India Tour of South Africa

KM said:
Better than us but you'd still lose the series.
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I think it'll depend on the composition of their team, Australia's bowlers staying fit and Steve Smith performing. If they go with the 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers model, it's walking that very thin line between bravery and stupidity. If it comes off, they'll have a damn good chance of winning the series. If it doesn't, Australia's record of not losing a series there since South Africa's readmission will continue.

Hazlewood, Starc and Cummins are a match for their attack but if one of them get injured, Australia's pace attack isn't as fearsome. Smith is brilliant but i have doubts about the rest of the batting order against a top class attack.
 
Brilliant by Faf this. Brings back Ngidi to complete his fifer against the tail.

This Saffer team has excellent team spirit. Genuinely seem happy for each other.
 
It's all over. Ngidi finishes with 6 for the innings and 7 for the match after dismissing Bumrah who was caught by Philander. SA win by 135 runs.
 
DdeGoat said:
'Tigers at home, Lambs abroad'
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Nah, there's a significant difference from this team and previous touring teams. Our bowlers have been exceptional thus far and as many expected, we don't have gods at number 1, 3, 4 and 6, though. 20 wickets in a match is something India has shown that it's incapable of doing, however, this tour shows just how far we've come from 2014. I've said this a couple of times - if Rahane has played, we'd have won. The guy is miles ahead of any one of our batsmen, including Kohli, it's a farce that he was dropped. Bhuvi, too.
 
Knowing Kohli, this debacle will result in even more chopping and changing for the last match.
 
paulscholes18 said:
Looks like SA have unearthed a couple of gems in Markram and Ngidi
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Nah, not yet. I remember when de Lange came through and got a 7-for on debut - played 1 test match since. Same can be said of Abbott. SA have a shed load of fast bowlers. To be honest, Ngidi doesn't strike me as a great in the making like Rabada did when he made his debut.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Nah, not yet. I remember when de Lange came through and got a 7-for on debut - played 1 test match since. Same can be said of Abbott. SA have a shed load of fast bowlers. To be honest, Ngidi doesn't strike me as a great in the making like Rabada did when he made his debut.
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39 wickets in 11 games at an average of 22. Would moonwalk into any team in the world except Australia.
 
freeurmind said:
39 wickets in 11 games at an average of 22. Would moonwalk into any team in the world except Australia.
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That's my point. 11 games since 2013. SA is a conveyor belt of quality fast bowlers. Hence, why he's signed the Kolpak deal.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Nah, there's a significant difference from this team and previous touring teams. Our bowlers have been exceptional thus far and as many expected, we don't have gods at number 1, 3, 4 and 6, though. 20 wickets in a match is something India has shown that it's incapable of doing, however, this tour shows just how far we've come from 2014. I've said this a couple of times - if Rahane has played, we'd have won. The guy is miles ahead of any one of our batsmen, including Kohli, it's a farce that he was dropped. Bhuvi, too.
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There was a period towards the end of the last decade under Ganguly first and then Kirsten where India was regularly doing well on foreign tours. Won in England, should have won in Australia and only a Jacques Kallis master class prevented a 2-1 series win over the saffers. Other than that it has been the same story since the world cup that India won. Humiliation after humiliation on foreign tours.

I know this will be rejected as "No one wins on foreign tours" or "People are jealous of the money Indian players make", but as a number 1 team and under a captain who likes to run his mouth, they should be doing better.

Rahane will most likely play in the next test, and nothing is going to change.
 
Ndidi ripped the indian attack to pieces, great performance by him , wonderful debut that he will remember forever. Looking forward to seeing more of this from him
 
chicha14 said:
Ndidi ripped the indian attack to pieces, great performance by him , wonderful debut that he will remember forever. Looking forward to seeing more of this from him
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He bowled well I thought, but besides Kohli this Indian batting lineup is nothing special so I am not getting too excited yet. Australia will be the real test for him
 
Shocking team selection followed by a bad performance and then the captain has the habit of getting riled up by everything
 
DdeGoat said:
There was a period towards the end of the last decade under Ganguly first and then Kirsten where India was regularly doing well on foreign tours. Won in England, should have won in Australia and only a Jacques Kallis master class prevented a 2-1 series win over the saffers. Other than that it has been the same story since the world cup that India won. Humiliation after humiliation on foreign tours.

I know this will be rejected as "No one wins on foreign tours" or "People are jealous of the money Indian players make", but as a number 1 team and under a captain who likes to run his mouth, they should be doing better.

Rahane will most likely play in the next test, and nothing is going to change.
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I don't think things will change either. How can it? Things change when steps are taken to address the issues.

We arrived on this tour days before the first test with no practice games to play. This is when we've been playing at home for ages so everyone knew the change would be brutal. Kohli had a go at the schedule just before the series which made the BCCI say they'll look into it etc etc but why wait till days before the tour? The schedule has been known for ages.

Thing is, no one wants to wait weeks getting used to conditions playing practice games in a foreign country when the same time can be used to play a quick T20 series at home to rake in the moolah. Who'll go play county cricket for few months when the same time can be spent playing T20s/ODIs etc to make money?

It isn't a problem specific to Indian players either. It takes special character to let go of chances to make easy money doing something you're already good at to go slog it out at lesser pay.
 
Varun said:
I don't think things will change either. How can it? Things change when steps are taken to address the issues.

We arrived on this tour days before the first test with no practice games to play. This is when we've been playing at home for ages so everyone knew the change would be brutal. Kohli had a go at the schedule just before the series which made the BCCI say they'll look into it etc etc but why wait till days before the tour? The schedule has been known for ages.

Thing is, no one wants to wait weeks getting used to conditions playing practice games in a foreign country when the same time can be used to play a quick T20 series at home to rake in the moolah. Who'll go play county cricket for few months when the same time can be spent playing T20s/ODIs etc to make money?

It isn't a problem specific to Indian players either. It takes special character to let go of chances to make easy money doing something you're already good at to go slog it out at lesser pay.
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I can't disagree with much of that. Couple of points:

(1) Having the team land in South Africa just days before for such an important tour is preposterous. No team will spend weeks adjusting to the conditions but you need to give them at least a couple of 3 day games. Or may be have the limited over games before the tests.

(2) If you are inviting a bog standard team at home for "practice matches" then you can at least make the wickets more sporting to gauge the level of your batters and give the good one some practice on conditions which are little closer to the conditions that you are going to encounter. Have those games at venues which are conducive to such wickets. Rohit Sharma doubles are good to rake in the moolah: they don't help in winning you abroad.

The changes have to come from the board level. You have set your goals and then find ways to achieve it. From the outside it seems, Indian board is happy to rake in the money & the captain and the coach are happy to win in home conditions and don't care about losing foreign tours. There goal isn't to dominate like the West Indians back in the day or the Australian and South Africans more recently. Which is alright I guess.
 
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Let's not be too harsh on Virat and Co http://es.pn/2mKukjA
via ESPNCricinfo app

Good read and makes a lot of sense. The harsh reality is that India just aren't good enough. And then when you add in the BCCIs love for everything with a rupee sign on it, you're left with a nation that prioritises cricket after money. I think the IPL has had a massive (negative) impact on Indian cricket. Its hard to generalise but I do wonder how many Indians actually care about playing for their country? I mean, a lot of them do come from poor backgrounds so the thought of earning a great living from the IPL might impact your motivations. Hard to say, but Indian cricket has been on the down since 2011 and it remains to be seen whether it will change direction. Weird, that Ive also not felt the same joy and love for the team since the WC win.
 
Really hope Theunis de Bruyn gets a chance in the middle order and Rabada gets a rest for the last Test match. Good opportunity to give some of the fringe players a game. I know Otis Gibson likes this 5-1-5 system but I hope we go back to something more traditional for this final Test next week. My 11: Elgar, Markram (Pieter Malan if Markram is unfit), Amla, De Villiers, Du Plessis, De Bruyn, De Kock, Philander, Maharaj, Morkel, Ngidi
 
freeurmind said:
Really hope Theunis de Bruyn gets a chance in the middle order and Rabada gets a rest for the last Test match. Good opportunity to give some of the fringe players a game. I know Otis Gibson likes this 5-1-5 system but I hope we go back to something more traditional for this final Test next week. My 11: Elgar, Markram (Pieter Malan if Markram is unfit), Amla, De Villiers, Du Plessis, De Bruyn, De Kock, Philander, Maharaj, Morkel, Ngidi
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South Africa will play four fast bowlers at least. I think Maharaj may be dropped for Morris
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Let's not be too harsh on Virat and Co http://es.pn/2mKukjA
via ESPNCricinfo app

Good read and makes a lot of sense. The harsh reality is that India just aren't good enough. And then when you add in the BCCIs love for everything with a rupee sign on it, you're left with a nation that prioritises cricket after money. I think the IPL has had a massive (negative) impact on Indian cricket. Its hard to generalise but I do wonder how many Indians actually care about playing for their country? I mean, a lot of them do come from poor backgrounds so the thought of earning a great living from the IPL might impact your motivations. Hard to say, but Indian cricket has been on the down since 2011 and it remains to be seen whether it will change direction. Weird, that Ive also not felt the same joy and love for the team since the WC win.
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I disagree. This is a very talented group of players and even in this series they've competed quite well, but not put the foot down when needed. There have been many tours in the past where we weren't in the reckoning by the end of day 1 - that has not been the case.

Manjrekar, who I usually like for his commentary contrary to popular opinion, is incorrect in a number of things here. I dont want to nitpick and bore people to death, but there are several fallacies in that article.

Team selections made no sense for both the matches and we paid the price for it. We may have still lost but we did not give ourselves the best opportunity to win.

The Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay go-around has been a bit ridiculous. Kohli often says the incumbent batsman if injured, will come back in regardless of runs. This applies to all except Dhawan apparently, who never gets the shaft and gets the benefit in both cases. Kohli's clearly picking his mates with Rohit and Dhawan.

Would have been nice to test some lower order batsmen from Ranji instead of hanging it all on Rohit.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-vid...affecting-confidence-of-players-harsha-bhogle
 
The Wanderers pitch days before the test: A wet dream for South African quicks.

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zing said:
I disagree. This is a very talented group of players and even in this series they've competed quite well, but not put the foot down when needed. There have been many tours in the past where we weren't in the reckoning by the end of day 1 - that has not been the case.

Manjrekar, who I usually like for his commentary contrary to popular opinion, is incorrect in a number of things here. I dont want to nitpick and bore people to death, but there are several fallacies in that article.

Team selections made no sense for both the matches and we paid the price for it. We may have still lost but we did not give ourselves the best opportunity to win.

The Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay go-around has been a bit ridiculous. Kohli often says the incumbent batsman if injured, will come back in regardless of runs. This applies to all except Dhawan apparently, who never gets the shaft and gets the benefit in both cases. Kohli's clearly picking his mates with Rohit and Dhawan.

Would have been nice to test some lower order batsmen from Ranji instead of hanging it all on Rohit.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-vid...affecting-confidence-of-players-harsha-bhogle
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We'll have to agree to disagree because this Indian team (batting line up) is nothing in comparison to those gone by. Even as a standalone, it isn't that talented. I fear for them with tours to England and Australia coming up.
 
zing said:
Kohli's clearly picking his mates with Rohit and Dhawan.

Would have been nice to test some lower order batsmen from Ranji instead of hanging it all on Rohit.
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I personally think Rohit is a class act and deserves to be in the team for his talent. Ranji trophy is no barometer to test players on an away series.
 
Sultan said:
I personally think Rohit is a class act and deserves to be in the team for his talent. Ranji trophy is no barometer to test players on an away series.
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This is literally why he was in the team from 2007-2013.

First 85 matches (2007-2013): Averaged 30, SR 78
Next 89 matches (2013-2018): Averaged 57, SR 91

The luckiest man on the planet. Stayed in the team purely based on talent. Never been good enough for test cricket.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
This is literally why he was in the team from 2007-2013.

First 85 matches (2007-2013): Averaged 30, SR 78
Next 89 matches (2013-2018): Averaged 57, SR 91

The luckiest man on the planet. Stayed in the team purely based on talent. Never been good enough for test cricket.
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I'm confused. So over the last 5 years, he's averaged 57 and deemed not good enough?
 
Sultan said:
I'm confused. So over the last 5 years, he's averaged 57 and deemed not good enough?
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No, no. My point is that he's extremely lucky to be in the team as he was constantly shit for 6 years and picked based on talent. That's now justified in ODI cricket where I think he's easily the best. However, not in test cricket, he doesn't deserve to be picked based on talent. It was frustrating seeing him for the first years as he never looked like fulfilling his potential and to be honest, I don't want to experience that again.
 
Sultan said:
I personally think Rohit is a class act and deserves to be in the team for his talent. Ranji trophy is no barometer to test players on an away series.
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Do you think someone like Rahane is any less talented than him?
 
People focus on Rohit etc but what about Pujara away from home? The bloke's the biggest flat track bully in this Indian team. His away form(by away I mean, outside subcontinent and not friggin WI) is a disgrace after 2013.
 
KM said:
People focus on Rohit etc but what about Pujara away from home? The bloke's the biggest flat track bully in this Indian team. His away form(by away I mean, outside subcontinent and not friggin WI) is a disgrace after 2013.
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I don't think Pujara is at Rohits level of criticism, yet. He deserves a far longer rope, however, if fails throughout 2018, the sharks will be out, and rightly so.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
I don't think Pujara is at Rohits level of criticism, yet. He deserves a far longer rope, however, if fails throughout 2018, the sharks will be out, and rightly so.
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I disagree.

The bloke has a 22 average in England, 33 in Australia, 15 in NZ and 32 in SAfrica. So what if he performs at home? Even Rohit does that.

Kohli on comparison has an average of 58,72 and 62 in SA, NZ and Australia respectively. I fully expect him to rectify that shit England series too.

Just not good enough as a number 3 batsman.
 
The selectors need to have better batsmen to replace those mentioned above. Do we have these replacements?
 
Sultan said:
The selectors need to have better batsmen to replace those mentioned above. Do we have these replacements?
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Give Rahul and Vijay to establish opening partnership. Rahane to replace Rohit. Get someone else to replace Pujara. My choice would be Shreyas Iyer.
 
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