India tour of Eng, June 20 - Aug 4

[sussexpob]

Morning session mainly bringing the draw into play.

Early wicket has made India cautious. Will want to take this past 200 lead and then open up a little if they have wickets left.

[andy]

Tongues been very unlucky! Created a lot of chances and looked threatening but either catches dropped or no bloody slip in place!!!

[sussexpob]

Risbah has had enough.... time to go hunting.

[meninblue]

This Indian test team is not that good. Surprisingly they have scored 471. The T20i team is much better and selection is merit-based. This Test team isn't. How big a total India manages to put when Yashasvi does not contributes is something I would like to see in this innings. In Australia the team scores depended on how Yashasvi did. Hope the team bats well as a unit and is not player dependent.

You do get the feeling that jaiswal and bumrah are carrying the rest a long

Not sure they got the selection right. Thakur looks a poor pick. Reddy, arshdeep or yadav would've all been more useful

Prasidh bowls far too short and is going to get plastered all series unless he finds a way to bowl fuller

I would also add Rishabh Pant apart from Yashasvi and Jasprit who have been good in this format. So I agree that these 3 are the pillars for India in this format and are carrying the other passengers over the years. The other problem that India faces in England with regards to playing 11 is that we cannot play two spinners and aKuldeep who has more skills and various types of deliveries as compared to Jaddu hence has to miss the playing 11.

As you rightly pointed out Prasidh Krishna is not someone who is going to be the mainstay. Jasprit Bumrah has managed to hide the incompetence of other Indian pacers.

Shardul might get dropped for Nitish Reddy. Nitish Reddy should have played all 5 tests as all-rounder ahead of Shardul Thakur imo. He needs to be developed and it is better to give a chance to 22 year old who has toured Australi and this would give him another overseas experience which augurs well for long term.

[sussexpob]

Well played Rahul...

India starting to make a move now. Run rate at 6-7 an over in that last hour or so...

[sussexpob]

How do you play this now if you are India? 4 an over gets you to 450 at the end of the day, which probably bats England out the game but this is bazball.... 450 is within their full day of cricket scoring range, and the pitch isn't looking too concerning.

India will want at least 10 overs tonight to take 1-2 wickets. Going to require 5 an over, which will require risk... and with a lead of 250 and a tail that disappeared in a blaze first innings after the 4th wicket partnership, a couple of quick wickets from here and England will feel they are back in the game.

Tough decision for Gill. Very interested to see where he goes from here, is going to go Ali Cook and bat till tea tomorrow if he can? If he Ben Stokes, and will declare before tea?

[sussexpob]

Bashir's tactic of floating up slow loopers continues to end with Pant whacking him around. He's a frustrating prospect, Bashir.... at time's he really looks the part, but I have no idea what his thought process is here. Indian batsman are too good playing spin to be beaten by this cat and mouse rubbish.

[andy]

Lead of 268 pant on 98, India could easily be at 400 lead with half hour to play tonight....

[sussexpob]

Lead of 268 pant on 98, India could easily be at 400 lead with half hour to play tonight....

Are you leaving this England team 4 runs an over to target?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Rain tomorrow suggests India should declare early. But that would be a risk.

My current gut feeling is they'll declare 30m from the close tonight, about 450 ahead.

[sussexpob]

When you see pictures of what was left of Risbah's car a few years ago, its amazing he ever walked again let alone smashing around test bowling attacks 2 years later like this....

What a guy.... what a performance.

[andy]

Lead of 268 pant on 98, India could easily be at 400 lead with half hour to play tonight....

Are you leaving this England team 4 runs an over to target?

Nope was just saying that's where I think they will be.....they should be positive though first game of a 5 match series...go and win the game......

[meninblue]

This Indian test team is not that good. Surprisingly they have scored 471. The T20i team is much better and selection is merit-based. This Test team isn't. How big a total India manages to put when Yashasvi does not contributes is something I would like to see in this innings. In Australia the team scores depended on how Yashasvi did. Hope the team bats well as a unit and is not player dependent.

I think in many ways Indian fans seem impossible to please, and set incredibly unrealistic standards for their modern test team. It would make sense if the criticism was equal across generations, but at the same time we have to hear how great Indian legends where in the 90s/00s with the golden era.... Tendulkar spent 12 years in a side that lost to every test team away, and didn't win a series in that time. Ganguly also, Azha also.... Laxman/Dravid played 8 years of that period. Sehwag about 3-4 years. Was the golden era that golden?

Even taking the most statistically successful period as a team in that time between 2005 to 2011, away from home India lost to South Africa, Australia, England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The only victory of note being the 1-0 win in England in 2007, which was the Moores period when England were rubbish, and England would have drawn that series without rain preventing them taking the last Indian wicket in the first test.

India have beaten Australia twice away recently, and went over a decade being the strongest home team ever to exist.... and weirdly, people still think they were crap in comparison. Could argue on paper the Indian team in 2011 was incredibly strong..... they were poleaxed in England 4-0 in one of the most lopsided series ever, then got a 4-0 drubbing in Australia for dessert.

My point is we do not have a good team. There are players who do not deserve to be there are actually in playing 11. There are various reasons to it and it reflects on poor strategy in selection and development of players in last 5 years. If you feel that the players in this playing 11 are good, I would like to know who are the players worthy of place in this Indian test team according to you.

[sussexpob]

Brief ceasefire as Pant got in the 90s, but now he's passed his hundred hes gone back to the audacious stuff.

Root getting a clobbering this over... 4,4,6,4,1...

[sussexpob]

Fun is over, Pant gone... big wicket to keep India from racing off into the sunset