Australia tour of Pakistan - 3 tests, 3 ODIs and 1 t20i

[Lone Wolf]

2 minutes ago, Serpico said:

Ponting or Waugh would have promoted Gilly to smash somr quick runs and declared at same time but with 400 target

Yeah that was weird with only 3 down they could have shown a great deal of urgency.  Travis Head Carey are quite good stroke makers.  Head barely faced anything. 

Langer might have bashed these guys. 

[vvvslaxman]

Such  a ballsy declaration after the 2nd test.

[AuxiliA]

I never understood one thing regarding declarations. Why don't teams go out all guns blazing when the declaration is approaching. Aus could have declared at 287/6 instead of 227/3 batting the same amount of overs. But protecting averages is more important it seems. 

 

All this talk about playing for the team and not chasing personal records, but no one talks about this. 

[nitinbwj]

Why are they still persisting with Steven Smith. Can't bat and certainly can't field. Dropped 6-7 catches if not more. That's criminal. 

[nitinbwj]

Just now, vvvslaxman said:

Such  a ballsy declaration after the 2nd test.

It's gonna kick them in the balls if Pak play with aggressive mindset tomorrow but they will also be aware that they only have 2-3 genuine batsmen. Take out Azam and they will once again collapse. 

[vvvslaxman]

7 minutes ago, nitinbwj said:

It's gonna kick them in the balls if Pak play with aggressive mindset tomorrow but they will also be aware that they only have 2-3 genuine batsmen. Take out Azam and they will once again collapse. 

 

I didn't watch the match. Probably they see something in the pitch. Even then Pakistan tracks are dead tracks. ON a good day Babar can pull this off.

[Jay]

29 minutes ago, Lone Wolf said:

Bumrah is one hell of a overrated ODI bowler...  I remember Cummins has a match winning 5 fer in an ODI in India on a dead pitch.  I will pick Bumrah over Cummins in a T20 only.  Although both are poor LOI bowlers compared to Hazelwood. 

Bumrah better in t20 yes

Both are overrated in odi. Shami is better than both as per figures vs top sides.

In tests it'd equal but on pattas bumrah is superior. So bumrah is better. 

[First class]

I won;t be too excited about a Pakistan win here, it was really a bold and sporting declaration and will pay off for Aussies  . Ball will be older tomorrow and one good spell of reverse swing by Starc or Cummins , or both will take care of Pakistan batting . Babar is the only danger because when he stays at the wicket, he plays with good RR and puts pressure on other team.  Azhar's tuk tuk , will increase the require run rate and release pressure from Aussies and they will be back on their aggressive mode. Wicket is not as flat at the batting suggests , there is something for reverse swing and for a leggie , thanks to the contribution from Warner to create some rough spots. All in all , a very observing day of test cricket on Friday. 

[Suhaan]

2 quick wickets tomorrow early in the morning and things will get different

 

[Dery]

Pak win is certainly possible. Australia will have to fight hard

[cowboysfan]

that was a wrong declaration,you basically never see it in the modern game and especially stupid in the WTC era.

[Texan]

It was a foolish declaration by Cummins IMO. He should have just played out another 15-20 overs, get another 60-70 runs and then declare letting Pak chase 400+. They didn't get any wicket today, so it clearly backfired irrespective of result tomorrow. You never give an opponent a chance to win a Test. 

[Lone Wolf]

21 minutes ago, First class said:

I won;t be too excited about a Pakistan win here, it was really a bold and sporting declaration and will pay off for Aussies  . Ball will be older tomorrow and one good spell of reverse swing by Starc or Cummins , or both will take care of Pakistan batting . Babar is the only danger because when he stays at the wicket, he plays with good RR and puts pressure on other team.  Azhar's tuk tuk , will increase the require run rate and release pressure from Aussies and they will be back on their aggressive mode. Wicket is not as flat at the batting suggests , there is something for reverse swing and for a leggie , thanks to the contribution from Warner to create some rough spots. All in all , a very observing day of test cricket on Friday. 

Impressed with Shafique's technique & temperament.  He has solid defence & is blessed with good timing.  I think he is key wicket for Australia. 

Oldies like Azhar Fawad won't last long & Pak do have a longish Tail. 

Babar Rizwan Shafique...  That's the game right there. 

[sandeep]

5 minutes ago, Texan said:

It was a foolish declaration by Cummins IMO. He should have just played out another 15-20 overs, get another 60-70 runs and then declare letting Pak chase 400+. They didn't get any wicket today, so it clearly backfired irrespective of result tomorrow. You never give an opponent a chance to win a Test. 

Hindsight is 20-20.  Long way to go in the game, and the fact that Pak have a shot at winning the test and series, is going to make them bat with a bit of intent.

 

Can it backfire? Sure, but given the fact that the previous test showed how difficult it is to take 10 wickets if a batting team just decides to shut shop, I think he took a brave and justified call.

 

Match is evenly poised and "all 4 results are possible".  Aus have a fairly good chance to win here still.  All it takes is a wicket or 2 and suddenly its a very different scenario.

 

Regardless of what happens on D5, Australia have demonstrated some serious grit and improved ability to compete in the subcontinent.  Granted it was against poor spin bowling, but still, this team is not going to be as easy to brush aside for India as England was.

[Texan]

7 minutes ago, sandeep said:

Hindsight is 20-20.  Long way to go in the game, and the fact that Pak have a shot at winning the test and series, is going to make them bat with a bit of intent.

 

Can it backfire? Sure, but given the fact that the previous test showed how difficult it is to take 10 wickets if a batting team just decides to shut shop, I think he took a brave and justified call.

 

Match is evenly poised and "all 4 results are possible".  Aus have a fairly good chance to win here still.  All it takes is a wicket or 2 and suddenly its a very different scenario.

 

Regardless of what happens on D5, Australia have demonstrated some serious grit and improved ability to compete in the subcontinent.  Granted it was against poor spin bowling, but still, this team is not going to be as easy to brush aside for India as England was.

 

Question is not: "Can it backfire?". It already has backfired. The intent of declaring with few overs to play in a day is to get a few wickets. They could not get a single wicket, so irrespective of what happens on D5, this decision has indeed backfired.

 

Also, don't read too much into what Aus does in Pak. I didn't actually watch the game, but looking at the scoring and seeing some comments here, it looks like Pak produced flat "pattas". In India, it will be a totally different story.

[Jay]

12 minutes ago, sandeep said:

Hindsight is 20-20.  Long way to go in the game, and the fact that Pak have a shot at winning the test and series, is going to make them bat with a bit of intent.

 

Can it backfire? Sure, but given the fact that the previous test showed how difficult it is to take 10 wickets if a batting team just decides to shut shop, I think he took a brave and justified call.

 

Match is evenly poised and "all 4 results are possible".  Aus have a fairly good chance to win here still.  All it takes is a wicket or 2 and suddenly its a very different scenario.

 

Regardless of what happens on D5, Australia have demonstrated some serious grit and improved ability to compete in the subcontinent.  Granted it was against poor spin bowling, but still, this team is not going to be as easy to brush aside for India as England was.

I predicted India winning 2-1 or 3-1. Will be a closely fought series. Aussies are definitely out for revenge. They will 100% want to beat us. 

In saying that, India Is too bloody strong in Asia. Especially now under rohit, we seem rejuvenated. Our pace bowling, spin and ability to bat deep in Asia makes us possibly the hardest team to beat since the 90s in these conditions. 

Aussies however never give up. They have that never say die attitude. It will be an incredibly tough series. 

Sure India is formidable but we will carry dead weights like kohli due to seniority and other rubbish quota system. So it will even things out and we will be forced to fight hard to win the series. 

[sandeep]

15 minutes ago, Texan said:

 

Question is not: "Can it backfire?". It already has backfired. The intent of declaring with few overs to play in a day is to get a few wickets. They could not get a single wicket, so irrespective of what happens on D5, this decision has indeed backfired.

 

 

uh no.  It only 'backfires' if Aus lose the test.  This is a tour where most didn't give them a real chance of winning the series anyway.  Just like Pak bent over and served up 7 wickets for 20 in the 1st dig, that is always a possibility on D5.  Test cricket doesn't play out according to 'extrapolation' from the first 20 overs, especially not in the 4th innings.  

 

Quote

Also, don't read too much into what Aus does in Pak. I didn't actually watch the game, but looking at the scoring and seeing some comments here, it looks like Pak produced flat "pattas". In India, it will be a totally different story.

 

Its interesting that some folks have such confidence to spout opinions when not in possession of any first-hand facts or information.  Hey, I guess one can view it as a positive quality in some respects.

[AuxiliA]

Pakistan has a genuine shot. The pitch isn't close to a minefield and 278 is gettable in a day with 10 wickets in hand. But they have a really long tail and bat very cowardly. 

[sandeep]

16 minutes ago, AuxiliA said:

Pakistan has a genuine shot. The pitch isn't close to a minefield and 278 is gettable in a day with 10 wickets in hand. But they have a really long tail and bat very cowardly. 

yeah, after the excellent start by the openers holding 10 wickets and knocking off a chunk of the target, I put this game at 40-60 for Pak.  That's creditable to Pak given that the match was poised as completely in Aus control when they declared.  But that 'estimate' is as useless as the 'win predictor'.  Its all about how many runs are left on the board and how many overs left, by the time Aus manage to take 5 wickets.  If that happens before Tea, I think Aus wins it.

[Sgattick10]

Shaheen Afridi