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Post by Aj_June on Mar 6, 2017 8:45:24 GMT
Terrible decision to send Jadeja. Nair looked the most comfortable Indian batsman in the first innings so he should have come instead of Jadeja. Anyway, Australia could get the remaining 6 wickets in less than half an hour if they strike immediately after tea. 150 lead for a fighting chance looks distant now.
Smith's catch was a big big moment. That was out of ordinary catch.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 6, 2017 10:24:12 GMT
Quality batting here by Rahane and Pujara. 183/4, lead of 96. I have India favourites now.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 6, 2017 11:10:43 GMT
Either the pitch has eased up or Indians played extremely well. Australia's odds are 3.5 now and I am going to put 20$ on them so that I am happy with either results. I personally see the match as equally balanced given the fact that India's lead is still just 126 and they can lose 6 wickets quickly. weststigersbobHow did you like Rahul's technique of reaching for the ball and bending low to smother the spin? I thought he was good.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 6, 2017 11:20:08 GMT
And I do miss Salter here as low scoring game would have made him happy. Sad that he isn't here.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 6, 2017 12:06:49 GMT
Rahul was good AJ - Pujara better. Costly miss by Smith low to his left when he was on 4. The pitch has seemingly deadened, but Australia aren't making the ball shoot through like India were.
All in All though, kudos to India for the fightback. They are in the drivers seat now with Nair, Saha and Ashwin to come. Australia didn't bowl badly, missed a couple of half chances, but the big difference was the batting of India.
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Post by hamsterman11 on Mar 6, 2017 20:37:38 GMT
Really good test match, wish I'd seen more it. Batsmen fighting, bowlers doing well but other than Lyon in the first innings not completely dominating either. I'd call it dead even like AJ, but it depends on the first session today. Less than 220ish and I think Aus might be able to get there. more and India probably win.
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 6, 2017 20:57:33 GMT
I think the Kohli decision was poor. There was doubt over whether he hit it and doubt over whether it was in line: in short the ump was guessing and should have left his finger down. Having said that, I'm glad he gave it, because if he hadn't India may only be 2 or 3 down right now. A fine display fron Rahane (who I've been a big supporter of for a while) and Pujara.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 7, 2017 3:51:43 GMT
I disagree BH - front on the Kohli LBW looked plumb and it seemed that he missed it with his bat coming too late. It was only after Kohli immediately reviewed it that the thought "he hit it" came into my mind. Outside the line was 'umpires call' so it's less than half a ball width in it - I have no problems with it at all. Prior to the DRS era, this wouldn't really be a talking point. It was hardly a howler like we've seen in the past.....
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 5:00:29 GMT
Australia back on top with some good fast bowling.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 5:51:34 GMT
I think the Kohli decision was poor. There was doubt over whether he hit it and doubt over whether it was in line: in short the ump was guessing and should have left his finger down. Having said that, I'm glad he gave it, because if he hadn't India may only be 2 or 3 down right now. A fine display fron Rahane (who I've been a big supporter of for a while) and Pujara. I slightly agree with Bob on this. Given the current rules regarding DRS, the decision was correct. I however feel the rules regarding DRS should be changed a bit and agree with your past views on that.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Mar 7, 2017 7:01:55 GMT
Nice to see someone from SA on this board, Cody. I do see England, SA and Aus as the three main favs of 2019 WC given that Asian countries struggle outside of Asia and New Zealand is not as strong as it was in 2015. And looking forward to a close game on Saturday! Thanks for the warm reception Aj. Pity it couldn't have been a closer match, but Imran Tahir (2 for14 in 10 - a new SA record) and young Rabada were on fire. Looking forward to the first test tomorrow and can't wait to see Morne Morkel back in action (when he first injured his back the doctors told him he would never play cricket again, but thanks to seven months of hard work, courage and determination Morne has proved them wrong and returned to the international stage). I think Big Vern Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morkel will have the New Zealanders hopping. Such a pity Morris can't play as well - because of the racial quotas). On the other hand, New Zealand must be mightily relieved they won't have to cope with Morris as well.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 7, 2017 9:01:42 GMT
Australia 6/101 at tea - still 87 behind. A few bizarre LBW / DRS decisions in this innings. Warner looked outside the line even on the DRS replay, Shaun Marsh (terrible shot mind) should've reviewed at it was missing by miles (Why was it given out ?) Steve Smith broke the rules looking to the sheds on a DRS review - after Handscomb told him to - on a decision which was easily the plumbest LBW I've seen this century and the. Mitch Marsh was given not out to one that looked as plumb as but was missing over instead of maybe missing leg. Bizarre.
Anyway, Australia needs a miracle. I knew anything over 100 would be a challenge.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 10:19:14 GMT
Talk about a test match that keeps your nerves throbbing for all the 4 days! I do like to say here that India won here only because they batted first on this pitch and so Aus are not out of this series. I do know that it's a big achievement in cricket to win a test series in India so Aussie fans will be a bit disappointed to not win this test from the point they were after the end of the second day. But speaking from point of view of India fans (who have no other major sport to be proud of unlike Australia who win in so many sports), this was a big big victory. If India went out of this series in the second match itself then many people would have found nothing great to look forward to in the series. But now there is a good chance for India to crawl back here.
@bob
Totally agree with you about Warner's decision. That should not have been given out.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 10:24:27 GMT
Nice to see someone from SA on this board, Cody. I do see England, SA and Aus as the three main favs of 2019 WC given that Asian countries struggle outside of Asia and New Zealand is not as strong as it was in 2015. And looking forward to a close game on Saturday! Thanks for the warm reception Aj. Pity it couldn't have been a closer match, but Imran Tahir (2 for14 in 10 - a new SA record) and young Rabada were on fire. Looking forward to the first test tomorrow and can't wait to see Morne Morkel back in action (when he first injured his back the doctors told him he would never play cricket again, but thanks to seven months of hard work, courage and determination Morne has proved them wrong and returned to the international stage). I think Big Vern Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Morkel will have the New Zealanders hopping. Such a pity Morris can't play as well - because of the racial quotas). On the other hand, New Zealand must be mightily relieved they won't have to cope with Morris as well. You are most welcome, Cody. Yes, you are right that NZ batsmen will be in trouble against SA pacers. Rabada in particular is turning out into a future legend. What energy he brings! I do want to see an even contest here but believe that SA will dominate a lot. Hope to see a good match
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 7, 2017 10:25:18 GMT
India deserved their victory on the balance of it - knowing that any chase would be difficult they guts out a great 3rd Innings and ended up winning fairly comfortably by 77 runs.
The pitch wasn't the best, but it wasn't a significant factor IMHO. Only Smith in the 2nd Innings got one that was truly unplayable.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 10:36:12 GMT
In relation to pitch, a bit too difficult for batsmen but I like the fact that fast bowlers were in the picture all through. Even in the first innings of Australia, Indian fast bowlers did play a part. Not a good pitch for sure but it helped in making the contest even. The big thing in the series until 1st innings of this match has been the performance by Aussie spinners. I know that Lyon has always been good against India (a bit surprising in itself) but he could be so good as to grab 8 wickets on first day was something unexpected.
There has never been any test played in Ranchi. My mom was born in this city and I usually visited Ranchi to meet my relatives in childhood. I hope Ranchi will provide interesting match but can't say what kind of pitch we can expect.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 7, 2017 10:39:47 GMT
AJ - Indian fans aside, I think Kohli and co have to keep a bit of a lid on it. Most genuine experts had India cakewalking this 4-0. The fact that Australia won the first, and gave a massive sight in the second (where all and sundry knew the toss and batting first would be pivotal) shows that they are up for the fight, and carrying on like Pork chops and like they are the underdogs is a bit rich. The fans can carry on all they like, but seriously they need to reign it in or they will get their pants pulled down.
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Post by Aj_June on Mar 7, 2017 10:45:14 GMT
I totally agree with you on the future of this series. India bat second on a similar pitch and they could again find themselves in massive trouble. Series not over by any means. Toss could play a crucial role in one of the 2 remaining matches. Aus has been so much better than it was expected of them and we have seen some seriously challenging match.
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Post by weststigersbob on Mar 7, 2017 11:07:49 GMT
Pitches - Honestly, it reminded me of an old school WACA pitch but it just didn't have the same bounce and carry, but nor should it. Yes it turned - shock horror it's India - and it had some variable bounce but it wasn't excessive. Like you said AJ - something in it for the bowlers, but Pujara, Renshaw, S.Marsh, Rahane and Rahul all scored reasonable scores on it - so it wasn't exactly a minefield. For me the pivotal dismissal in the game was Shaun Marsh in the 1st Innnings - he really should have scored a 100 and really turned the screws on India. A lead of 150+ would've looked like a mountain. He played a really loose shot, across the line scooped to mid wicket when he was really looking the goods.
I can't see how Mitchell Marsh plays in Ranchi. Pick Khawaja and bat him at 6. Smith and Warner will have to bowl some if need be.
I've tried to get a bit of 'read' on the Ranchi pitch - and from previous games there by Jharkhand I can't really tell. It's all over the place. I've asked a few Indian friends at work (all bar one are huge cricket fans) - none of them know anything either. In fact, one actually said 'Don't they play in Jamshedpur ?'
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Post by hoskotafe3 on Mar 7, 2017 20:14:05 GMT
I thought they were right to be cross with Smith tbh. There's people who've criticised Kholi for saying Smith was cheating, but the umpire told Smith off and sent him on his way. He was clearly acting not just outside the spirit, but the rules of the game. I'm not aware of anyone else in the game using similar tactics, but if they are, they should be fined and I'm not opposed to them missing games should they benefit from it.
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