Cricket

[Sridhar k]

Looks like this test is gone with that the series. Aswin has proved useless abroad and just a spinning track bully like the way the cloud brothers are for England

[hanumadu]

This was a spinning pitch. All he had to do was bowl in the rough created by the bowlers. His lengths were much more fuller than needed just like in the previous match. I am surprised he didn't go for more runs. I think he has not recovered fully from the injury.

[hanumadu]

Every body writing off India already with England only 230 ahead. The pitch has slowed down and still good to bat except the odd ball keeping low and the rough outside off. If we get the remaining two wickets quickly, we still have a chance of winning this match.

[Sridhar k]

^^
The writing off is due to the below and our ability to make the jehadi Ali, Michael clarke, Steve o Keefe look like Shane Warne
India successful chases outside Asia:

406/4 Port of Spain 76
233/6 Adelaide 03
200/5 Dunedin 68
174/6 Oval 71
136/5 Lord's 86
125/3 Port of Spain 71
73/3 Nottingham 07
71/2 Auckland 76
59/2 Wellington 68
39/0 Hamilton 09

[hanumadu]

Hopefully Ali got his share of wickets in the first innings itself.

[arshyam]

Not looking good - up to Rahane and Ashwin to see it through. Pant unnecessarily threw his wicket.

[RajaRaja]

So the 70 - 90 extra runs India conceded in the first came back to bite it in the ass, similar to first test.

[arshyam]

Ironically, Ashwin's LBW was not even correct - the ball was showing as going down the leg, but we had no reviews left by then. Oh well.

[KJo]

I hope this defeat makes Shastri and Kohli take a step back and reduce their arrogance, especially Shastri. I felt that no one knew what the plan was. Dhawan plays the same way regardless of situation. What a moron. Drop Pandya, he is trying to be cool and Chris Gayle-like without the performance.

[arshyam]

It's probably sacrilege to say this, but I am not too impressed with Kohli's captaincy. Sure, he is a great batsman, but captaining needs a different approach than weaving magic with the bat, which to his credit, he does consistently. We keep conceding runs in the 6th/7th wicket and give a respectable way out to England after having them on the ropes. The pattern has repeated too many times to be a one-off. The 4th test, like the 1st, could have been won had we had a plan - time was on our side and the total wasn't too high. Sure, the conditions are not what we expect in India, but this side has been exposed to English pitches for a month by then and can't use that excuse beyond a point. Having lost the ODI series, I was hoping test would give us something to cheer about, but no can do.

EDIT: As though this is not enough, we have also dharmically built up a strong lower order for England, by way of a kid called Curran.

[srikumar]

Painful, yaaron....only this dirge can express my phheelings (whether streeling or puling).

You dont need to know the language to understand this song by K.L. Saigal
Jab dil hi toot gayaa...
(this match was winnable, and would have kept India in the series)

[RajaRaja]

^^
No kidding, Holy Curran + Moin Ali + Rashid. ( batting at #6 #7 and #8, rearranged that is #786)
We lost 1st and 4th because of Holy Curran ( and uninspiring captaincy by Kohi in that period ).

But in fairness to VK, that is what a game of cricket is all about, a game of glorious uncertainty, where sometime the lower order batsmen do upset the applecart.

[hanumadu]

It's probably sacrilege to say this, but I am not too impressed with Kohli's captaincy. Sure, he is a great batsman, but captaining needs a different approach than weaving magic with the bat, which to his credit, he does consistently. We keep conceding runs in the 6th/7th wicket and give a respectable way out to England after having them on the ropes. The pattern has repeated too many times to be a one-off. The 4th test, like the 1st, could have been won had we had a plan - time was on our side and the total wasn't too high. Sure, the conditions are not what we expect in India, but this side has been exposed to English pitches for a month by then and can't use that excuse beyond a point. Having lost the ODI series, I was hoping test would give us something to cheer about, but no can do.

EDIT: As though this is not enough, we have also dharmically built up a strong lower order for England, by way of a kid called Curran.

What is inexplicable is Ashwin not bowling into the rough outside the right handers off stump in the third innings. I don't know if it was a team strategy or Ashwin's own but he hardly bowled any balls into the rough.

[hanumadu]

Painful, yaaron....only this dirge can express my phheelings (whether streeling or puling).

You dont need to know the language to understand this song by K.L. Saigal
Jab dil hi toot gayaa...
(this match was winnable, and would have kept India in the series)

That team India raised enough expectations of a series win after being 0-2 down itself points to some improvement but will they ever manage to bridge the gap remains to be seen. Hope they can make at least 2-3.

At least we got one scalp - Alistair Cook.

[chetak]

Painful, yaaron....only this dirge can express my phheelings (whether streeling or puling).

You dont need to know the language to understand this song by K.L. Saigal
Jab dil hi toot gayaa...
(this match was winnable, and would have kept India in the series)

That team India raised enough expectations of a series win after being 0-2 down itself points to some improvement but will they ever manage to bridge the gap remains to be seen. Hope they can make at least 2-3.

At least we got one scalp - Alistair Cook.

ravi shastri's pot bellied scalp would have been far more satisfying.

[Sridhar k]

The rough was outside the right handers off stump. England had only Butler and Root. Where the mirpuri was bowling to right handers only. If I am not wrong Aswin did not always exploits such pitches (second innings) even in India and Jadeja running through sides on such pitches perhaps hid his performance.

If you looks at Aswins line, he always attacks the stump, varying his angles, length, pace every ball nlike Lyon or Swann or mirpuri who always bowl an outside off stump line and prey on the batsman's patience. Greg Mathews and Shane Warne talked about this during Aswins last two Australia trips. Remember Bedi advising terroristani spinners to just pitch the ball in the rough and Inot try too many variation on the Bangalore mine field which we lost amidst a master class from sunny

[RajaRaja]

Problem with Ashwin bowling in this match, from my perspective based on what I watched in patches, was he tended to bowl more flatter deliveries than the classic loopy offspin. He is a tall guy so maybe he does not need to flight the ball as much but a test match is ideal for classic spin bowling, flight the ball and draw the batsman forward. Any batsman will tell you that flatter, quicker spin bowling is easier to play and score against than the tossed up, drawing forward, to be played on frontfoot variety. What gets complicated for spinners these days that T20 and ODI require different styles of bowling than test, and in this match Ashwin, IMO, bowled more T20/ODI deliveries than test deliveries.

[hanumadu]

The rough was outside the right handers off stump. England had only Butler and Root. Where the mirpuri was bowling to right handers only. If I am not wrong Aswin did not always exploits such pitches (second innings) even in India and Jadeja running through sides on such pitches perhaps hid his performance.

If you looks at Aswins line, he always attacks the stump, varying his angles, length, pace every ball nlike Lyon or Swann or mirpuri who always bowl an outside off stump line and prey on the batsman's patience. Greg Mathews and Shane Warne talked about this during Aswins last two Australia trips. Remember Bedi advising terroristani spinners to just pitch the ball in the rough and Inot try too many variation on the Bangalore mine field which we lost amidst a master class from sunny

But Butler's score made the difference in the end. Add to it Roots score and Adil Rashid's. The rough was enough to discomfort the left handers too. To take a glove or take the outside edge. I thought Ashwin learnt his lessons from the 2012 England tour of India were he experimented too much. But during the last tour, the stuck to the stock ball mostly and reaped rewards.

Also Kohli and Rahane did not step out once to Moeen Ali even when he flighted the balled. No slog sweep or any attempt to unsettle the bowler unlike Kohli's innings in Adelaide on a similar if not worse pitch.

[Sridhar k]

True. Even he bowled well in the first test here but he always seems to always slip back into bad habits frequently. Perhaps due to frequent changes in action

[hanumadu]

So finally India admit. Ashwin was not 100% fit during Southampton. They have been asked this repeatedly at press conferences, and they have been denying that. Kohli finally says, "Ashwin aggravated his niggle."

here was a lot of rough to work with. Ashwin just couldn't land the ball there consistently.

Confirmation Ashwin was not fully fit during the 4th test.
If he was not able to pitch it in the rought, why not bowl a yard behind the crease so he could hit the rough. He was bowling very full during that match.

[Sridhar k]

Aswin was not able to pivot like he did in edgbaston which explains the lack of drift and rip. Still does not explain to pitch it on the spot which he can do.


Hanuma Vihari bowling with 19 wickets in FC, bowling in the first hour of the test match. Flat track and only 4 bowlers. Did they make a mistake of sending back Kuldeep?

[Sunny]

Former players including Sourav Ganguly and Sunil Gavaskar are speaking out against Ravi Shastri’s comment that the current Indian team is better than any in the last 15-20 years.

Speaking in London ahead of the fifth and final Test of the ongoing seres against England that India has already lost, Shastri had said: “If you look at the last three years, we have won nine matches overseas and three series. I can’t see any other Indian team in the last 15-20 years that has had the same run in such a short time, and you have had some great players playing in those series.”

https://www.thequint.com/sports/cricket ... india-best

[Sunny]

The 'best overseas Indian team of the last 15-20 years' heading for a 4-1 defeat here.

[Gus]

Disappointing. Sam Curran made the difference twice and our inability to blow the tail has hurt so much.

[hanumadu]

Looking at the low scores by both the teams, the conditions were tough than usual, so I won't find fault with the batsmen completely.

Hanuma Vihari will turn out to be a fine player. After having a torrid time for 15-20 balls under difficult conditions, he has begun to be comfortable against their bowling.
He might be the find of this tour and go on to make a half century or even a century in this innings if there is support at the other end and if the conditions do not become too tough.