***Official*** India in South Africa 2021-22

[honestbharani]

Both Rahul and Mayank have been way too loose outside offstump in this little session. They both have played at balls they were leaving on day 1. Mayank paid the price.

Lord is there to pinch hit tomorrow morning. 4D chess from Dravid and Virat.

 

[srbhkshk]

Mortals would have played out a dot there, not the lord.

 

[centurymaker]

I really don't see India getting 150 here.

Could even be like 84/8 tomorrow morning.

(Thakur won't last long so 2 down already and will put pressure on the rest of line up.)

 

[Shri]

what happened to our regular night watchman

 

[srbhkshk]

I really don't see India getting 150 here.

Could even be like 84/8 tomorrow morning.

(Thakur won't last long so 2 down already and will put pressure on the rest of line up.)

That's fine, if India are getting bowled out for sub 100 then SA aren't chasing 230.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Meanwhile, Pant has become the fastest indian wicketkeeper to 100 test dismissals. And by a long long shot. Reaches there in 26 tests beating Dhoni's by 10 tests.

Probably the clearest indicator of how much better indias bowling has gotten since then.

 

[Shri]

Lord is there to pinch hit tomorrow morning. 4D chess from Dravid and Virat.

do you remember cook's debut test in nagpur when dravid changed our test batting order massively to try and chase 368 last day?

 

[srbhkshk]

Probably the clearest indicator of how much better indias bowling has gotten since then.

It's because the bowlers ended up getting better since they had to make do with a terrible wicket keeper.

 

[honestbharani]

do you remember cook's debut test in nagpur when dravid changed our test batting order massively to try and chase 368 last day?

Yeah... was one of those days when Greg Chappell as coach was a good thing. Still think promoting Harbhajan Singh above Laxman and Sachin was a bit much...

 

[SJS]

Agarwals backfoot defensive technique is so bad jeez.

He does not move his right foot back and across while playing shorter length deliveries. This results in his bat being away from his right leg which (the right leg) is stuck at middle stump and barely 4-6 inches behind the crease (if that)

The bat comes down not straight but at an angle to the stumps and his body.
Makes the edging of the ball a distinct possibility.

This is bad technique for any batsman and totally unacceptable from an opening batsman. He could have snicked the ball anytime during this short innings.

The South African bowlers often bowled much away from the off stump. He would have gone earlier if they had.

 

[centurymaker]

Most likely India will get bowled out quickly but if they survive, ideally would like to bat upto 50 overs.

Have at least 40-45 overs to bowl at SA tomorrow and then hopefully another 40-50 overs on partly rain affected Day 5.

 

[h_hurricane]

That collapse earlier in the day was like a blessing in disguise. Without that India would have batted without much clarity and direction. All those thoughts on how long should they bat, how much it will rain etc. Also dare thinking that a repeat of the same in second innings may not be bad after all. Forecast for one of the upcoming days isn't good. Just bat at a brisk pace. No 10 off 50 balls kind of innings please.

 

[centurymaker]

Yes but if target is only around 220-240, it's definitely chaseable. So it could be a blessing for South africa, not India.

 

[centurymaker]

Need to play out the new ball tomorrow morning, then once it's older and main bowlers are taking a break, batters can score a little freely.

 

[sunilz]

Need atleast 140 more in 45 overs. Then need to dismiss SA in 75 overs.

 

[centurymaker]

yeah that wud work.

I think we will lose around half of day 5. First session shud be fine but after that, further play will be tricky. Rain may be on and off, though may not be heavy so some further play cud be possible.

 

[karan_fromthestands]

He does not move his right foot back and across while playing shorter length deliveries. This results in his bat being away from his right leg which (the right leg) is stuck at middle stump and barely 4-6 inches behind the crease (if that)

The bat comes down not straight but at an angle to the stumps and his body.
Makes the edging of the ball a distinct possibility.

This is bad technique for any batsman and totally unacceptable from an opening batsman. He could have snicked the ball anytime during this short innings.

The South African bowlers often bowled much away from the off stump. He would have gone earlier if they had.

Excellent post.

 

[Shri]

the perfect thing to happen from an indian perspective would be for rsa to try and play for the draw instead of chasing a 280+ target

that is when our fast bowling tactics work really well and we usually have half the side dismissed for not many runs in 30 overs

whatever the target maybe, if rsa come out attacking, kohli becomes weird with his plans and can stumble

the moment that rsa begin defending excessively in the 4th innings, we have won afaic

 

[karan_fromthestands]

18 wickets in a day, is this a poor pitch? Is the ICC looking into it. Where are all the pitch experts?

 

[ankitj]

Meanwhile, Pant has become the fastest indian wicketkeeper to 100 test dismissals. And by a long long shot. Reaches there in 26 tests beating Dhoni's by 10 tests.

Shows how good India's bowling is now