Eng India Test Series

I was lucky enough to be at Edgbaston on day 3 when young Sam Curran hit that 6 and gave England a chance.

india have too much class for a series whitewash and I expect Trent Bridge to be close. 

Ray

I am just hoping that India find some form and stuff Ingerlund in the last 3 games. Agnew's views on R4 this morning were interesting; noting that teams win at home and lose away. Good for the home fans I suppose, but not for anyone else.

Nick

How nice to hear from you. You seemed to go oddly quiet once the Eng v Aus ODIs started.

Anyway thanks for contributing so constructively. Did you not enjoy the low-scoring nailbiter last week? Great Test match drama surely?

If you are a fan of cricket this series has got all sorts of interest I would think. Sorry if England are spoiling it by winning (so far).

Bruce

An England collapse is never far away...

Bruce

Both test were spelling-binding but England have certainly enjoyed a lot of luck with the very favourable conditions.  I can't see India collapsing in the remaining three tests. They are too good. But I would now expect England to win the series.

As an aside, after all the fuss over Rashid's selection, he seemed almost invisible in this test.  

I think the Indian team are under-prepared for English weather conditions, noting the ODI and T20s were played on very good batting wickets and the white ball offers very little to the bowlers compared to the red Duke ball in helpful climatic conditions, as experienced at Lord's. Plus, players are now conditioned to play in one-day mode a lot of the time, especially the Indians given the diet of IPL, T20 and ODI's they've had in the run up to this series.

Playing a 2nd spinner, with an apparent long-ish batting tail did them no favours either. Kuldeep was highly effective in the white ball games but not so in this Test. 

The issue of preparation is not new and England have been through tough times in Australia when faced with the hard and bouncy pitches and only a couple of warm-up games. 

I can see this series running out 4-0  -  with a draw due to the weather....although I wouldn't put it past England's batting to implode against spin in one game!

Anyone have a view on Kohli?

A fabulous classy batsman to watch but I heard him likened to the footballer Ronaldo for some of his other attributes-and I don't think that was mean to be complimentary.

Bruce

I seem to remember  our good friend and cricket lover, Nick from Suffolk, went quiet around the time of the Australian ball tampering incident. 

Bruce Woodhouse posted:

An England collapse is never far away...

Bruce

Yep - England 292 runs behind and it's only the end of day 2 (of the 3rd Test). Blown away in under 39 overs - and could have been far worse if Buttler and Anderson hadn't hung around for a bit.

Credit to the Indian team. Looking a certain 2-1. Sets up the remainder of the series nicely. 

Yup, normal service appears to have been re-stored. This is how I though the series would be at the start!

Lots of batsmen appear to have forgotten how to bat time. much as I admire the man I think Cook is coming to the end-and would go himself if anyone could be found to replace him. It is about time Root produced a match changing innings too.

Be good to see some fight in the 2nd innings, but hard to imagine the game being saveable.

From where they were India have really picked themselves up and played well.

Bruce

India declare 520 runs ahead. Teensy bit conservative declaration I would think.

Eng just over 6 sessions to bat, they were bowled out inside a single session yesterday!

Bruce

I shall be surprised if England get through to close of play this evening without losing a wicket.

Bruce Woodhouse posted:

India declare 520 runs ahead. Teensy bit conservative declaration I would think.

Eng just over 6 sessions to bat, they were bowled out inside a single session yesterday!

Bruce

i guess they wanted to be safe first and make sure they dont lose

if ENG score 521 to win - they they sure deserve to win !

Alistair Cook - is not his old self anymore.

i am surprised at why Ben Stokes was brought in for Sam Curran

Sam Curran is a left armer and provides variety and a young bloke

I would have expected ben Stokes to tell his skipper that Sam Curran deserved to play on current form.

Indian team selection is a problem

shikhar dhawan - is ON then OFF then ON again

Pujara batting position is not settled

same for Rahane

Rishabh Pant is a good lad and they must persist with him. He has the zing to his game.

Kuldeep Yadav - a very good spinner - but should not have been in the team for the Lords test - we missed a pacer.

anyways... its good to see the fight back.

I hope its 2-1 at the end of tomorrow so the series is setup nicely.

I also see sportsmanship here and i guess its cos a tournament like IPL brings players to-gether so they compete hard on the field but dont hesitate to share a smile after a good shot or a good ball.

Well played to both teams !

This is why test cricket is the best format.

This is why test cricket is the best format.

Absolutely! Not just the ebb and flow of a single game, but building up over the 5 test series. 

I used to watch test cricket on BBC with my grandad 30 plus years ago they were good times.

It is still by far my favourite form of the game.

England do not have the patience nor ability to win this match even though there are 2 days left to play.

They need Chris Tavare at one end now, would bat out the 2 days and score around 27 runs. LOL.

TK421 posted:

They need Chris Tavare at one end now, would bat out the 2 days and score around 27 runs. LOL.

 

He could definitely bore for England 

Well, much to my surprise, we didn't lose a wicket this evening and need less than 500.   

Yes Tavarre at one end and Boycott at the other.

MDS posted:

Well, much to my surprise, we didn't lose a wicket this evening and need less than 500.   

probably why India batted on to a huge lead

the pitch may be easier to bat on today and tomorrow perhaps..

interesting 4 sessions coming up..

MDS posted:

TK421 posted:

They need Chris Tavare at one end now, would bat out the 2 days and score around 27 runs. LOL.

 

He could definitely bore for England 

True but not fair.

As a lifelong Kent supporter I saw him bat many times - he was an extremely entertaining batsman with a wide range of shots. When he played for England he was asked to do a job and he did it extremely well to the detriment of his reputation. I do agree that we could do with him coming in at number 3 this morning!

Well, we're obviously going to lose but getting to the final day is some consolation. Hopefully it will harden the batsmans' resolve for the fourth and fifth tests.

Unless there is rain tomorrow... 

India have acclimatised now so I think the series will be really tight from now on.

Either team could win it (stating the bleeding obvious) but you know what I mean.

Lets hope the weather holds for the final two tests.

Ray

Lots of momentum for India now. I though their pace attack was excellent; Bumrah was a real handful. How his run up and action generates that pace and accuracy is a marvel! The new keeper looks a real talent.

I have the feeling India will get better, and I'm not sure that England will. Bairstow breaking a finger is bad news. he may apparently be fit to bat but that seems a very risky idea-one more blow could out him out for a very extended period. Vince is called up which fills nobody with great confidence.

I'd have added Hales since we need someone who is prepared to fight a bit

I think the Oval will suit India most, so next test is the big one. I'm enjoying the series, and if India win it will be a big achievement for them.

Bruce

Bumble was asked a question on Sky as to how do you get Kohli out - and his simple answer was take the catches he offers you (for there have been several). It seems Cook is top of the list for drops of current slip fielders across the main nations. It's one of those tables you don't want to be top of and, IIRC, England have 3 in the top six - including, surprisingly, Stokes. 

Now that India's bowling resources are replenished (noting Ashwin's discomfort) and they appear to have solved the conundrum of batting against the Duke ball, this is a series they can win/at worst draw. In this, I think it shows their mettle as a team that they've worked things out unlike England in Australia. That they have a strong spin attack, especially to lefthanders, is also a bonus. 

I must admit I thought this tour could be tough going for India - not now.