Consigliere Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 This series has shaped up quite similarly to the Test series in South Africa - India woefully unprepared and caught cold in the first two Tests. After having two Tests as a warm-up, India put in a much better performance in the third. The difference is that at least India have two more Tests this time to try and salvage the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Great innings from Buttler and good support from Stokes, but the rest of the England batting lineup was disappointing again. This India bowling attack is a difficult opponent for someone's first Test series, but so far Pope is looking a bit out of his depth and Jennings' place must be precarious now as well.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philokles Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 Putting in a twenty year old who had never batted in the first 22 overs of a first class match before at four in this side wasn’t the brightest idea in retrospect. So far he has been in after 8, 11 & 12 overs. I’d like to see him given a go at 6 - where he plays for Surrey - during Bairstow’s absence, but Buttler seems to have the only specialist batsman role in the middle order tied down at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 On 8/21/2018 at 2:09 AM, ljkeane said: Admittedly I've not seen too much of this test after seeing the writing on the wall and mostly watching football yesterday but I don't think this pitch is that lively. Lords, especially for India's first innings, was very tough batting conditions but, while there is something in it for the bowlers, this is just pretty standard English conditions when it's overcast. India have gone past 300 again reasonably comfortably; England were just awful, again. Yes, in retrospect it wasn't so much the pitch playing tricks but the conditions, it was swinging nastily that second day. If India clean up as expected it'll be good for the series to come alive. India's batsmen and bowlers both adjusting to the conditions so the remaining Tests should be good fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 It seems that the England selector's best idea for dealing with the England batting order's tendency to be dismissed playing unwise attacking shots is to recall James Vince to the squad. It's not without some logic since if he batted at 3 he could allow the likes of Ollie Pope to drop down the order to a more accustomed position and he has apparently been in good form domestically, but it's still as if they looked at what qualities an England batsman needs to have in this series and went for the exact opposite style of batsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 Sam Curran’s quite good. England’s batting remains rubbish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted August 30, 2018 Share Posted August 30, 2018 35 minutes ago, ljkeane said: Sam Curran’s quite good. England’s batting remains rubbish. The third highest score in the innings is byes. Not all extras, just byes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 246 is actually not that bad - it could have been much, much worse. I'm really liking this series, with an even contest between bat and ball and results all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 And wickets continue to tumble, the latest a rather absurd reverse-sweep onto the stumps by Ashwin who had just come to the crease. No need to do that and when they're trailing by 50 still, Ashwin just needed to stick with Pujara and steadily build. England back in front by a hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 Idiotic shot from Ashwin. And not sure wtf Shami was doing either.... Hopefully England keeps the lead. Cause with their batting lineup, they will need every run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 India seem to find Ali oddly difficult to play in England. Curran’s runs are looking even more important now. Hopefully England can keep a bit of a first innings lead. I’ve still got no confidence in our top order to build on that though. ETA: Pujara gets a hundred, apparently only his second outside India, great effort after how much he struggled earlier in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Jeor said: And wickets continue to tumble, the latest a rather absurd reverse-sweep onto the stumps by Ashwin who had just come to the crease. No need to do that and when they're trailing by 50 still, Ashwin just needed to stick with Pujara and steadily build. England back in front by a hair. I don't think you can get many worse cricket shots than the one Ashwin played there. 5 hours ago, ljkeane said: India seem to find Ali oddly difficult to play in England. Curran’s runs are looking even more important now. Hopefully England can keep a bit of a first innings lead. I’ve still got no confidence in our top order to build on that though. ETA: Pujara gets a hundred, apparently only his second outside India, great effort after how much he struggled earlier in the summer. I wonder if Pujara's effort could end up being the match-winning innings? The decision to recall Ali and Curran seems to have gone well for England, although they could maybe have done with another seamer rather than Rashid since it's not really a two-spinner pitch. The match is well poised now. It's hard to say who are the favourites, neither team have really convinced with their overall batting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted August 31, 2018 Share Posted August 31, 2018 20 minutes ago, williamjm said: The decision to recall Ali and Curran seems to have gone well for England, although they could maybe have done with another seamer rather than Rashid since it's not really a two-spinner pitch. I don't know, the Rose Bowl's usually fairly spin friendly and Ali was extracting a fair amount of turn today. If England can actually bat for a decent period of time (admittedly a big ask) then having two spinners with India batting last could be quite useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Yes, I would say that there's still a possibility that two spinners was the right call. Shaping up as another see-saw Test that's hard to call. I think a fourth innings target around 200-250 is going to be a challenging chase, so the onus is on India to bowl England out cheaply again. Being ahead in the series, England can afford to take their time to build an innings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Looks like England have voluntarily rejigged their batting lineup mid test, Ali up to 3 and Root back down to 4. ETA: Not that it makes much difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Match still in the balance here. No side has managed to land a knockout blow- some tense cricket to come, I think. Root needs to break out of his funk, preferably with Bairstow/Stokes helping him relax. India will fancy their chances if they pick up a wicket or two soon after lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 The England lead of 173 (4 wickets remaining) is looking ominous for India. I think anything 250+ will be too much to chase on this pitch with the England attack firing. Even a chase of 200 looks like an even bet. So England pulling ahead more now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 8 hours ago, ljkeane said: Looks like England have voluntarily rejigged their batting lineup mid test, Ali up to 3 and Root back down to 4. ETA: Not that it makes much difference. It was a move that felt a bit desperate. I know Moeen has experience of batting in the top order, but his technique is clearly better suited to the middle order. I don't think he should be coming in ahead of Joe Root. I'm also wondering if any player has ever been moved around the batting order as much as Moeen has. Despite the traditional top order weaknesses, England do seem to be in a strong position now. Even if the last couple of wickets don't get many runs tomorrow I think it's going to be a tricky chase for India on this pitch. They could certainly chase it down, but they're going to need to play well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Ali got a double hundred recently in first-class cricket and he apparently always bats at 3 for his county. However, Test cricket is a different thing entirely and I don't think Ali's technique is solid enough to hold out at No. 3 against world-class bowlers. It's true that he has played more shots down the order so we might not have seen his defensive side, but at No. 3 you really need to be a wall that can repel every attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Perfect little Test match shaping up here. India get the two wickets very quickly so a chase of 245 is what's required. This is going to be a close one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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