India tour of Australia Nov'20-Jan'21

[Bigby Wolf]

Its Advantage Australia now!

I don't see us getting a lead or even if we get it will be a slender one & batting 4th on this track will be a tough challenge as well.

So most likely 2-0 coming up.

Edit

Pant played a good counter punch but only if his innings lasted a bit longer.

Lead less than 20 now.

 

[SaiSrini]

For India to be ahead in this match, a lead of 75+ is an absolute necessity due to the fact that they bat last. We saw how India folded in the last test despite a 50 run lead. I know we have different personnel in this test, but the batting of both sides is very edgy and will be the deciding factor of this series.

Careless shot from Pant. Could've waited till we got past the lead to take on the likes of Starc. Yes he has shown better application than Saha and got better runs, but this was the chance to make a huge impact.

Well played Rahane! First batsman to cross 50 in this test match till now. Hope he goes on for bigger things here. (Fingers crossed)

 

[asprin]

230-240ish looking like a possible 1st innings outcome. This is the last recognized pair and we know how our last 4 wickets perform, so cannot expect many runs once the 6th wicket falls. Though not ideal I would take it and hope that Australia don't score more than 200 in their 2nd innings.

A massive ask I know, but anything more than that and it could very well be curtains for India.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Starc and new ball is love! Every delivery he bowls looks like a wicket taking ball.

 

[asprin]

This partnership is seriously raising my hopes up. Please don't do that..

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

I think India have suddenly gained a strong position in this match with the lead they have with them. Rahane have done really well and definitely deserves a hundred here. And with the way Jadeja has played I can agree to what @LiveLoveABD have said time and again. He can bat up the order for sure. This partnership is a crucial deciding factor in this match and is probably the best so far in this match.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

This partnership is seriously raising my hopes up. Please don't do that..

Why??

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

This partnership is seriously raising my hopes up. Please don't do that..

Please don't say that. Atleast something good must happen for us in this series after the way our bowling have performed so far. They definitely deserve atleast one victory.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

RAHANEE!!! What an innings. Keep grinding and keep building this inning.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Jinksssssss!!!

 

[Bigby Wolf]

A well deserved 100 for Rahane at the 'G' - his second at the venue.

Love the look of hunger, determination & focus on his face.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

100 runs partnership and such a crucial one. Another 50-75 runs these two add up and its game on!

 

[SaiSrini]

Almost like a fairytale! What a stunning knock, captain Rahane!! Getting up there to his famous Lords innings that won us a test there.

The way Rahane has batted against the second new ball, has been superb!! And can’t undervalue Jadeja’s knock here. Boy is Jaddu batting like magic here. Showing all the experience and batting like a pro test batsman.

Keep going boys!! This could be a very special win if we get there[DOUBLEPOST=1609051800][/DOUBLEPOST]

Starc and new ball is love! Every delivery he bowls looks like a wicket taking ball.

What? Starc looked pedestrian with the second new ball. No shape, nothing. Rahane handled him like a boss

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

Almost like a fairytale! What a stunning knock, captain Rahane!! Getting up there to his famous Lords innings that won us a test there.

The way Rahane has batted against the second new ball, has been superb!! And can’t undervalue Jadeja’s knock here. Boy is Jaddu batting like magic here. Showing all the experience and batting like a pro test batsman.

Keep going boys!! This could be a very special win if we get there[DOUBLEPOST=1609051800][/DOUBLEPOST]

What? Starc looked pedestrian with the second new ball. No shape, nothing. Rahane handled him like a boss

Starc bowled 2 overs with the new ball. Rahane was dropped once by Smith and he played and missed 4 deliveries and hit 2 beautiful 4’s before getting hit on the knee.

That last delivery was a ripper as well. Australia’s fielding has been down right atrocious. Dropped one yesterday and 5 today. Again not all easy but in a match like this, that is make or break.

Fascinating day comes to an end. Enjoyed every bit of it. Gill and Pujara did try to dig it out. If Gill had survived one more over from Cummins, he could have scored a big one. Pujara did all he could but got a beauty of a delivery. Vihari played an unnecessary shot. He was looking good until he played that rash shot. Pant for me changed the course of this game. His attack made Australia change plans. Yet it was stupid of him to go after Starc and could have waited until we got the lead but that is exactly how he is going to play and get confidence. Rahane and Jadeja were fantastic. I was still at peace when I saw Jaddu come out to bat. His transformation has been amazing and I have been saying since IPL, Jaddu the batsman has improved tremendously.

If we can get another 100-120 runs, Australia will have to bat their skin out. Game on and advantage India. The ball is turning quite a bit and Jaddu and Ashwin will be super dangerous in the 2nd innings.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Careless shot from Pant. Could've waited till we got past the lead to take on the likes of Starc. Yes he has shown better application than Saha and got better runs, but this was the chance to make a huge impact.

Vihari got out in a worse fashion. You have to let Pant be. I rather he gets out like that than try to bat like Pujara and die wondering. You have to accept some of the bad things that come in a package. Give him time. I actually think Pant was the one that got the Aussies on the hop. He can change games in the space of an hour and also let you down by getting out foolishly sometimes. We must not be overly critical when that happens.[DOUBLEPOST=1609054670][/DOUBLEPOST]Only in India Jadeja could have been an uncertain starter for the last 3-4 years. I have been crying for ages now that he is sort of a spin bowling version of Ben Stokes with more focus on bowling. OK, we are on the outside but what has the team management been doing these last few years?