***Official*** South Africa in India 2015

[Daemon]

First failure for Vijay this series

 

[Flem274*]

after watching a game where one bloke had to regularly bowl 155kph with the weight of scoreboard pressure behind him and a guy on the other team had to bowl beautiful lines on day 4 to have a hope of a little reward, this pitch is fun.

 

[Teja.]

Pujara, please bore us.

He's the batsman most suited to bat in these conditions. Have no faith in Kohli/Rahane to not showboat.

 

[indiaholic]

Johnson's cutters would have been a nightmare here.

 

[Daemon]

Pujara, please bore us.

He's the batsman most suited to bat in these conditions. Have no faith in Kohli/Rahane to not showboat.

I really want someone to ton up with ease against some non trash bowling (basically Tahir doesn't get a bowl) so the people wahhing about the pitch like Hayden can stfu.

 

[Daemon]

lol at morkel bowling cutters.

 

[Gob]

Havent seen much of play so is there any turn?

 

[OverratedSanity]

Haha pretty smart from Morkel really.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Havent seen much of play so is there any turn?

Plenty

 

[Howe_zat]

Havent seen much of play so is there any turn?

Morne Morkel is bowling 70mph off spin

 

[artvandalay]

I think there's a decent argument to be made for some of the SAF players to not try blocking if they can't trust their defence in these conditions, they may perish anyway but a 20-30 where you might end up spreading the field is better than getting out wondering. A lot of people here get touchy when the pitch is being mentioned but 2 times this series we've had surfaces that haven't played true to their general nature, I believe quite a few bowlers who are of average Ranji level could've done what Jadeja has done here and in Mohali. Unless you're someone like Cook, Misbah or Younis you need to be positive to have a chance here.

 

[Furball]

I don't get this. If I was being facetious then I'd say that a pitch where Ravindra Jadeja looks competent is obviously a poor one that needs reporting but it's not as if Ashwin was pitching it on the leftie's off stump and spinning it to slip, or the ball's been taking off from a good length. I've not seen any deliveries where the turn and bounce has made me go 'wow, that's just completely unfair.'

Green, seaming wickets where 300 is a good score get praised as being good for cricket, batsmen can't have things all their own way, T20 is ruining technique, in my day we knew how to defend. Why the double standard when the pitch offers turn (and it's not like the quicks have been out the game)

 

[Furball]

lol at morkel bowling cutters.

Best way to extract movement. Smart bowling to exploit the conditions.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

What a farce. At least with a greentop it is usually pretty good for batting on in the 2nd innings (and in the case of the Basin Reserve - a day one greentop becomes a road). This is incredibly difficult for the entire (2/3 days of the) test match.

At least after AB's duck, Kane Williamson now has a decent chance of going to no1 in the world rankings.

 

[indiaholic]

What a farce. At least with a greentop it is usually pretty good for batting on in the 2nd innings (and in the case of the Basin Reserve - a day one greentop becomes a road). This is incredibly difficult for the entire (2/3 days of the) test match.

At least after AB's duck, Kane Williamson now has a decent chance of going to no1 in the world rankings.

If it is easier to bat in the second innings, it is too toss dependent.

 

[Flem274*]

What a farce. At least with a greentop it is usually pretty good for batting on in the 2nd innings (and in the case of the Basin Reserve - a day one greentop becomes a road). This is incredibly difficult for the entire (2/3 days of the) test match.

At least after AB's duck, Kane Williamson now has a decent chance of going to no1 in the world rankings.

haha, example A of the anti-spin bias talked about in the past few pages

 

[Pratters]

As I mentioned during the earlier test, these wickets are nonsense. Problem is people can't be set in them. Example of a Turner or a bouncy wicket like Durban is not right. If one criticises flat tracks which lead to boring draws, one should be critical of these too. Why have tests named as five day games when they will be over in three. Absolutely ridiculous.

Having said this, I am split regarding variety aspect though. As long as a pitch is not dangerous, cricket can be played on it. This pitch supports luck far more than skill. Even a skilled player is likely to get a ball to get him out for naught, say. However it does offer variety. That way, it's not bad at all.

 

[indiaholic]

Having said this, I am split regarding variety aspect though. As long as a pitch is not dangerous, cricket can be played on it. This pitch supports luck far more than skill. Even a skilled player is likely to get a ball to get him out for naught, say. However it does offer variety. That way, it's not bad at all.

Bah! Give me the list of dismissals that happened due to bad luck. Are you guys watching the game?

 

[Pratters]

When players know they can't last long, they will go for a hit out and make a quick 30-40 approach. Makes the dismissals look bad but they are very much because of the pitch.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

If it is easier to bat in the second innings, it is too toss dependent.

I meant 3rd and 4th innings.
1st innings worst for batting.
2nd innings ok for both
3rd innings great for batting
4th innings - hopefully tough for final chase