India tour of South Africa

Early advantage squandered away ... Expecting a lot from Ashwin here. He needs to pick ABD before he races away to a matchwinning ton
 
Plenty of assumptions and presumptions here. There really is no proof to suggest that captaincy is taking a toll on his batting. If anything, he has piled up runs in a much more ruthless manner post captaincy, playing many long innings as well. Regarding team selection, barring maybe Nohit Sharma, I don't see any other proof of friendship based selection. And mind you, he is not the one who sings praises about Nohit. Nohit gets praise from everywhere not just Kohli. And Tactically, he might not have been perfect, but he hasn't been too bad either. Here is hoping, he will only learn from his mistakes.

So there really is NO CASE against Kohli's captaincy.[DOUBLEPOST=1516007857][/DOUBLEPOST]And you guys tend to forget one thing, even the benched players sing praises of Kohli the captain. That shows he has gained the respect of the team (including MSD) with his work and his attitude. Its not easy to gain respect of a diverse group of players.
It's an assumption as well when you say captaincy is not taking a toll on his batting. He got better with time just like anyone else, is captaincy the reason for scoring runs? Dhawan and so many more examples out there which I fail to recall suggest he has been selecting based on friendship, that is also excluding the RCB/MI quota. I'm yet to notice people praising his captaincy, people have respect for Kohli - the batsman not the skipper. Anyway, my opinion won't make any difference hence I started it with 'unpopular opinion'. Let's move on. And I respect what you said. Cheers.

On topic:
Bumrah gave us a great start with those two quick wickets, we desperately need to get AB out as soon as we can if we really want to win this.
 
Pitch should hold on the last day, Kohli did well to get them close to the SA 1st inns score.

India still ahead me thinks.
 
We need a flurry of wickets like the first test. If we dont get them out below 200, I think the game would be in SA's favor.
 
We need a flurry of wickets like the first test. If we dont get them out below 200, I think the game would be in SA's favor.

Its advantage SA already. Kohli is more focussed on displaying his anger than marshalling his resources. The Indian slip cordon is a mess. They have no clue about the angles.
 
Its advantage SA already. Kohli is more focussed on displaying his anger than marshalling his resources. The Indian slip cordon is a mess. They have no clue about the angles.
Have to agree with this. Pommie in the commentary box was saying the same thing that instead of focusing on the rains and ball getting wet, Kohli should be focusing on getting this match back into India's favor. I was a little bit of a fan of Kohli's aggression when it came to him being just a player, now that he is a captain it looks super bad.
 
The batsmanship in this test match has been quite poor. Had SA not decided to commit harakiri at the end of Day 1, this test match would have looked very different to what it is now. I had predicted after the first innings that India will get 500 but I think I'll be proven wrong. Kohli has made it count on a track that suits him but credit to him for doing it in the situation he has. People need to recognise and differentiate his critics of batting and captaincy/leadership. He's one of the best batters in the world and also the most stupid captain.

35 odd test appearances and if you've never played the same side.. that says a lot!

So the track doesn't suit any other batsman? Just Kohli? Their bowlers were getting reverse swing and movement with the pace and height they can bowl with. It definitely wasn't easy and I wouldn't say the track suited him, yes it did have less movement than the last test but why didn't anyone else score if it was that easy of a track?
 
The only hopes for India are if Ashwin or Shami(with reverse swing) can run through this South Africa batting line-up tomorrow and trigger a collapse like the one in Cape town. Anything above 220 will be challenging considering we are relying on Virat very heavily in the batting department.
 
On what basis should Kohli quit test captaincy? Because he lost 1 match overseas and made some poor team selections and has preferred Rohit over Rahane?

I hope you guys are being funny. Because this makes no sense whatsoever. He is just coming off a killer run with his test team at home and he himself was in excellent form. We have historically struggled overseas and he is not the first captain to make ridiculous selection/tactical decisions when on an overseas tour. You only need to look as far as our beloved MSD :) I understand the frustration of Rahane not being played. I was upset as well as a fan and well wisher of Team India, but the suggestions being made here sound like India just got knocked out of the first round of world cup after losing to Canada and USA

Nobody, not me in the very least expects Kohli to give up the reins. He will have to be fired from the job.

You're asking the basis for his dismissal? Exactly what has he achieved that no past Indian skipper hasn't? The whole cricketing world knows of India's prowess when they play at home. We're as difficult to beat as anybody ever if not the most difficult.

What exactly is the basis for being selected by this management?

Under Anil Kumble, a clear cut directive had been issued that if you lose your place, you prove your form and fitness in the domestic circuit and you can make it back to the squad. At the same time, he recognised the value and essence of someone like Pujara who was an established test player and didn't feel the need to drop or tinker with him. Kohli was very keen to have Rohit Sharma at 3 if you remember but sense prevailed, Pujara got his form back and he was back where he belonged. Today, Kohli could go through a string of ten pairs in tests and I would still back him to be at no.4. He's fit, committed and an asset to the side. Great captains and leaders back people when they're down. This business of picking horses for courses is absolutely rubbish. He dropped Bhuvi for this test because the pitch doesn't suit him. So when we go to England should we drop Kohli? The moment you type case a cricketer, you neglect his growth and destroy his urge and scope to become a better cricketer. Any idiot will tell you that Bhuvi is not the one dimensional pace bowler he once was. He is the leader of our attack and if managed well could be one of the best ever from our country.

Let me ask you, why exactly does Rohit Sharma play ahead of a Karun Nair? Even if I stomach the fact that Rahane is out of sorts and can't hold a bat what exactly has Rohit Sharma done to play ahead of Karun Nair? Exactly why does Bumrah walk in to bowl the first over in his second test after not having bowled for a YEAR in domestic cricket?

Captains will always make tactical blunders, Indian or not Indian but I have in my 25 years of watching cricket never seen a captain with so much power handed to him. He is literally toying with the careers of players and if people don't see that they're blind or stupid or both.

I genuinely appreciate your passion in supporting the team but vehemently disagree with your assessment of the current scenario. It is worth noting that MSD was the crossover bridge who took over when the legends were in their twilight and handed the team over to Kohli when he had formed a side that could compete anywhere. He wasn't tactically astute nor the most decorated test captain but he was the most selfless individual in the country's history. If Kohli can embrace 20% of that humility and selflessness he might reignite the lost passion and vigour in some of us long time fans.
 
Hashim Amla and AB Devillas so overrated!

Amla had a good run a couple years back but couldnt sustain it and now a walking wicket whenever he take up his mark!

Ab devillers is the quintessential Indian batsman (yes Indian) BEAT UP ON WEAK TEAMS LIKE WI! This here pitch is AB's turf, like Sehwag he gonna bully the flat pitch!

South Africa are better off having both retired, surely they can find some youngsters to bat!

Rabada! W@ow! On a dead sub continent pitch has bowled perfect.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-new...iddhiman-saha-india-tour-of-south-africa-2018

Unfortunate for Saha but seriously where are the decent keeper batters in the country? Pant? Sheldon Jackson ? Hardly heard of Jackson in the last 2 seasons.

Only MSD!
 
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I wasn't expecting India to cross 300. But kudos to Kohli and Ashwin for batting the way that they did. We had a dream start in the SA 2nd Innings, having them 2 down without much on the board. Sadly, ABD and Elgar have nullified that.

If somehow we can have a repeat of what happened in the first Test, I would fancy our chances of winning the game. But that's a big if.
 
Hashim Amla and AB Devillas so overrated!

Amla had a good run a couple years back but couldnt sustain it and now a walking wicket whenever he take up his mark!

Ab devillers is the quintessential Indian batsman (yes Indian) BEAT UP ON WEAK TEAMS LIKE WI! This here pitch is AB's turf, like Sehwag he gonna bully the flat pitch!

South Africa are better off having both retired, surely they can find some youngsters to bat!

Rabada! W@ow! On a dead sub continent pitch has bowled perfect.



Only MSD!

Completely agree with you! :lol
 
Nobody, not me in the very least expects Kohli to give up the reins. He will have to be fired from the job.

You're asking the basis for his dismissal? Exactly what has he achieved that no past Indian skipper hasn't? The whole cricketing world knows of India's prowess when they play at home. We're as difficult to beat as anybody ever if not the most difficult.

What exactly is the basis for being selected by this management?

Under Anil Kumble, a clear cut directive had been issued that if you lose your place, you prove your form and fitness in the domestic circuit and you can make it back to the squad. At the same time, he recognised the value and essence of someone like Pujara who was an established test player and didn't feel the need to drop or tinker with him. Kohli was very keen to have Rohit Sharma at 3 if you remember but sense prevailed, Pujara got his form back and he was back where he belonged. Today, Kohli could go through a string of ten pairs in tests and I would still back him to be at no.4. He's fit, committed and an asset to the side. Great captains and leaders back people when they're down. This business of picking horses for courses is absolutely rubbish. He dropped Bhuvi for this test because the pitch doesn't suit him. So when we go to England should we drop Kohli? The moment you type case a cricketer, you neglect his growth and destroy his urge and scope to become a better cricketer. Any idiot will tell you that Bhuvi is not the one dimensional pace bowler he once was. He is the leader of our attack and if managed well could be one of the best ever from our country.

Let me ask you, why exactly does Rohit Sharma play ahead of a Karun Nair? Even if I stomach the fact that Rahane is out of sorts and can't hold a bat what exactly has Rohit Sharma done to play ahead of Karun Nair? Exactly why does Bumrah walk in to bowl the first over in his second test after not having bowled for a YEAR in domestic cricket?

Captains will always make tactical blunders, Indian or not Indian but I have in my 25 years of watching cricket never seen a captain with so much power handed to him. He is literally toying with the careers of players and if people don't see that they're blind or stupid or both.

I genuinely appreciate your passion in supporting the team but vehemently disagree with your assessment of the current scenario. It is worth noting that MSD was the crossover bridge who took over when the legends were in their twilight and handed the team over to Kohli when he had formed a side that could compete anywhere. He wasn't tactically astute nor the most decorated test captain but he was the most selfless individual in the country's history. If Kohli can embrace 20% of that humility and selflessness he might reignite the lost passion and vigour in some of us long time fans.

I am sorry but this sounds like a gross over reaction to the whole situation. Just because previous captains have tasted the same amount of success as Kohli at home (highly arguably), doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be the captain. He has been the most prolific and consistent batsman in the team over the last few years and across all formats and deserves to be the captain.

Regarding team selection. Every captain has their favorites and has made awful selections. MSD had a fair amount of power as well when it came to selecting players. He almost ruined Ashwin's career by turning him into am ultra defensive bowler. Rohit got an unfair extended run under MSD as well. But we seriously do not have to get into such details otherwise, because I do not wish to criticize MSD the captain. All I am saying is, these 2 errors by Kohli and the management are nothing new. Everyone has done such things. Bhuvi I think has been handled fairly well. I would not be too sure of picking him for this pitch either, if not for the stability he provides with his lower order batting. Bumrah has actually performed well in the opportunities he has gotten.

Dropping Kohli for England series over what happened 4 years ago when everyone except for Vijay failed sounds very silly as an argument. Then we should drop Pujara as well. You cannot just read everything in black and white when it comes to team selection.

About humility, yes he lacks that. But you have to agree he has actually piped down a lot from 4 years ago. You cannot change a person's basic characteristics. Regarding selflessness, he is pretty damn selfless. He is always looked out for the team and match situations over personal glory. So far. About handing over a well formed side to Kohli, Fine. Even if that were true, and MSD was the Steve Waugh to our Ricky Ponting Kohli, still achieving what he has done with the team is no easy task. Still plenty to prove for Kohli, but he has definitely not done anything to deserve being removed as captain. He is the only player who deserves to be captain at this point of time. Only change I would suggest would be he can quit T20 captaincy to decrease his workload.
 
Wicket actually looks to be playing better than yesterday for batting
 

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