*Official* India in South Africa

[b1acksun]

Upper****

Also, can everyone stfu and stop jinxing India. Especially the Indian fans!

Psssh, I laugh at people who think that the universe cares about their forum posts.

 

[Manee]

Someone mentioned county cricket earlier, and this would be a great option for Ishant IMO. With IPL clashing with the county season, this is a distant dream for Indian bowlers.

Surely Ishant won't hold down a place in an IPL team. His bowling in T20 is largely terrible.

 

[weldone]

With a lead of 74 against South Africa?!

Yeah, and keeping in mind India's batting lineup (and how they batted in the second innings last time), and of course the Bhajji factor in the fourth innings on this pitch...

 

[Vroomfondel]

Already I managed to get $150 on SA at $3.15 odds.

If Steyn cleans us up here, at least I'll be able to buy that new jacket I was looking at.

If India win, jacketless glory

No worries, there will be plenty to be had on ebay in a week or two (but only if green's your colour). Can also pick up a matching baggy green, perhaps.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah, and keeping in mind India's batting lineup (and how they batted in the second innings last time), and of course the Bhajji factor in the fourth innings on this pitch...

I mean, you're obviously favourites, but this game's wide open.. South Africa still have the better overall attack and a similar-quality batting lineup.

 

[ankitj]

Optimistic prediction: SA to fold out for 180

Jeez. I was so pessimistic

 

[Manee]

What do you guys reckon would be a good target for South Africa ?

We cannot count on a repeat performance from Zaheer and Harbhajan and Sreesanth/Ishant will always be ****. Therefore, I would not feel confident with any target under 400. However, a sensible target, for me, will have to be over 250, minimum.

 

[Contra]

I mean, you're obviously favourites, but this game's wide open.. South Africa still have the better overall attack and a similar-quality batting lineup.

I guess it's more like "we can't possible screw it up from here" kind of thing. 74 runs is big on this pitch. We need to make it count.

 

[Evermind]

Surely Ishant won't hold down a place in an IPL team. His bowling in T20 is largely terrible.

"Largely terrible" is a move up from his test bowling.

 

[Vroomfondel]

Surely Ishant won't hold down a place in an IPL team. His bowling in T20 is largely terrible.

Let's hope (for his sake).

 

[Blaze 18]

And Indian fans will stop claiming that South Africa's obscenely awesome batting lineup is not that special and they would have won the first test had they won the toss .

Just to clarify, I did not say India would have won the first test for sure. I only said South Africa would have had a much harder time of it. The conditions that India got on the first day were in stark contrast to what the South Africans did on the second and third days. Granted the Indian batting and bowling were both woeful, but let us not pretend that the toss didn't make any difference.

 

[Uppercut]

I guess it's more like "we can't possible screw it up from here" kind of thing. 74 runs is big on this pitch. We need to make it count.

Yeah true.

I wouldn't say it's yours to lose yet, though. Still so much cricket still to be played, and low-scoring games can change in an instant- one quality spell and one quality innings from here potentially gives South Africa the match.

 

[Manee]

"Largely terrible" is a move up from his test bowling.

Indeed. I was optimistic that he'd do something today, having found footage of his NZ performance. But it looks as though my optimism was unfounded.

 

[Briony]

SA's attack is really not better when you look at Tsotsobe and Harris. Morkel was a bit down. So much depends on Steyn who hasn't had much rest. Kallis is not what he was. Surely the selectors might look at Parnell who would also shore up the batting.

 

[Jono]

Psssh, I laugh at people who think that the universe cares about their forum posts.

You weren't here during the Australia in India series obviously, when our anti-jinxing turned a match on its head

Sure Laxman and Ishant had something to do with it, but it was mainly our anti-jinxing.

 

[b1acksun]

Still so much cricket still to be played, and low-scoring games can change in an instant- one quality spell and one quality innings from here potentially gives South Africa the match.

This.

 

[Contra]

Yeah true.

I wouldn't say it's yours to lose yet, though. Still so much cricket still to be played, and low-scoring games can change in an instant- one quality spell and one quality innings from here potentially gives South Africa the match.

I agree, just that the chances of that happening is less likely now than it was on day one. So if we do get bowled out cheaply now it will be more of us not batting well than SA bowling well.

 

[shankar]

Chennai / Mumbai / Eden / Nagpur / Mohali / Bangalore are all good grounds. Lets just stick to them.

Unfortunately pretty much all those wickets have become slow-low pancakes. Among that list the last match of the SA series in Mumbai (at the Brabourne stadium not Wankhede) was on a wicket that was of the 90's-'02 variety. But can't remember any recent matches at the other grounds which weren't slow+low turners.

 

[weldone]

I mean, you're obviously favourites, but this game's wide open.. South Africa still have the better overall attack and a similar-quality batting lineup.

And they were 74 runs behind, and will have to bat last...

They can win of course, but that'd need superb efforts from Kallis, Amla and AB...I don't see India getting less than 300 in this innings...

 

[Blaze 18]

SA's attack is really not better when you look at Tsotsobe and Harris. Morkel was a bit down. So much depends on Steyn who hasn't had much rest. Kallis is not what he was. Surely the selectors might look at Parnell who would also shore up the batting.

I agree - if you take out Dale Steyn, then there is little to choose between the two attacks. The problem from an Indian perspective is that Steyn makes a massive difference.