*Official* Australia in India 2023

[Starfighter]

The concern is that the old No Obvious Alternative excuse might be trotted out

This is one of my cricketing bugbears. Especially because Australia gives players a lot of rope and practically never gives fringe players a go in dead-rubber tests (which we play a lot of) so alternatives remain unexplored. It really is a case of 'we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas'.

The World Test Championship makes this even worse because it incentivises always picking the perceived best XI now (even if 3-0 up like last Ashes) and not making changes that might be perceived as destabilising (i.e. not dropping failing players), redoubling the inertia.

 

[Chrish]

Back in the days when I started watching, idea that Indian tail can hold the bat and score 10+ was unthinkable. And, now it’s the tail that keeps digging us out of the trouble.

How times have changed..

 

[Nintendo]

Back in the days when I started watching, idea that Indian tail can hold the bat and score 10+ was unthinkable. And, now it’s the tail that keeps digging us out of the trouble.

How times have changed..

The indian tail is pretty **** away from home tbf. In SA they fielded ashwin at 7, shardul at 8 and 3 #11's from memory.

 

[Sunil1z]

The indian tail is pretty **** away from home tbf. In SA they fielded ashwin at 7, shardul at 8 and 3 #11's from memory.

That is because we can’t play 3 spinners away from home .

 

[Chrish]

The indian tail is pretty **** away from home tbf. In SA they fielded ashwin at 7, shardul at 8 and 3 #11's from memory.

Fair point. But Ashwin and Vihari saved the game for example. This would had never happened with earlier teams.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Nah he's got nothing left mate. He's genuinely shot. He played that one anomalous dig in Melbourne vs SA but he's looked completely shot for at least a year, probably longer, and has looked shot again after it.

Weird that he's still looked mostly very good in the white-ball stuff. It's just Tests where he's lost it

 

[ashley bach]

No team in the history of cricket can whitewash this Australian side .

You are extremely underestimating Smith + Lyon+ Labu+ Cummins + Khwaja in current form

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[Sunil1z]

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Head needs to have 2 to 3 good years before being upgraded.

 

[CricAddict]

No team in the history of cricket can whitewash this Australian side .

You are extremely underestimating Smith + Lyon+ Labu+ Cummins + Khwaja in current form

Lyon will be useless in the Ashes this year. I am pretty sure about it. But yeah, the others you have mentioned will all probably do very well.

 

[Godard]

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With pant we would have won 3-0. I don’t anything would have been able to prevent a draw in Ahmedabad. But in Indore, Pant would have made a colossal difference.

 

[centurymaker]

So sad that Pant will miss the match in England as well as the South Africa series end of year and also the England home series next year where India could be in trouble without him!

I hope he is back by the next BGT in Dec 2024.

 

[Nintendo]

With pant we would have won 3-0. I don’t anything would have been able to prevent a draw in Ahmedabad. But in Indore, Pant would have made a colossal difference.

True. Though if Aus had green in the second test there's every chance that they win that test given that he averages 49 with the bat in asia compared to renshaw who had a negative impact that game and would have given us a 5th bowler.

 

[Godard]

I think Ashwin deserves MOTS tho. Was good on all decks. Indore was the only really dodgy one. Delhi merely spin friendly and Nagpur also not that much. And Ashwin outperformed all the other bowlers on this flat track. Plus Ashwin also played a key hand in the Delhi rescue. Axar great with the bat, but not even a little difference with the ball.

 

[TheJediBrah]

With pant we would have won 3-0. I don’t anything would have been able to prevent a draw in Ahmedabad. But in Indore, Pant would have made a colossal difference.

That's a stretch. The margin of loss at Indore was big, it's highly unlikely Pant would have made all that difference

 

[Sunil1z]

Can we stop discussing what if scenarios here ? Pant is injured and didn’t play . Let’s discuss what actually happened or what might happen in future series

 

[TheJediBrah]

If Scott Boland played Aus would have won 4-0

 

[Nintendo]

If Scott Boland played Aus would have won 4-0

5-0 IMO.

 

[trundler]

That's a stretch. The margin of loss at Indore was big, it's highly unlikely Pant would have made all that difference

Pant would've made Lyon a total non factor as he always does and would've definitely eaten Kuhnemann alive too. He's just that much better than anyone else in these situations.

 

[Chrish]

Ffs stop with hypotheticals..

 

[srbhkshk]

That's a stretch. The margin of loss at Indore was big, it's highly unlikely Pant would have made all that difference

I mean it's always possible that he wouldn't have done ****, but doubling India's first innings total would be well within his capability there.