Australia tour of India (Feb '17/Mar '17)

[Targaryen]

This new, young team will probably do better than 2013, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do well on this tour. The young guys Hanscomb and Renshaw will be exiting to watch on these pitches. I would still not underestimate them. I think bowling to the Indian batsmen will be hard, considering Lyon is not really good in these conditions but O'Keefe will enjoy bowling on these tracks.

Lyon was their main bowler when they toured India last time. He is damn fantastic on Indian wickets. They were on an edge of winning at least two games through his deadly bowling of two to three 5-fers. It was India who batted cautiously in the end with just 2-3 wickets in hand.

 

[zwarrior]

They are batting first. Warner is they key. He can change the game in one hour if he plays his natural game.

 

[asprin]

Two interesting stats:

India are yet to win a Test in Pune and Australia are yet to lose a Test at the same venue

And

7 - No. of consecutive Tests in India in which Australia have won the toss and chose to bat, including this match. They lost all the previous six Tests

Talk about contrasting statements.

 

[asprin]

To all those who are able to watch the match live, is the pitch really that bad as it's being made out to be?

 

[ParkedTheBus]

To all those who are able to watch the match live, is the pitch really that bad as it's being made out to be?

Yes. If you weren't informed beforehand, you'd think the game is in the fifth day judging by the pitch. Australia are going to lose irrespective of the pitch but it's nothing short of disgraceful.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Ashwin bowling the 4th over. If this pitch plays out like how SA series was I will not be watching any match. The pitches were so good and sportive in England and New Zealand series.

 

[asprin]

If you weren't informed beforehand, you'd think the game is in the fifth day judging by the pitch.

That's a shame, real shame. As much as I would like India to win, I don't want one in this manner.

However, I'll wait till both teams have batted on the surface before commenting any further. If our spinners get a lot of purchase from it, who knows, maybe Australian spinners might do too.

 

[ParkedTheBus]

One thing I really like about this Indian side is the depth in batting. Everyone upto number 9 is test standard and that's a very important thing to have. It means they're rarely reliant on any one player. Perhaps the only side in world cricket to have that advantage at the moment.

 

[zwarrior]

Saha has the worst judgement for review. As a keeper, he should know which ones to review and which ones to not.

 

[abhi_jacko]

I dont understand the utility of a wicket like this. It only brings Australia into the game by making their spinners effective and it almost becomes advantage Australia if they bat first.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

So a turner for Australia.This also brings them into the game and if Australia gets a decent score then they have a very good chance of winning as India will be batting 4th on this pitch.

 

[asprin]

Cardinal sin. A spinner should not be allowed to bowl no-balls. Give them a one-match ban when they do so.

 

[abhi_jacko]

Feel like we missed a point with not giving the new ball to Umesh for atleast a couple of overs. Hoping to see his reversing skills later in the day

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Good to hear from Michael Clarke in the commentary.He is telling not every ball is turning there is inconsistenty in this wicket and will have more of it as the pitch wears on.[DOUBLEPOST=1487826639][/DOUBLEPOST]

Feel like we missed a point with not giving the new ball to Umesh for atleast a couple of overs. Hoping to see his reversing skills later in the day

Yes he has troubled Warner in the past would have been effective with the new SG ball.

 

[abhi_jacko]

100 run partnership on the cards here alongwith a wicketless first session. Kohli and spinners are going to feel the heat now. Lets see how they respond

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Ashwin seems to be bowling way too fast. Getting carried away here with the amount of turn on offer. He needs to go back to what he does best. Toss it up with drift on the ideal length. Pull in a few variations every now and then