India tour of Australia - 2018/19

[asprin]

It would have been a great day for India had a wicket not fallen at end of the day. That certainly raises Australia's hope as it means a very dependable batsman can't bat further in this match. If India can score another 150, it would make for a very thrilling match going by the way both teams have batted so far.

Our bowlers need to be commended as well, as they not only secured a slender lead but also made sure Australia were made to earn their runs - something which our bowlers aren't known for traditionally.

While the scoring rate by both teams have been on the lower side of things, it has been top notch display of Test cricket so far.

 

[Morphed]

Wow now kl rahul's 44 is looking like gold dust as Ashwin said and the rate at which he scored them.Truly a talent.

@asprin .Anything above 275 and India's game to lose.Although I have full faith in Chepu, but a collapse can still happen. By all means ,let's say India collapses to 210, then Australia need to score 225,which will difficult on this track.Chepu deserves mom for scoring 160* on this track

 

[abhi_jacko]

Wow now kl rahul's 44 is looking like gold dust as Ashwin said and the rate at which he scored them.Truly a talent.

@asprin .Anything above 275 and India's game to lose.Although I have full faith in Chepu, but a collapse can still happen. By all means ,let's say India collapses to 210, then Australia need to score 225,which will difficult on this track.Chepu deserves mom for scoring 160* on this track

Pujara has been other worldly here. Player within himself and yet played with so much surety. He has once again stabilized the innings after we lost 2 quick wickets with Kohli. And it was actusllt great to see Kohli the dominator take a leaf out of Pujaras book and grind it out on what seems to be a tricky wicket to bat on. He may not have scored a lot but it was nice to see this facet of his game where he can stick around and just grind the opposition down.

Ashwin will be happy to see the pitch behave like this and would also be under tremendous pressure, because he is the lone spinner and will be expected to spin the team to victory when his time comes. He needs to deliver big time on day 4/5

Btw, is Chepu pujaras nickname or just something you came up with

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Btw, is Chepu pujaras nickname or just something you came up with

No it's not, it may have been something that he just came up with. But for the time being Puji sounds better

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

It was good to see Rahane get hit with a bouncer like he did today and even better that he survived that one because when you are not in form such things might help you play better as you might get an idea about what's going wrong with your game.

 

[zimrahil]

I was about to, but then I found solace in the fact that our tail wagged too. From 128/6, they doubled the score

Head proving to be a "head"ache. I've a feeling we might end up conceding a 50-run lead but I think that should be okay. Anything more than that and we will struggle.

I actually want India to win this series but hope they lose this test from this position just to see your reaction

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Anything above 275 and India's game to lose.

To lose or to win ?

 

[asprin]

I actually want India to win this series but hope they lose this test from this position just to see your reaction

Works for me. Lose the battle but win the war

 

[Aalay]

Decent day for India even though we lost Kohli at the end. 100 more runs from here and I think we should be good to get a lead in this series. It will be interesting to see at what stage will Kohli declare the inning. I think it will show how much confidence he has in his bowlers and also needs to give the bowlers enough time to bowl out Australia.

 

[SaiSrini]

Tight here. India need 250+ lead to feel comfortable but they are not yet there. With the likes of Pant and Rohit to come, its a tricky stage where they could either get 280+ or fold up for around 200-210. Pujara needs to be the rock here. He has batted extraordinarily in this game and one more opportunity here for him to nail any wagging tongues around his game, for good. A beautiful opportunity for Pujara to take India to an overseas test win against a country like Australia.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Two excellent knocks by Cheteswar Pujara and considering the context of the game these knocks might well turn out to be match winning ones and with Pujara gone I expect some slogfest from Pant and Sharma now.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Poor Cricket from India now - thrown away wickets in clusters after lunch there was an opportunity to completely knock Australia off the game by making 350 to 400.

P.S - Shane Warne and Mark Waugh are absolutely murdering Harsha Bhogle in the comm box.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Anyone here feel the 'think tank' thought we already have enough runs and hence such mindless batting by India after lunch? I really feel the pitch has eased out and it is not going to easy by any means. We got a bit carried away I think.

Also just when I posted it is the end for Rahane, my favorite batsman brings this classy knock out of the bag. Really happy with his return to form. Hopefully the consistency gets back too.

 

[Master Bates]

Can't Indian coach teach their bowlers on how to bat to make at least 5-10 runs. Rather than ducks by everyone (Shami,Ishant, Bumrah) . These guys added 0 runs between them.

 

[asprin]

Can't Indian coach teach their bowlers on how to bat to make at least 5-10 runs. Rather than ducks by everyone (Shami,Ishant, Bumrah) . These guys added 0 runs between them.

This really bugs me. We perhaps have the worst 8, 9,10 and 11 currently. Can't expect them to score more than 20 runs. When you look at other teams, most of them bat deep down at least until #10.

An opportunity to put Australia under immense pressure wasted. Now it's anyone's game, though India hold a very slight advantage. I would say it's 55-45 but Australia have had a decent start to their 2nd innings.