The New Lockdown Wacky Match-Ups Thread

[wasteyouryouth]

Best cricket going on anywhere in the world this.

 

[Wavelberry]

Final session and a massive one for Team Pujara. Could they get a lead and how big would it be?


733 all out. It looked a bit grim when the 7th and 8th wickets fell but good partnerships and contributions from Pujara 10 and 11 gave the Indian boyz a vital 111 run lead. Will it be enough? So far both men have made stupid decisions with Pujara electing to bowl first and then Cook declaring after losing just ONE wicket. Whose stupid decision will prove to be more costly?



Got a bit messy towards the end. Cook 3 was probably the pick of the bowlers although Cook 2 and 5 took a brace of wickets each. There were wickets for Cook's 6, 7, 8 and 9 as well but thoughts of bowling will have to be put to one side now as they face an important 3rd innings here.



One innings done each and you'd probably say advantage Che especially as we're not quite at the end of Day 3 yet so the Cooks will have a tricky mini-session to negotiate. Where is your money?

 

[Wavelberry]

Absolutely criminal of Cook to declare when he did TBQH

 

[Dutch]

Cook needs to drop Cook in favour of Cook!

 

[blockerdave]

how annoyed are you the bloody 12th man go a catch!

 

[Wavelberry]

how annoyed are you the bloody 12th man go a catch!

So annoyed. I even thought to myself 'I should just copy another Cook and replace him' but then was like 'naaaah it won't matter'. In a match where Pujara bowled first and Cook declared only at 622-1 this might have been the worst decision of the lot.

 

[Wavelberry]

Day Four dawns (Cook survive the three overs to the close) with Pujara in the ascendancy. Early wickets could turn the match decisively in the home man's favour and...



Well... Another century for Cook 2 at a run a ball, he'll be wanting to go massive now while Cook Prime has added 62 to go with the 294* in the first innings to give the team a 68 run lead and turn the match decisively back in his team's favour. It may be a dustbowl in Kolkata but Pujara can't do anything with the ball it seems and unless he can precipitate a collapse in the second session now faces a question of how many Cook will set him.

 

[Wavelberry]

And so to tea on Day Four. This would be the session that would decide whether Pujara was going for a win or a draw,


Draw it is then. Cook 2 will be gutted to get out for just a middling 100s score again but Cook Prime is still there on 144 with Cook 3 following up his double from the first innings with a punchy 32. Now, in the real world Cook is/was a cautious 3rd innings declarer but he went off for no reason in the first innings so I wonder whether he'll feel like he'll want a few overs tonight?


The ten Pujaras bowling (except for Pujara Prime) doesn't make good reading as again Cook is going at a very good clip. Pujara 5 took the wicket but who knows if he was fifth choice in the first innings? The joys of this experiment and me not differentiating them somehow. The lead is 227. Real life Cook would want 400 before even thinking of declaring so let's see what happens.

 

[Wavelberry]

The final session. How cautious would he be and how fast would he go? Which he? Who knows...

Wickets! Cook Prime finally out for just 144, Cook 3 only making 50, Cook's 4, 5 and 6 getting a bat with Cook 4 eyeing a century and only 50 for Cook 5. A psychological victory maybe for the Che Team getting them out? Although the score is 504-4 so...


Pujara Prime continues to be the best bowler although for some reason Pujara 4 has had more overs than anyone else and done nothing with it. Pujara 5 has 2 scalps now with Pujara 2 snaffling the only other wicket. I'd give Pujara 9 a few more overs myself but then I'm not Pujara.



So going into Day 5 the match is poised. Now Cook just smashed 500 in a day so I can see why he's not declaring yet despite Pujara batting slower than he did in the first innings so I am of the opinion that this match is actually quite evenly poised with all four results possible on the final day.

Who will win?

 

[blockerdave]

I would say the result where one of them gets 10 wickets in under a day and <450 runs is absolutely out of the question.

could be famous last words.

 

[Wavelberry]

About to do Day 5...

 

[Wavelberry]

Well...


At lunch and he's still batting. Century for Cook 4 and another one looking very likely for Cook 6. He leads by 570 and with 60 overs to go I would say now is the time to declare but there is no sign of it just yet which at least is true to A N Cook form.

Post automatically merged: Jan 10, 2021

HA HA HA. No lie. He batted one over after lunch and Cook 6 was left on 96*. 684-6 declared and 574 needed to win for Che

 

[Wavelberry]

Tea and the draw is absolutely nailed on...


Think Cook declared too early in the first innings and too late in the second. Classic.

So let's skip straight to the denouement...

Guess it became a road as both opening Che's get centuries with Che Prime getting a 150. Well this fizzled out and it turns out a hard dusty pitch was just a road.


So there we have it. The first test is a draw which I think Cook will be happier with although Team Pujara will be pleased to have not lost a wicket on the final afternoon. Alastair Cook is deservedly Player of the Match in a test match that saw in 2352 runs in 440.1 overs and a run rate of 5.4. What will we see at Chester-le-Street on a Durham greentop? Who knows...

 

[Wavelberry]

For Durham I am just going to give end of innings/day updates as I simulate but for Test 3 I will be doing it LIVE *insert airhorn and @Dutch fainting sounds*

It's a green top as predicted and there is rain around so of course Cook won the toss and decided to bat first. LOGIC>

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Does the winner play Gary Ballance?