the second Test.

now that the drizzle has reduced and rain might stop, lunch will be taken since

In Jo'burg the rain either comes hard, then dissipates quickly, or it drizzles continually for days. Proteas will have to make hay while the sun shines, if the weather continues like this you will only get breaks in rain now and then. ten overs here, six there than a lot of waiting inbetween

Old Man wrote:In Jo'burg the rain either comes hard, then dissipates quickly, or it drizzles continually for days. Proteas will have to make hay while the sun shines, if the weather continues like this you will only get breaks in rain now and then. ten overs here, six there than a lot of waiting inbetween

A bit like here.
Keep thinking it's day 5 but there's still another day.
Hopefully they can chip some of the deficit away later (if they get on) and don't lose too many wickets.

How's the farm life going?

Watched some movie set in Jo'burg last night. Plenty of thunderstorms and dry dusty scenes in between. About some woman cop hunting down some kid traffickers and one of the escaped victims hunting down her captors one by one. Killed a bit of time...

Cricinfo sound optimistic that play may start in just under an hour, if the rain stays away. Hope the rain doesn't deny the conclusion that this game deserves.

The rain means, of course that the pitch would have been undercover for an extra five or six hours. So it should be quite moist to start the day, which benefits the Indians early on. But the moisture also means it should in theory hold better, meaning less ball coming off the top of the soil and moving sideways, which benefits the South Africans. If play starts in an hour, it truly will be a question of who wins the first hour.

Should get it finished - but it may be tomorrow. Would be a stretch to have two full days wiped out.

Pal Joey wrote:

Old Man wrote:In Jo'burg the rain either comes hard, then dissipates quickly, or it drizzles continually for days. Proteas will have to make hay while the sun shines, if the weather continues like this you will only get breaks in rain now and then. ten overs here, six there than a lot of waiting inbetween

A bit like here.
Keep thinking it's day 5 but there's still another day.
Hopefully they can chip some of the deficit away later (if they get on) and don't lose too many wickets.

How's the farm life going?

Watched some movie set in Jo'burg last night. Plenty of thunderstorms and dry dusty scenes in between. About some woman cop hunting down some kid traffickers and one of the escaped victims hunting down her captors one by one. Killed a bit of time...

South African movie?

Lots going on this year, my son finished school last year, so we eventually will start building this year after many delays. Also building two mini workshops for wood and steel fabrication. Mostly home decor stuff. Still have the Insurance practice as well. Going to be a very busy year

Resumes in 45 minutes with 34 overs to be bowled. Could be finished today if the rain holds off.

Going to be even tougher conditions than yesterday for South Africa.

Old Man wrote:

Pal Joey wrote:

Old Man wrote:In Jo'burg the rain either comes hard, then dissipates quickly, or it drizzles continually for days. Proteas will have to make hay while the sun shines, if the weather continues like this you will only get breaks in rain now and then. ten overs here, six there than a lot of waiting inbetween

A bit like here.
Keep thinking it's day 5 but there's still another day.
Hopefully they can chip some of the deficit away later (if they get on) and don't lose too many wickets.

How's the farm life going?

Watched some movie set in Jo'burg last night. Plenty of thunderstorms and dry dusty scenes in between. About some woman cop hunting down some kid traffickers and one of the escaped victims hunting down her captors one by one. Killed a bit of time...

South African movie?

Lots going on this year, my son finished school last year, so we eventually will start building this year after many delays. Also building two mini workshops for wood and steel fabrication. Mostly home decor stuff. Still have the Insurance practice as well. Going to be a very busy year

That sounds good. You'll be very busy.

The movie was South African. 'I'm All Girls" it's called. Made in 2021. A bit of a far-fetched revenge type plot.

Brisk start from SA and loose from India
Can't understand the rationale of starting with Ashwin

Whoever wins here will have one of the most famous wins in their history. Either South Africa beat the #1 side in the world having just lost their best batsman and having lost the toss, or India, seemingly, are going to have to manufacture an all-time collapse to win their first ever series in South Africa without their captain.

93 to win now. Going from a bad collapse to an all time horrific collapse for India to win

I am afraid Rahul unable to shepherd the flock of bowlers like Kohli does

An opportunity goes through third slip. India did not have a third slip, a gully, a backward point or a third man. I'm not saying stack the field with over there, but to not have a single man in case of a thick outside edge was wild

This has been a spectacular load of rubbish from India, highlighted by two separate 'five wides' deliveries from Bumrah and Shami. No clue, also, why they started with Ashwin rather than Thakur.

I wouldn't quite say game over just yet, but we're nearing that point.

Its like the WC final...India trying too hard

Pretty comfortable for South Africa in the end but a shame that Elgar was just short of his century, more than deserved one. He's not the most talented batsman and his average is mediocre in the grand scheme of things but he maximises that ability unlike so many.

Embarrassing effort from India to only take three wickets in 68 overs on that pitch, though full credit to Elgar for the circumstance of that innings.

Sets the series up for a good decider.

Soul Requiem wrote:Pretty comfortable for South Africa in the end but a shame that Elgar was just short of his century, more than deserved one. He's not the most talented batsman and his average is mediocre in the grand scheme of things but he maximises that ability unlike so many.

Over 4000 test runs at just a smidge less than 40 as an opener. Better than at least one of England's openers ever since Strauss retired and on a different planet from any of our current ones...