***Official*** 4th Test @ The Oval, London - 2nd-6th September

[honestbharani]

Idk this feels like the kind of grass that looks impressive rather than really does anything.

Which is why I added it might backfire and this ground may not be one where they can do that to order. But it looks as "prepared" as Chennai 2nd test or Ahmedabad 4th test looked.

 

[Spark]

Which is why I added it might backfire and this ground may not be one where they can do that to order. But it looks as "prepared" as Chennai 2nd test or Ahmedabad 4th test looked.

Nah you can definitely leave a loooot more grass on a pitch than this. This looks like a lot of NZ pitches tend to.

 

[honestbharani]

I understood the selection at Nottingham and Lords. But Ash should have been playing both at Leeds and here. They are punishing Ash for the fast bowlers not being able to bat and the middle order not being in form, which is stupid.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

I dont think Rohit is beyond stupid decisions like this either but the worry with Virat is how he seems to be like a dog with a bone with his ideas. Its fine to have certain ideas and beliefs but when it is shown they are not working, you have to move away from it. It seems like for Ashwin to play, we need Hardik Pandya in the side. That is beyond stupid.

I don't think Rohit would make such crazy decisions. He might make a few errors on-field here and there, which all captains not named MSD do, but at least he'll get the basics right when it comes to team selection and strategies.

 

[honestbharani]

Nah you can definitely leave a loooot more grass on a pitch than this. This looks like a lot of NZ pitches tend to.

You can but then you let it become a lottery. What if India won the toss and bowled? Its the same as the surfaces I mentioned coz I felt they were the same. Turners but not quite rank turners which shows they are worried about their batting line up getting rolled too.

 

[honestbharani]

I don't think Rohit would make such crazy decisions. He might make a few errors on-field here and there, which all captains not named MSD do, but at least he'll get the basics right when it comes to team selection and strategies.

Nah... people forget his silly decisions in Nidahas coz DK pulled off a blinder. He is just as arrogant and bone headed to make such decisions as Virat. In the MI dressing room, the other seniors balance it out. But yes, I agree Rohit will more likely learn from a mistake than Virat seems to be able to. Which is shocking coz I felt this was one area that he had improved as a captain, Virat. Seems like we are back to 2018 RSA tour Virat who doubles down on his idiotic selections.

Honestly, our best test captaincy option still is Rahane.

 

[silentstriker]

Is Kohli too much into his own head? Just being stubborn and refusing to admit that picking a guy who just took 6/29 and is the second best rated bowler in the world might have been a good idea? It’s so ridiculous.

 

[social]

Kohli is an incredibly good player but his ego is the making & breaking of him

Sachin scored 200 by putting away the cover drive

Kohli would play more of them

 

[Spark]

Is Kohli too much into his own head? Just being stubborn and refusing to admit that picking a guy who just took 6/29 and is the second best rated bowler in the world might have been a good idea? It’s so ridiculous.

The 6/29 thing is what baffles me the most. The bloke is clearly in good form on these pitches no less

 

[Spark]

Nah... people forget his silly decisions in Nidahas coz DK pulled off a blinder. He is just as arrogant and bone headed to make such decisions as Virat. In the MI dressing room, the other seniors balance it out. But yes, I agree Rohit will more likely learn from a mistake than Virat seems to be able to. Which is shocking coz I felt this was one area that he had improved as a captain, Virat. Seems like we are back to 2018 RSA tour Virat who doubles down on his idiotic selections.

Honestly, our best test captaincy option still is Rahane.

Yeah I honestly don't think you win in Aus if Kohli is captain the whole way through. When the Aus bowlers tried to go ultra-aggressive your batsmen just knuckled down and absorbed everything and frustrated the hell out of the Aus bowlers. Kohli would have tried to match them and played straight into their hands. He's just too much of a good thing in terms of his captaincy style of this team, they don't need any more fire and aggression.

 

[slippy888]

Why play Yumesh Yadav and not Ashwin it looks another bad selection

 

[Burgey]

Nah you can definitely leave a loooot more grass on a pitch than this. This looks like a lot of NZ pitches tend to.

Remember that Ashes series where they prepped it here to resemble Mumbai day four? Just a horrendous sporting nation.

 

[Burgey]

Is Kohli too much into his own head? Just being stubborn and refusing to admit that picking a guy who just took 6/29 and is the second best rated bowler in the world might have been a good idea? It’s so ridiculous.

Wouldn’t be the first bloke to get set in his ways.

 

[Spark]

Remember that Ashes series where they prepped it here to resemble Mumbai day four? Just a horrendous sporting nation.

That was a horrible series quality-wise in general. It's not even as if Swann was what won England that series in the end, aside from those unbelievably bad collapses at Lord's which frankly had nothing to do with the pitch.

 

[Spark]

You can but then you let it become a lottery. What if India won the toss and bowled? Its the same as the surfaces I mentioned coz I felt they were the same. Turners but not quite rank turners which shows they are worried about their batting line up getting rolled too.

Yeah but "so green it's almost a lottery" is basically the only time you should bowl first IMO.

Decent over by Woakes hey.

 

[honestbharani]

Rahul Dravid said back in 2007 that every captain has a shelf life. I am into the over the top bashing of Virat which is mostly stupid and comes out of jealousy. But it is obvious now that his shelf life as captain is done. I hope we win this series and the WT20 and the guy finds it in him to resign from captaincy. We still need him to be the best allformat batsman in teh world, but a split captaincy post WT20 with Rohit in charge of LOs and Rahane in charge of tests could work best. May also bring the best out of whatever is left of Rahane, the batsman.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Needed that

 

[karan_fromthestands]

Perhaps because he doesn’t get picked when conditions don’t suit him.

But surprised England opted to bowl first here.

LOL, that's what people said when India toured Australia, and Ashwin made some key contributions with the bat and ball. He has been the most evolved spinner out of the current crop of bowlers, Jaddu has more or less been the same since quite a while and Ash keeps adding more to his arsenal.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Rahul Dravid said back in 2007 that every captain has a shelf life.

I was thinking at times this year that Root's time was up as captain too. His batting this year has been exceptional but not his captaincy which never has been.

 

[Shri]

how come anderson gets to spend so much time off the field when eng bowl

****in stay in the field or retire ffs