Australia tour of India 2023 - 4 Tests , 3 ODIs

[icyman]

Australia knock off the target in record time. And yet, Pujara's innings seems to be constructed rather well, as per cricket pundits. The guy should have gotten a move on there. Anyhow enough bashing Puji, he ain't gonna be dropped.

As for the pitch, I do hope India gets demerits for the pitch. It is also high time they start producing wickets that are sporty. If they claim these spinning tracks are their strength, then why dont we witness these in the Irani Cup, Ranji etc???

I see a lot of Indian fans online that seem to care about it and they seem to expect that everyone else does. I'd wager at least 90% of English fans would take the Ashes over the WTC.

Its just that they expect the team to win an ICC trophy. I fall into the 2nd category where I'd take a BGT series win or a win over Eng anyday.

Like most ICC initiatives, someone probably comes up with a good idea and then the boards tear it apart and change it to ensure they make as much money, or lose as little, as possible.

With the WTC, no one really stands to make money. That's the reason why you don't see India or any of the subcontinental boards clamoring to host the WTC Finals.

If the WTC had to be a success, teams should Play each other in equal number of games. @Bevab point on the WTC lending credence to matches is partially correct. In order to fully ensure its success, there should be a relegation mechanism as well.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Australia knock off the target in record time. And yet, Pujara's innings seems to be constructed rather well, as per cricket pundits. The guy should have gotten a move on there. Anyhow enough bashing Puji, he ain't gonna be dropped.

As for the pitch, I do hope India gets demerits for the pitch. It is also high time they start producing wickets that are sporty. If they claim these spinning tracks are their strength, then why dont we witness these in the Irani Cup, Ranji etc???

Its just that they expect the team to win an ICC trophy. I fall into the 2nd category where I'd take a BGT series win or a win over Eng anyday.

With the WTC, no one really stands to make money. That's the reason why you don't see India or any of the subcontinental boards clamoring to host the WTC Finals.

If the WTC had to be a success, teams should Play each other in equal number of games. @Bevab point on the WTC lending credence to matches is partially correct. In order to fully ensure its success, there should be a relegation mechanism as well.

Yeah, India are good enough they are likely to be in the mix to reach the final almost every time and it's only one match after that. As I've said before because they don't play Pakistan they don't really have a lasting test match rivalry, so winning a cup for taking part is kind of an end goal.

I do think should England ever reach the final we'd definitely care but I think test cricket is something, in England, that doesn't need the context of a tournament.

I think relegation would hasten test crickets demise even quicker in some areas.

My personal view would be two groups would make more sense but that'd likely lead to the Big 3 being split up. England and Australia wouldn't want to go without there home test series against India which is very much a big money spinner.

I did have an idea for a slightly more complex divisional structure but I've long since given up discussing hypothetical tournament structures cause it's a waste of time as the ICC won't ever do something that isn't about driving up profits.

 

[Pinch hitter]

Smith is better captain than Cummins... Same like Rahane is better captain than Rohit for Test team...

 

[Fenil]

He himself said," You need to attack and defend on this pitch,a mix". My concern is that I didn't see any attack from him, apart from that lone sixer.


Would agree l. However,in the case of the innings he played yesterday,I would divide it into 2 parts

1. Batting until Iyer was at the crease
The intent from Iyer was on show for sure. No qualms in Puji playing the 2nd fiddle then as Iyer was taking the bowlers.
2. Batting post Iyer's dismissal
After Iyer's dismissal,it was evident that someone had to attack. Pujara kept on playing second fiddle. India needed runs and needed to get above 100 to give its bowlers something to go with.

Pujara's batting didn't seem to have any fluidity. By scoring a 50, he simply gave an impression that if you held fort, the runs will come. Hence, I call his innings as selfish.



Iyer has been our best batsman in the last year. Dunno, on what basis you want to discard him.


Again, KLR is woefully out of form. Gill was in red hot form and wasn't played in the first 2 games. That's where India loses out many a times. As far as I am concerned, KLR is done and dusted. It is time for the likes of Shaw, Sarfaraz, Easwaran to be given a longer rope with an eye on the transition.

I agree with you on Iyer. He has been in form. Let's not forget he has managed to keep the likes of Vihari and Sarfaraz at bay thanks to his performance.

I am not sure how you come up with Shaw, Easwaran etc as I feel Vihari and Agarwal would be front runners for the roles particularly Vihari who is incredibly skillful, talented AND experienced so if at there happens to be a spot in the middle order, Vihari should be the one to be in the team.

 

[icyman]

Vihari and Agarwal haven't really set the stage on fire in the limited opportunities they had.

Easwaran, meanwhile has been the work horse in Ranji and deserves a chance in the main team.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Vihari and Agarwal haven't really set the stage on fire in the limited opportunities they had.

Easwaran, meanwhile has been the work horse in Ranji and deserves a chance in the main team.

Vihari has been good to be honest. Ofcourse he has his fair share of injuries which is not a good sign for a long career, especially in Test cricket. But I think Vihari can be a good number 5 or number 6 in absence of Iyer. His skills will specially be of good use in overseas tours where the batsman have to grind it out hard in order to survive.

 

[asprin]

I think we did a huge disservice to KLR. With him in the team, India was at least winning matches - not to forget fellow teammates scoring centuries and double centuries right, left and center under his leadership #bringBackKLR

 

[Bevab]

Smith is better captain than Cummins... Same like Rahane is better captain than Rohit for Test team...

Not at all true. Smith’s an absolutely horrible captain in all aspects. Judging them from this series is quite shortsighted.

Can’t disagree on Rahane though. Man never got his due as a leader.

 

[Fenil]

Vihari and Agarwal haven't really set the stage on fire in the limited opportunities they had.

Easwaran, meanwhile has been the work horse in Ranji and deserves a chance in the main team.

I beg to differ especially on Vihari. If he works his way to get less injury prone, he is an absolute asset. Brilliant player of pace and spin and with the temperament to play long innings is gold.

Agarwal's stats may not be glaring but a Test average of 41 for an opener isn't shabby at all.

 

[Fenil]

Not at all true. Smith’s an absolutely horrible captain in all aspects. Judging them from this series is quite shortsighted.

Can’t disagree on Rahane though. Man never got his due as a leader.

Rahane has himself to blame. He came in with a FC average of 67. An astute head on the shoulders and beautiful balance at the slip cordon was something India would have loved to use more. Even Karun Nair was dropped after scoring a triple hundred to may way for Rahane which speaks volumes of how much the team management rated him. If only had been more consistent with the bat, he could have easily been the second VVS Laxman for the side.

 

[Bevab]

@icyman I take your point regarding Pujara. But he isn’t a slogger at heart and ultimately asking him to play in that manner when he isn’t comfortable yet would have meant he’d have never got those runs that he did at least. The issue is that we’ve lost Pant who complemented Pujara well making up for that lack of aggression from Pujara with his extra boundaries. It’s the team setup that needs to change, we’re just including our six best batters (which is also debatable) without any concern about the tactical aspects that other sides are increasingly looking at these days.

Vihari and Mayank were both dropped because they’ve got glaring technical issues that can be exploited. There’s no point in Vihari’s grit when he can be dismissed easily after a point. It’s why I’m not seeing him as part of any hypothetical long term plans. But if he is to be our solution he has to be playing every game so that he gets to work on those issues as it’s unlikely he’ll ever get similar exposure anywhere else. Mayank’s recently done well in domestic cricket but he will be a walking wicket in seam friendly conditions unless he’s sorted out his technical issues.

Post automatically merged: Mar 3, 2023

Rahane has himself to blame. He came in with a FC average of 67. An astute head on the shoulders and beautiful balance at the slip cordon was something India would have loved to use more. Even Karun Nair was dropped after scoring a triple hundred to may way for Rahane which speaks volumes of how much the team management rated him. If only had been more consistent with the bat, he could have easily been the second VVS Laxman for the side.

Oh yeah there’s no excuses for his form falling off a cliff. Ultimately he didn’t quite work on his issues and paid the price.

 

[icyman]

Oh yeah there’s no excuses for his form falling off a cliff. Ultimately he didn’t quite work on his issues and paid the price.

True.

Would have been captain today had his form stuck with him

 

[Fenil]

True.

Would have been captain today had his form stuck with him

Absolutely! A good captain, an excellent slip fielder that India desperately needs and the ability to score quickly (by Test standards) if required like his innings at Melbourne. He was such a gem.

 

[icyman]

You know, on Rahane. I still feel he might be a good option as Test skipper.

For me, Rohit hasn't been an inspiration. He has done well at MI and that's been replicated in the shorter formats on the game for India. But for Tests, something is amiss.

Given the impending transition, I'd be tempted to bring Rahane in in place of Pujara. Have either of Gill/Iyer deputise for him for a period of 1-2 years, at the end of which, Rahane would step aside from the game.

I don't see Rohit,Kohli,Pujara playing the longer format for long now. Time is ripe to make the changes required.

Post BGT, would like to see them try new spinners as well. For this precise reason, I'd not consider Ashwin or Jadeja as leaders right away.

Anyhow,coming to the next game, I'm all for Kishan replacing Bharat. A like for like replacement for Pant, Kishan could take the game away from the opposition instantaneously. While Bharat's keeping has been good, we haven't seen him bat any better than what Ian Healy /Nayan Mongia did in their day.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

It's all your fault @liveinasociety