The match is beautifully posed.
Hector
Town at the moment. If only we could get more test grounds with pitches like
that test match cricket would be far more interesting for the masses and
neutrals. Unfortunately it's a bit tense for me as a South African because I
know that there will be definitely a result in this test match, but which
team will win. For those people who think test match cricket is dead, think
again. Long may it continue.
Hector
Aldershot
Don speaks the truth
4th day has become a minefield and you say that the wicket is good?
I agree wicket was good for 2 and a half days but the cracks on the
pitch
that were seen at the beginning of the test match have started to
widen.
Can't call it an ideal pitch for sure though the test match is damn
interesting.
Don
R Bharat Rao
wrote:
> 4th day has become a minefield and you say that the wicket is good?
> I agree wicket was good for 2 and a half days but the cracks on the
> pitch
> that were seen at the beginning of the test match have started to
> widen.
> Can't call it an ideal pitch for sure though the test match is damn
> interesting.
Barring the first day, the pitch has generally had life in the morning
and with the new ball. Once Kallis & Prince managed to stem the flow
of wickets, I knew India was in trouble. The target just hit 200 --
unless we rip out the remaining 4 wickets in 50 runs, sayonara India.
All Hail Kallis!
Bharat
yeskay
He seems well rested, while all others toiled on Day3, he cooled his
heels.
No side strain. His bowling was not needed anyway, TsoTsoBe was
bowling
better than him,
jzfredricks
> Barring the first day, the pitch has generally had life in the morning
> and with the new ball. Once Kallis & Prince managed to stem the flow
> of wickets, I knew India was in trouble. The target just hit 200 --
> unless we rip out the remaining 4 wickets in 50 runs, sayonara India.
I've always thought that anything over 200 is a tough chase in 4th
innings on a pitch with a bit of life.
There are a few "uncertains" though;
1) Harris... a decent spinner and SAf would be sitting pretty
2) Sehwag... he can turn a match at any time, regardless of his
previous innings
3) Steyn... he's on fire, so anything is possible
I'd hate to be setting the odds on this one...
Kallis has just whipped out a reverse sweep. That's doesn't look
promising for India.
Cricketwallah
Yes, the afternoon batting didnt look that difficult. Even after India
got Prince
out, it was sort of difficult.. the Indians were appealing for
everything for a while,
and it was tight. But they seemed to fade in the last hour or so
before tea, and
batting wasnt that hard then.
The pitch maybe does get a bit easy after lunch.. but also, I dont
know if the
pitch has really deteriorated that much... its really the rough
outside off that
Harby exploited, but in line with the stumps there doesnt seem to be
any
deterioration (there is a little explosion every time the ball lands
in the
rough - but nothign like that on the actual pitch-line). Harby could
exploit
that spot because he bowled with great accuracy and it was outside
off..
South Africa doesnt have an offspinner, and that spot shouldnt do very
much
for Harris (with the ball going away to the righty for him - India has
only one
lefty anyway).
They were saying in the morning that 200-250 might not be an easy
chase -
given the afternoon Iam not so sure, the pitch isnt fast, outside of
the new
ball India should be ok handling it if they bat well. South Africa
beat India
by chasing 211 on this track in the deciding test last trip - and
Australia
chased 334 to win (with Mark Waugh IIRC batting brilliantly). Without
a
great spinner, that is do-able here too... the new ball is due in 8
overs
after tea, which should help.
Sadiq [ Zaheer's pace was really down before tea - less than 120! ]
Yusuf
> All Hail Kallis!
>
> Bharat
jzfredricks
> 1) Harris... a decent spinner and SAf would be sitting pretty
> 2) Sehwag... he can turn a match at any time, regardless of his
> previous innings
> 3) Steyn... he's on fire, so anything is possible
I'm a bit of a fool by trying to list players that might star. India
is full of em, including their 4th innings specialist VVS.
Call Centre
SA are not out of the woods yet. They need another 100 runs from here
to become comfortable. A total of 300 plus runs. Another 50 runs would
see the match evenly poised. Anything less than 260 would be India's
match with a small chance of draw. Anything over 260 would make it
swing slightly towards SA and the odds would improve depending upon
how many more runs are scored. Over 300 (Around 320 runs) runs would
make the match comfortably with SA or a draw.
If SA get bowled out for less than 250 SA would have to bowl very well
to restrict or bowl out India. As the match stands SA are still not
out of the woods. They need to bat at least till tea to feel a little
relaxed. And possibly till the end of day's play today to put
themselves in a comfortable position.
It is certainly going to be an interesting fifth day tomorrow. A
fitting end to a very good test series. :)
Call Centre
wrote:
Don, its not a minefield. Once a batsman gets settled in he can score
runs. In a minefield type of pitch a batsman is never settled in and
can get out anytime. Its not that bad of a pitch. It is helping the
spinners and batting is certainly not easy. But its not a minefield of
a pitch. And India have little to worry about becuase Harris is not
exactly a world class spinner. If we had to face Murali or even
Mendis. Or face someone like Shane Warne or even Saqlain Mustaq or
Daniel Vettori it would have been very difficult indeed for India.
Harris should not worry our batsmen as much. He may become difficult
to score off if he bowls well but I don't believe he will be
unplayable on this pitch. SA need to put up a 300 plus total to feel
comfortable. India could chase down even 250 or 260 runs.
R Bharat Rao
wrote:
> 4th day has become a minefield and you say that the wicket is good?
> I agree wicket was good for 2 and a half days but the cracks on the
> pitch
> that were seen at the beginning of the test match have started to
> widen.
> Can't call it an ideal pitch for sure though the test match is damn
> interesting.
Don -- it isn't a minefield by any definition. The ball was leaping
out of the rough when it was hard, but the old ball is relatively
simple to handle. India bowled poorly to Boucher post lunch, and
Kallis was simply superb -- but the pitch wasn't that hard any more to
bat on.
Second new MUST do it for India. Conversely, if you don't get RSA out
you have a chance to draw as RSA will bat well into D5 before
declaring. The best chance for an RSA win is they fold in about 90
minutes or so, giving India under 300 to chase, with a little time
today.
Bharat