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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 7:39:07 GMT
What a magnificent finish to a magnificent series! Well done India. You are one hell of a cricket team!
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Post by weststigersbob on Jan 19, 2021 7:42:20 GMT
This is the last time I want to hear about Australia and “number one bowling attack”.
Well played India, they actually made it closer than it looked.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 7:42:31 GMT
So Pant or Thakur for man of the match? It will probably be Pant, but 7 wickets and top scoring with 67 in the first innings is a hell of a debut.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 7:45:52 GMT
India join the West Indies and South Africa as the third team to win back to back series test series in Australia since World War 2(England last did it in 1928-29 and 1932-33).
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 8:16:49 GMT
This is the last time I want to hear about Australia and “number one bowling attack”. Well played India, they actually made it closer than it looked. Cummins is comfortably the #1 bowler in the world and Hazlewood is very good too, but we clearly don't have the best spinner (in the world) and Starc has had an awful summer.
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Post by weststigersbob on Jan 19, 2021 8:24:48 GMT
Lyon is the perfect example of why averages supersede aggregates when it comes to cricket stats. Yes, he’s been unlucky at times, but he has bowled the wrong line and had the wrong fields for 4 straight tests. Starc - looked worse than Johnson v England in 2009. No swing, no movement and a plethora of 4 balls.
The truth is if you take out the “36” and the odd poorish session, India has played far superior cricket and have bowled far far better.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 9:12:52 GMT
Fair call on the series as a whole. The key for India is they rarely lost two sessions in a row. Australia get away to 2-206, they responded by taking 8-130 odd. Australia get to 3-200 odd here, they respond with 7-150. They bat poorly to be 6-186, they put on 123 for the 7th wicket. Third day at Sydney aside, there was always an immediate response from Adelaide onward.
The most impressive thing in the 4th innings here was that there was never a moment where they looked like losing. There was a couple of "door ajar" moments for Australia, but India closed that door quickly each time. Never let Australia get a run on when it mattered.
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Post by weststigersbob on Jan 19, 2021 11:46:48 GMT
I think what we can gather from these series recently is that India is, and by some fair distance, the best Test side in the world. 14 months later - still true ? The anomaly is that NZ lost to Australia in Australia 3-0, then beat India at home 2-0, who then beat Australia away 2-1. I think clearly India, Australia, New Zealand and England are quite a long way ahead of the pack in all forms of cricket ATM. Australia has serious issues with their side, papered cracks with Smith, Labuschagne, Cummins and Hazlewood. They don’t have an opening pair, with a turnstile and a home test specialist. Who bats 5 and 6 is still a mystery and against good teams or in less than favourable conditions Starc and Lyon can’t get it done. England similar without a genuine spin attack and their best seamers both nearer 40 than 30, but they do have some outstanding players and a few who should be doing more consistently. More than ever though, I don’t think England really knows who their best XI is to face India. New Zealand are punching well above their weight, and have unearthed a rare find in Kyle Jamieson recently to complement their already impressive triumvirate of Messers Boult, Southee and Wagner. But, they still haven’t filled the number 2 slot, Taylor is now a veteran nearing the end and Nicholls only does it at home. Meanwhile India. Wow. Even if they drop Rohit for stupidity, their batting looks the goods, and the options with the ball is impressive. Gill, Agarwal, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Pant (wk) as a top six, then pick the allrounders/bowlers you want out of Ashwin, Jadeja, Washington, Siraj, Bumrah, Umesh, Ishant, Shami, Bhuvi, Thakur or Saini. And for backup - Natarajan, Kuldeep, Chalal and a pretty handy cast of backup batters too headed by Vihari and the next ‘big thing’ when fully fit in Hardik Pandya It is truly a remarkable amount of depth, and like I have been saying for years, India look like they are finally in a position to truly dominate world cricket for a while.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 17:25:30 GMT
Series rankings: India: Prithvi Shaw: F, 1 test 2 Failures Mayank Agarwal F, 4 failures at the top, looked better in the middle but two rash shots could have been costly Shubman Gill B, looked a test opener from the moment he took guard, two 50s. Rohit Sharma: C, threw his wicket away twice, but was part of the only effective opening pair either team had in the series and a very strong presence in the field. Cheteshwar Pujara B, classic case of stats lying. Averaged about 30 in this series but worth a lot more to the team than that. Consistently wore down the attack and was the reason Pant was able to do what he did in the Sydney and Brisbane. Four 50s and usually reliable in the field. Virat Kohli C: played one game, top scored, went home and became a Daddy, an A in the Game of Life! Ajinkya Rahane A: should probably be lower but a match defining hundred in Melbourne changed the series and, apart from a poor game tactically in Sydney, captained the team superbly. Hanuma Vihari D: we'll forgive the failures for his brave match saving knock in Sydney. Risabh Pant A: didn't keep that well, but his two 50s were arguably the most important innings of the series. Won them the game in Sydney. Wriddhiman Saha F: a bit harsh, but his keeping in the second innings at Sydney doesn't undo his 2 failures with the bat. Ravindra Jadeja B: added a spark in the field, usually bowled well, and scored crucial runs at Melbourne. Washington Sundar A: played only one test his batting in both innings was crucial. 3 fer with the ball was handy too. Ravichandran Ashwin B: completely outbowled his Australian counterpart in the first 2 tests of the series and was one of the heroes with the bat in Sydney Shardul Thakur A: was in the frame for Man of the Match in Sydney with 7 wickets and a 67 that completely changed the game. Umesh Yadav C: bowled well before his second test injury. Mohammad Shami C: see above. Jasprit Bumrah B: ripped through Australia at Melbourne and was always accurate. Mo Siraj A: a 5 fer at Brisbane kept the target low enough for India to chase and capped off a leading wicket taker performance. Navdeep Saini D: adequate at Sydney but an injury at Brisbane stopped him having an impact. Showed something by batting in both innings and bowling through injury in the second innings.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 19, 2021 17:44:56 GMT
Australia: Joe Burns F: looked like he couldn't hit the ball off the square and we knew that going in. Matt Wade F: a couple of decent opening efforts but played a lot of bad shots to get out, particularly when moved to the middle Dave Warner D: should not have played at Sydney, second innings at Brisbane set a foundation for a competitive Aussie target. Will Pucovski B: played one test and looked like a test opener. Really needs to stop fielding so recklessly. His injury was one of many clumsy slides where he landed awkwardly. Marnus Labuschagne A: a hundred, a 90 and some tough runs when he wasn't batting well in the first two games. Steve Smith B: was kept contained in the first two tests, but exploded at Sydney, looked good in both innings at Brisbane but was unable to play the formative innings the team needed. Travis Head F: plenty of starts, no 50s and dropped from the team after only two tests. Cameron Green B: like Smith somewhere around a B or C. Looked like he belonged, but just the one 50 score and no wickets though his bowling was fine. Tim Paine C: batting was fine, but a lot of chances missed with the gloves. A lot of "tactics by committee" were poor and, as captain, he wears the blame. Pat Cummins A: the best bowler of the series. Looked like he could win the Sydney test for Australia before he became absolutely knackered. Mitchell Starc F: awful series. Nothing further to add. Josh Hazlewood A: another tireless worker, usually found something when Pat couldn't. Nathan Lyon F: completely outbowled by Ashwin in the first two tests and very poor in Sydney and Brisbane, particularly in the second innings. Marcus Harris D: played only one test decent performance in the second innings after failing in the first.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 22, 2021 6:21:24 GMT
Social distancing in Tamil Nadu...
TBH I love the place.
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Post by Aj_June on Jan 24, 2021 16:42:31 GMT
Root who slowly lost his status as one of the best in the world alongside Smith, Kohli and Kane has finally found big runs in Sri Lanka. While I didn't see the inning, it seems Root had a lion's share of England's reply to SL.
SL 381 Eng 339/9 (Root 186)
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India vs Australia - Wow, the greatest ever overseas performance by India in my opinion. The most important thing - A great and competitive Test series even though batting from both side looked very average.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 24, 2021 16:43:32 GMT
Geez, Joe Root's looking in good nick. 186 to go with 220-odd in the first test. Freak run out on the last ball of the day. Wonder if he's finally going to become a converter? He'll need to for England to not get whitewashed in India and Australia.
England still looking up against it to get the win they need to stay in contention for the WTC, trailing SL by 42 with only one wicket left. Showing worrying frailty against spin with Buttler the only other bat to reach 50.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 24, 2021 16:44:16 GMT
Root who slowly lost his status as best in world alongside Smith, Kohli and Kane has finally found big runs in Sri Lanka. While I didn't see the inning, it seems Root had a lion's share of England's reply to SL. SL 381 Eng 339/9 (Root 186) ------------------------------- India vs Australia - Wow, the greatest ever overseas performance by India in my opinion. The most important thing - A great and competitive Test series even though batting from both side looked very average. You must have posted while I did!
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 24, 2021 17:23:04 GMT
And yes, the lack of hundreds for India really stands out for a winning team in Oz. In Saffers 3 wins here they had 3 centuries in 08-09, 6 in 12-13 and 4 in 15-16, England had 9 in 10-11, while India had 5 in 18-19. And drawing a long bow but the West Indies had 4 in 1992-93 when they won here too.
Winning a series in Australia with just 1 century and 1 five-fer is pretty unheard of, and that's before you get into the entire first choice attack getting injured. Mind you, Siraj should be in front of Umesh Yadav now.
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Post by Aj_June on Jan 25, 2021 6:50:09 GMT
wow, SL in second innings are 67/6 and have a lead of 104. So the two spinners who failed to take a single wicket in the first innings have 6 between them.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Jan 25, 2021 7:06:36 GMT
I think I'm going to give up on predictions for a little while... not getting many right...and I'm quite happy about that.
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Post by Aj_June on Jan 25, 2021 7:20:10 GMT
I think I'm going to give up on predictions for a little while... not getting many right...and I'm quite happy about that. Yeah, even I am happy with my predictions going wrong. Anytime, our predictions don't prove correct means something happened which we didn't anticipate as very likely.
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Post by weststigersbob on Jan 25, 2021 9:34:50 GMT
The ODI and T20 series will be tight. Australia isn’t exactly world beaters in either format either regardless of what the rankings suggest. As for the real stuff. I’m not sensing many draws and a 2-2 wouldn’t surprise me at all. It’s more likely 3-1 Australia, but you underestimate your countrymen Aj_June . They are in the fight up to their necks with a formidable batting lineup (with or without Kohli) and a very good pace attack headed by Bumrah, Ishant and Shami. This turned out to be pretty close to the mark....
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Post by Aj_June on Jan 25, 2021 17:51:21 GMT
The ODI and T20 series will be tight. Australia isn’t exactly world beaters in either format either regardless of what the rankings suggest. As for the real stuff. I’m not sensing many draws and a 2-2 wouldn’t surprise me at all. It’s more likely 3-1 Australia, but you underestimate your countrymen Aj_June . They are in the fight up to their necks with a formidable batting lineup (with or without Kohli) and a very good pace attack headed by Bumrah, Ishant and Shami. This turned out to be pretty close to the mark.... That was very close, Bob. Pretty good prediction. SL lost it already. That was not a very good effort in the 2nd innings. Root having form of the last 5 years.
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