South Africa v India tests - Jan 2018

[Dr Cricket]

OK then, advantage India.

Still have to post 130+ though.

Yep they need to get the runs first but I would back the bowling team to defend anything on this deck.

[meninblue]

Only saw last 40 mins, why on earth did Parthiv open? Also is there an injury to Rahane?

The most important reason for sending Parthiv as opener is because our openers are having probably the worst test series of their cricketing careers. Then there is the leftie - rightie concept, but by no means Virat would have opted for it if our openers were in form like in home series.

Ajinkya is not injured.

[mikesiva]

Na think they started on time...but with both 5 sides fielding 5 quicks and no spinner, expect a slow over rate all match

That shows how ridiculous that ICC rule is. It discriminates against pace bowlers. Some allowance should be made for pacers who take longer to get through their overs than spinners.

Another 10 or so overs not bowled today.

It's not as if the slow over rate is making this match boring . On the contrary it's gripping!

It's not like the slow over rate is making a draw the most likely outcome. At the end of the second day's play both teams have completed their first innings.

It was suspiciously coincidental that this ruling came into place in the days when the west indies had a four prong pace attack and no spinner.

[Dr Cricket]

think the rules are fair if anything they need to be more strict now on the overrates.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Na think they started on time...but with both 5 sides fielding 5 quicks and no spinner, expect a slow over rate all match

That shows how ridiculous that ICC rule is. It discriminates against pace bowlers. Some allowance should be made for pacers who take longer to get through their overs than spinners.

They do. That's why it's only 15 overs an hour.

Not as if the ball was disappearing into the crowd.

[The Professor]

In my opinion, South Africa's bowling has been poor in this Test. Lots of fancy stuff but very little on the stumps. Short and wide is not working but there is a reluctance from Faf to try much else.

[meninblue]

Just minutes away from start.

[meninblue]

Rabada starts the day. Over well negotiated by Vijay.

[meninblue]

Philly from the other end.

[meninblue]

Philly strikes. Saffers bowlers back to line and length. Rahul gone as a result. His worst series ever . Probably this will remain as his worst test series in cricketing career.

[meninblue]

Chet facing some superb bowling from Philly.

[mikesiva]

think the rules are fair if anything they need to be more strict now on the overrates.

Why? It's not like the fans went away from this match complaining about the over rate. They saw wickets tumbling and some exciting fast bowling as the match heads towards a conclusion where a draw is unlikely and either team could win.

Putting aside the fact this pitch is deteriorating faster than it should this match is the kind that would wins fans back to test cricket. Instead some ICC bureaucrat is going to punish kohli or du Plessis for not selecting a spinner.

I remember when this rule came into place viv Richards and his team got several fines. If Patterson bowled too many no balls they would fail to bowl the required overs. So even though his team won convincingly by playing exciting cricket and attracted large crowds wherever they went they were being punished for not having a spinner to speed up the over rate.

I never met a real cricket fan who expressed disappointment that a Richards team didn't bowl 90 overs in a day.

[sussexpob]

Over rates are only a problem when they are a problem....but thunderstorms are forecast now all days, so yes, 12 overs an hour may not produce a result, but it's unlikely

[sussexpob]

Also, didn't get the feeling watching india were slow. There were several drs calls made, this slows it down.

[meninblue]

Chet gone cheaply. SA are back with the 3 cheap wickets .