*Official* Australia in India 2023

[Shady Slim]

Got ridiculed for my stance on Khawaja on Friday...

This was clearly a pitch so flat that even Kohli could get a ton. As good as Khawaja's knock was, it never took India out of their comfort zone, they cruised past that inadequate 480 with a batsman down too. If Australia wanted to win this game (and they needed to), they had to score a minimum 400 a day on a pitch as placid as this. And so what if they got out giving it a go, does losing 3-1 or 2-1 really make a difference?

Those hoping it would break up on Days 4 and 5 either didn't read the pitch or were plucking at straws. A weak strategy and getting what it deserved. Hoping this kind of thinking is brought to The Ashes too because it will get chewed up and spat out.

india in this series at various points have been bundled out for 262, 109, and 163. when they got to 400 they were too many for not enough until the all rounders came to the party. sure, it's a bit roady. maybe even a true low and slow road. but it was hardly a foregone conclusion that this indian lineup would get to 250 let alone 578

 

[Molehill]

Very weird post. You've come back in the dying throes of the match on day five with this sort of junk. No one scored freely on this until yesterday arvo after India took a lead.

The 480 wasn't inadequate because of Khawaja though. He made 180 ffs.

The pitch is still flat now. It's half way through day five and doing nothing. Aus has been 6 out all out the entire series. You have to play the cards you're dealt. There certainly would have been a result had they slogged their way out for 280.

They could probably play on this for another five days and be lucky to get a result.

I don't generally post on weekends, so thought I'd pop back now.

I was told this was going to break up on Days 4 and 5. What happened?

 

[Molehill]

All we're learning here is that forcing a result on this pitch is basically impossible.

No doubt you'd have said the same about Rawalpindi....

It may well have been, but it never felt like Australia really gave it a go.

 

[Spark]

India didn't need to score any quicker because they didn't need to win the game.

Or maybe they were playing the bowling on its merits and scoring as quickly or as slowly as they were allowed to?

Seriously what is it with people just wholesale fabricating five dimensional chess strategies to fit their preferred narrative rather than just looking at 5 days of slow batting and taking it at face value? Both sides have flat out come out and said that scoring quickly was difficult on this pitch but no us reading their minds on CW somehow know differently.

 

[Zinzan]

I don't generally post on weekends, so thought I'd pop back now.

I was told this was going to break up on Days 4 and 5. What happened?

They secretly switched it with a NZ drop-in after Day 3.

 

[Burgey]

I don't generally post on weekends, so thought I'd pop back now.

I was told this was going to break up on Days 4 and 5. What happened?

Who told you that?

 

[Spark]

No doubt you'd have said the same about Rawalpindi....

No doubt Australia would have found it easier to score against the prank standard attack that Pakistan fielded rather than, you know, the best attack in the world over the last five years with blokes who take their wickets in the teens at home.

Since the actual bowling itself, and the quality of it, is by necessity utterly irrelevant to whether the batsmen can score quickly in this entire theory, it's no surprise that you're claiming that anyone can score 400 in a day against Ashwin and Jadeja at home.

 

[morgieb]

India didn't need to score any quicker because they didn't need to win the game.

I mean they did if they wanted to guarantee qualification for the World Test Championship.

 

[social]

Yeah this pitch is every bit as bad as the one rated poor early in the series

Having a pitch that ensures a relatively even contest between bat & ball shouldn’t be that hard to produce

 

[Zinzan]

No doubt Australia would have found it easier to score against the prank standard attack that Pakistan fielded rather than, you know, the best attack in the world over the last five years with blokes who take their wickets in the teens at home.

Lol, has your posting style always been as sarcastic, facetious, intolerant & cynical or am I just noticing it more in recent times?

 

[Molehill]

Who told you that?

Have people seriously never watched a game on a flat pitch in India before? Aus could bat until lunch tomorrow and still have a good shot at victory, Days 4 and 5 on pitches like these are nothing like Days 1 and 2

Turns out Days 4 and 5 are everything like Days 1 and 2.

 

[Molehill]

I mean they did if they wanted to guarantee qualification for the World Test Championship.

I think you're placing far too much emphasis on the lure of the WTC there. Still not entirely sure this Indian Team want to travel to Lord's for a Test Match straight after the IPL.

 

[Spark]

Turns out Days 4 and 5 are everything like Days 1 and 2.

Yes and had they bowled India out in the earlier stages yesterday with a solid first innings lead, they might have forced a result. That didn't happen because India batted well, and so this is going to be a draw. You don't have a magical right to conjure up a result against a strong team on a pitch like this.

Had they batted like you suggested and started trying to blast boundaries against Ashwin and Jadeja on Day 1, then this Test would almost certainly have ended yesterday. With India winning by an innings.

 

[Sunil1z]

This pitch is like MCG 2017 Ashes pitch . Complete Road

 

[Raz0r6ack]

A pitch like this was always on the cards with India up 2-1 with one to go.

 

[Sunil1z]

I think you're placing far too much emphasis on the lure of the WTC there. Still not entirely sure this Indian Team want to travel to Lord's for a Test Match straight after the IPL.

Nah WTC Final matters . Rohit has been talking about it since the beginning of this series.

 

[Molehill]

No doubt Australia would have found it easier to score against the prank standard attack that Pakistan fielded rather than, you know, the best attack in the world over the last five years with blokes who take their wickets in the teens at home.

Since the actual bowling itself, and the quality of it, is by necessity utterly irrelevant to whether the batsmen can score quickly in this entire theory, it's no surprise that you're claiming that anyone can score 400 in a day against Ashwin and Jadeja at home.

Thankfully for them, they don't always bowl on pitches like this. If ever they were going to get taken down, this was the time for it. But we'll never know if it was possible because the team with everything to gain didn't bother to give it a go.

This pitch is so flat, even Travis Head is heading for a century outside Australia!!

 

[Spark]

This pitch is like MCG 2017 Ashes pitch . Complete Road

Yeah I was expecting it to behave much more like this https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...vs-west-indies-3rd-test-535999/full-scorecard than what it's been.

 

[Sunil1z]

Thankfully for them, they don't always bowl on pitches like this. If ever they were going to get taken down, this was the time for it. But we'll never know if it was possible because the team with everything to gain didn't bother to give it a go.

This pitch is so flat, even Travis Head is heading for a century outside Australia!!

You are under-rating both IND/AUS side a bit here . Both Teams don’t want to lose . So unless there is a batting collapse due to brainfade from one side , it is difficult to get result.

 

[Spark]

Thankfully for them, they don't always bowl on pitches like this. If ever they were going to get taken down, this was the time for it. But we'll never know if it was possible because the team with everything to gain didn't bother to give it a go.

This pitch is so flat, even Travis Head is heading for a century outside Australia!!

These two have won tons of games for India on flat pitches like these. In fact turners being the norm is a fairly recent thing.