Can we beat SA in SA in the upcoming test series?

[sandeep]

29 minutes ago, maniac said:

Even if Saha gets out to 0 in every single game,I will still have him as the keeper over Pappu....

100% agreed.  with Maniac.  

 

 

WTF is wrong with me.  

[vvvslaxman]

Very very hard. SA test batting is one of the most disciplined. You need lot of skills to bowl them out. You have to be mentally prepared for long spells. They will try to wear you out. India needs a wrist spinner.

[Silva]

It depends a lot on the bowling attack thats used. If india go with jadeja and ashwin and use pandya as 3rd seemer like they have been in the subcontinent then their is no way they will take 20 wickets. That might work in kingsmead but their isnt any test match being played their. 

 

But if they pick 4 pace bowlers and ashwin as the only seamer than they might have a chance. 

[OpeningBatsman]

17 hours ago, ShebbySB said:

If the SA team is at full strength they will look like this:-

Markram

Elgar

Amla

ABD (Bavuma comes in if he's not there)

Faf (C)

Duminy

De cock (WK)

Philander

Keshav

Rabada

Steyn (Olivier comes in if he's not there)

Reserves:- Kuhn,Theunis De Bruyn,Morris,Morkel,Phehlukwayo.

Best possible India team:- Vijay,Rahul,Pujara,Kohli (C),Rahane,Saha (WK),Pandya,Ashwin,BK,Shami,Umesh.

Reserves:-Mukund/Dhawan,Rohit,Jadeja,Kuldeep,Ishant,Siraj+ 1 reserve WK/Bat (Not sure about that pick).

So can we beat them in their own backyard?

 

Duminy retired from tests. 

[Rasgulla]

Mehhhhhdon't have our turners there

[Forever Indian]

11 hours ago, sandeep said:

100% agreed.  with Maniac.  

 

 

WTF is wrong with me.  

For once a lot of us are in agreement with him

[Forever Indian]

No Kallis to save them this time

[ShebbySB]

On 10/10/2017 at 9:03 PM, swastikpanda2 said:

Duminy has retired from Test cricket. That's not Sa full strength man.

 

Expect this line up( If it satisifies their Quota system)

 

Elgar

Markram

Amla

ABD / Bavuma it Abd is not available.

Duplesis

Decock

Philander

Steyn

Rabada

Morkel/ Oliver

Maharaja

 

Even we manage to draw the series, it will be an achievement.

Unless Steyn/ Philander/ Morkel/ Rabada remains injured we are not gonna see any Parnell/ Phelukawosomething.

 

 

They'll play Morris if they play 5 bowlers for his batting.

[ShebbySB]

15 hours ago, OpeningBatsman said:

Duminy retired from tests. 

Ok my bad.Updated the squad.

Edited October 11, 2017 by ShebbySB

[ShebbySB]

14 hours ago, Rasgulla said:

Mehhhhhdon't have our turners there

We've won lots of matches on flat and spicy decks.

[ShebbySB]

16 hours ago, Silva said:

It depends a lot on the bowling attack thats used. If india go with jadeja and ashwin and use pandya as 3rd seemer like they have been in the subcontinent then their is no way they will take 20 wickets. That might work in kingsmead but their isnt any test match being played their. 

 

But if they pick 4 pace bowlers and ashwin as the only seamer than they might have a chance. 

Spinner...

[Vijy]

I am sceptical of our chances.

[fineleg]

Rohit Sharma will be in squad "Come to India" :)

[Turning_track]

No we can't.

Even if we lose the series by a huge margin, the eternal optimist Ravi Shastri will say all the matches were close it could have gone anywhere , boys gave it all, SA is one of the toughest places to tour, its a young team & will only gain from this experience.

Just like we lost last bilateral series in Aus 4-1 but only thing worth remembering in that series was how close the matches were & not about the final scoreline of the series

[Vijy]

6 hours ago, Turning_track said:

No we can't.

Even if we lose the series by a huge margin, the eternal optimist Ravi Shastri will say all the matches were close it could have gone anywhere , boys gave it all, SA is one of the toughest places to tour, its a young team & will only gain from this experience.

Just like we lost last bilateral series in Aus 4-1 but only thing worth remembering in that series was how close the matches were & not about the final scoreline of the series

that's quintessential ravi... all about the process

[chapetmarunga]

Impossible. We need good bowlers for that. All our bowlers are just average.

Edited October 25, 2017 by chapetmarunga

[gakgupta]

Do we have the bowling attack to take 20 wickets??

Sent from my XT1068 using Tapatalk

[sandeep]

1 hour ago, gharampaani said:

Well this mainly depends on what kind of form Steyn is in. He is not at his best and has not been for a while but this is probably the worst stage of his career so far. Plus I am not sure if he is even fully fit.

 

Add to that the AB problem SA have, first he doesnt want to play test cricket, now he does, says he wants to earn his place back in the side but hasn't played any recent first class cricket and his ODI performances, apart from that one big score, have been average at best. 

 

I am not sold on a number of SA batsmen, especially with the way some of them were so inconsistent in England. The bowling looks ok too, if Philander can maintain fitness and young Rabada fires. 

15 hours ago, Vijy said:

I am sceptical of our chances.

 

The odds keep tilting in India's favor.  Steyn is rehabbing and yet to play top tier cricket.  Their best bowler - Morkel - is also injured.   Chris Morris, who could provide valuable balance for them, is also a a question mark IIRC.   Its one thing for rookie bowlers to come in and dominate Bangladesh.  Not going to be the same against India.   

 

If SA provide conditions that help Philander, you can be sure that it will help the likes of Shami, Yadav, and Bhuvi as well.   Even if they are not as experienced in local SA conditions.   In fact, SA's best bet is to provide tracks that nullify Philander - fast and bouncy, but not much lateral movement.  India's bowlers will not be as effective at using those conditions against SA batters, who will be more adept at defending as well as scoring, on such a track.   

 

And now Faf is injured. 

 

The fact that Shami is fit and bowling with the red ball just makes me feel that much more confident about India's chances this series.  Heck, even our former spearhead is bowling well on the Ranji circuit.   And for all the "love" he gets, his away numbers in the last couple of years make the case that he's a pretty decent option as a 3rd seamer.   Our bowling unit looks just so settled, and quality at the moment.  Short of having a top tier left-arm pacer, its pretty much a swiss army knife bowling attack.  

 

The one major concern I have about India's batting line up is Mewli.   He's coming back from injury and it would be good to see him get some confidence going with big scores at the FC level.  He's yet to do that.  Its very premature to read too much into it, but a pessimist perspective would point to his age, and make an argument that his skills could be declining at precisely the wrong time for India.   Vijay is a under-rated cog in the wheel of the Indian top order.  Our batting lineup is built on and relies heavily on the ballast provided by Vijay, Pujara and Jinxy.  

 

 

[Vijy]

5 hours ago, sandeep said:

 

The odds keep tilting in India's favor.  Steyn is rehabbing and yet to play top tier cricket.  Their best bowler - Morkel - is also injured.   Chris Morris, who could provide valuable balance for them, is also a a question mark IIRC.   Its one thing for rookie bowlers to come in and dominate Bangladesh.  Not going to be the same against India.   

 

If SA provide conditions that help Philander, you can be sure that it will help the likes of Shami, Yadav, and Bhuvi as well.   Even if they are not as experienced in local SA conditions.   In fact, SA's best bet is to provide tracks that nullify Philander - fast and bouncy, but not much lateral movement.  India's bowlers will not be as effective at using those conditions against SA batters, who will be more adept at defending as well as scoring, on such a track.   

 

And now Faf is injured. 

 

The fact that Shami is fit and bowling with the red ball just makes me feel that much more confident about India's chances this series.  Heck, even our former spearhead is bowling well on the Ranji circuit.   And for all the "love" he gets, his away numbers in the last couple of years make the case that he's a pretty decent option as a 3rd seamer.   Our bowling unit looks just so settled, and quality at the moment.  Short of having a top tier left-arm pacer, its pretty much a swiss army knife bowling attack.  

 

The one major concern I have about India's batting line up is Mewli.   He's coming back from injury and it would be good to see him get some confidence going with big scores at the FC level.  He's yet to do that.  Its very premature to read too much into it, but a pessimist perspective would point to his age, and make an argument that his skills could be declining at precisely the wrong time for India.   Vijay is a under-rated cog in the wheel of the Indian top order.  Our batting lineup is built on and relies heavily on the ballast provided by Vijay, Pujara and Jinxy.  

 

 

I reckon that Philander is more skilled at exploiting the home conditions (given lateral movement) than India's pacers. As you noted, Steyn's condition could prove to be one of the determining factors. I noticed that Rabada wasn't mentioned - is he injured/ineffective? I think a lot also depends on the form ABDV and Amla are in.

 

I'm not still sold on our batting (although the bowling is shaping up well). Vijay's form and fitness are major concerns. I think KLR can do well, but it will be his debut tour. A lot will ride on VK and Jinx, since Pujara is only good for soaking up the balls and making 20s and 30s (apart from his last tour to SA).