Australia vs India anyone watching it?

[westg]

Anyone in FOH land watching the 1st test. It is actually here in Perth and I might just go tomorrow on the opening day. What a pity it is not being played at the WACA . What a picturesque little stadium that is with an amazing vibe. That said it only holds 24 k as opposed to 60 K at the new Optus stadium.  I may need the binoculars. Would love to see Virat Kholi bat which would probably be the last time in Oz. I just love his unrelenting in your face never say die attitude. And so it appears he is well and truly at the back end of his career. I really hope he puts on a show and I truly believe he despises Australian cricketers, I mean what cricketing country doesn't? Hoping for a hard fought close series. Fingers crossed David Warner is not commentating. He is thick as plank !

 

 

[El Presidente]

......ken will be over this thread like a rash....if he ever gets back from his month long lunch itinerary......

[JohnS]

Yes, guaranteed Ken will be watching it, as will I.

I have every confidence in the Australian bowling attack but not in their batting. I worry that there will be batting collapses along the way. We shall see.

What's the forecast for the test? No doubt, 30 degrees Celsius and glorious every day!

[westg]

55 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

......ken will be over this thread like a rash....if he ever gets back from his month long lunch itinerary......

Can't wait 😜

[westg]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Yes, guaranteed Ken will be watching it, as will I.

I have every confidence in the Australian bowling attack but not in their batting. I worry that there will be batting collapses along the way. We shall see.

What's the forecast for the test? No doubt, 30 degrees Celsius and glorious every day!

Mid to high 20's John just perfect mate. I might just go tomorrow, sit amongst the Indian fans and have some fun. You can actually buy tickets, there is an Indian fan section.  

[Chucko8]

I’ll be watching the score card whilst at work and then on tv or the weekend.

[westg]

18 minutes ago, Chucko8 said:

I’ll be watching the score card whilst at work and then on tv or the weekend 

Beautiful day for a game of cricket 🌴😎

[westg]

Should have gone its actually the West test...yep .😇

[westg]

17 wickets on day one. I will take that, a bowlers day out. Marnus aeroplane...God knows how to pronounce or spell his name...and I cannot be bothered googling it...looked terrified for his 2 runs of 50 balls. You just don't get any break at all from the Indian bowling attack. Bumrah was just Brutal and almost snared a 5 for off the last sneaky ball of the day. Things are definitely heating up over this side. Hopefully Ravi Shastri has David Warner for lunch today. How good was Ravi's pre game broadcast and crowd pump up. So here we go all ready and strapped in for day two. 

 

[99call]

Saw the highlights today....just epic. Enjoy!

[Chucko8]

12 hours ago, westg said:

17 wickets on day one. I will take that, a bowlers day out. Marnus aeroplane...God knows how to pronounce or spell his name...and I cannot be bothered googling it...looked terrified for his 2 runs of 50 balls. You just don't get any break at all from the Indian bowling attack. Bumrah was just Brutal and almost snared a 5 for off the last sneaky ball of the day. Things are definitely heating up over this side. Hopefully Ravi Shastri has David Warner for lunch today. How good was Ravi's pre game broadcast and crowd pump up. So here we go all ready and strapped in for day two. 

Marnus Loose bus change. Lol

[dicko]

I've been watching today...hopefully get a fun finish. Pitch looked very green and some great bowling. Pitch seems to have flattened out now. Will see.

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

[JohnS]

The media had reported that some showers on Tuesday delayed the preparation of the pitch. It does seem hard to fathom, yet the low scores in the first innings and the pitch now drying/flattening out may attest to this.

I don't doubt that the Aussies will play better in the second innings but they're too far behind in this test now to realistically win it. It would take a miracle similar to the 2nd test at Port Elizabeth in 1997/98 when Shane Warne sparked a collapsed from 0/168 for the Proteas to lose all ten second innings wickets for a further 100 runs and Mark Waugh to then play his best ever innings to hit 116 on a difficult pitch to win the game. Unlikely.

Frankly, the Aussies only have themselves to blame. You can't enter an international test with no first-class preparation as a number of players have this season, for whatever reason. Alex Carey and Nathan McSweeney have been the most consistent players at Shield level, and frankly that's a huge concern.

Having said this, Australia can most certainly turn things around, as India did in 2020/21, but it will take a huge change in form from one or two Australian batsmen to do so.

[westg]

If they bat all day tomorrow they could be 500 in front with 2 days left. It is amazing how much that pitch has flattened out in a day. Brett Lee gave a great break down and comparison, the grass which was on it yesterday is now gone. 33 tomorrow so it will begin to open up (crack) I think. Looking forward to see what Virat can do tomorrow. It will take something special to win this one John.

[Ken Gargett]

On 11/21/2024 at 11:02 AM, El Presidente said:

......ken will be over this thread like a rash....if he ever gets back from his month long lunch itinerary......

westie, completely agree about kohli. what a star. sad to see him and smith both perhaps having stayed around a smidge long.

two short catch-ups with mates from down south. that is the total of my lunches - as opposed to sir lunchalot for whom missing lunch would be worse than missing a limb. 

how the hell do you roll a side for 150 on a fine pitch, and with your side chockers with supposed stars and then end up 800 behind with the opposition having all ten wickets in hand at the end of day two. awful. these guys are the broncos rock stars version of cricketers. 

[westg]

Well if you were in the subcontinent glued to your TV you would be deliriously happy with today's play. Jaiswal and Kholi smoked us two generational players 14 years apart.  A momentas day for the tourists. 

[westg]

On 11/23/2024 at 2:05 PM, Chucko8 said:

Marnus Loose bus change. Lol

Marnus Hasno Brain. When you are sitting on top of giant pile of shite 500 behind and from your own personal standpoint I coming in from 2 off 50 dililveries previously, don't try and torment and fire the bowlers up. I think he is far to comfortable with his place in the side. I think he should keep quiet for a while, he is a fierce competitor but needs to knuckle down and really focus on scoring some runs.

[Chucko8]

2 hours ago, westg said:

Marnus Hasno Brain. When you are sitting on top of giant pile of shite 500 behind and from your on personal standpoint you are coming in from 2 off 50 dililveries previously, don't try and torment and fire the bowlers up. I think he is far to comfortable with his place in the side. I think he should keep quiet for a while, he is a fierce competitor but needs to knuckle down and really focus on scoring some runs.

I agree. He does need to let the bat do the talking!

[JohnS]

Now that the game is over, no-one is watching it! 😂 However, puns aside, it's too easy to look at this game and opine that the Australian team is in disarray and the Indian team is 'nigh-on' perfect. That assumption is incorrect. The Indian team is not without its concerns either. Besides, the next test could see a totally different scenario present itself.

Australia do need to address the Labuschagne issue. No Australian test cricketer can continue to represent the team and have so few scores above 50 over such a long period of time as he has. The only other example I can think that resembles his situation is the famous 1997 form of the Australian Cricket Captain (at the time), Mark Taylor. He scored a century in the third innings of the 1st test at Edgbaston and his career continued for another two years.

Aside from our lovable Marcus, we may need to soon discuss Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja...especially the latter. The media will focus on Smith's performance because that draws a bigger headline, but the 'golden rule' in the Australian team for a sign that it's time to consider retirement, other than a drop in form in batting is the concentration in the field. Poor 'Uzzie' had a real shocker in Perth and it indicates that his powers of concentration overall are waning. It's only natural and sure...it happens, but Australia need runs from the top 4 and it starts with the openers, otherwise the batters can't assert the momentum to build scores as they come in lower down the order.

[westg]

India has a real problem.  Who to leave out for the next test . Rohit and Jadaja along with Shubman Gill  will come back in. Bloody tough on that performance.  They seem to have enough to juggle a side based on conditions with ease. We appear to be just making do. 

At Shield level Australia has two batters (batsman) with an average of just over 40 in the last two years. Tough times ahead ? Our bowlers all south of 30 years. And all of them were just subjected to heavy start to the series. 

 

[Hoepssa]

That young Indian Jaiswal is special.

[westg]

4 hours ago, Hoepssa said:

That young Indian Jaiswal is special.

He has a younger brother who is every bit the upcoming superstar as well. 

[westg]

Test three. I can't believe how India celebrated when they avoided the follow on. That would not have happened if Ravi Shastri was in the coaches box. A little embarrassing I think.

[JohnS]

The problem with the follow-on law is that it only takes into account the duration of a match is a full day or more is lost to inclement weather:

14.1 Lead on first innings

14.1.1 In a two-innings match of 5 days or more, the side which bats first and leads by at least 200 runs shall have the option of requiring the other side to follow their innings.

14.1.2 The same option shall be available in two-innings matches of shorter duration with the minimum leads as follows:

- 150 runs in a match of 3 or 4 days;

- 100 runs in a 2-day match;

- 75 runs in a 1-day match.

In my opinion, the follow-on on this match should have been a minimum 150 runs less that the Australian first innings (i.e. AUS 1st innings 445, therefore IND should have been 295) because more than a day's play has been lost accumulatively over the first four days. But those are the rules.

[JohnS]

This test will end up a draw. For the final two tests, the difference between the two teams is:

• Players like Usman Khawaja (Age 38) and Rohit Sharma (Age 37) are coming to the end of their careers. They don't have the reflexes required to bat at the highest level anymore.
• Travis Head's batting is phenomenal, Alex Carey has form too but Australia need a score of significance from either McSweeney, Khawaja or Marsh. That is, someone in the top six. Head can't make 100s every game!
• India need two or three players with significant scores in the top six too. They can't rely on KL Rahul either.
• The main difference in the teams is that Australia have more options and are placing more consistent pressure on their opposition in their bowling at the moment. Even with Josh Hazlewood injured, Scott Boland is not a bowler one would want to face at his home ground, the MCG.
• India have Jasprit Bumrah. Similarly to Head, he has been phenomenal this series but someone else in their bowling line-up has to step up.