South Africa vs India: 3 Test Series; January - February, 2018

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In above post, I didnt include keeper. Saha is the best keeper India has, but Parthiv is a better batsman besides being a left hander.

[Boycs]

What’s the Cape Town wicket going to do?

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I wont argue in favour of India because I know India has a poor record in SA and Australia and very average record in England and NZ. Hopefully, they will perform and compete well against SA. The most closely contested series in SA was the 1-1 draw in 2010-11. In 2006, again it was close when SA won 2-1, one hour of foolishness cost India that series.

So hopefully, this series will be competitive and not one sided in favour of South Africa.

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Some stats for India V/s SA series in South Africa:-

Lowest total:

For India: 66 at Durban in 1996 (I remember Rahul Dravid was not out till the end, others collapsed in a heap)
For South Africa: 84 at Johannesburg in 2006 (Sreesanth - chief wrecker)

Highest individual score:

For India: 169 by Sachin Tendulkar at Cape Town in 1997 (Tendulkar invented a new shot to tackle the bounce, he kept hitting over the slips intentionally, India lost that test though)
For South Africa: 201* by Jacques Kallis at Centurion in 2010 (Top class innings)

Best bowling figures in an innings:

For India: 7/120 by Harbhajan Singh at Cape Town in 2011 (I wont rate the bowling highly, Bhajji got some cheap wickets)
For South Africa: 7/84 by Allan Donald at Port Elizabeth in 1992 (Donald 'white lightning' was on fire against an ageing Indian team)

Best bowling figures in a match:

For India: 10/153 by Venkatesh Prasad at Durban in 1996 (was playing 'Saturday Night' as I watched Prasad bowl those lovely outswingers of his)
For South Africa: 12/139 by Allan Donald at Port Elizabeth in 1992 (Explained above)

Leading run-scorer:

For India: 1161 runs by Sachin Tendulkar from 15 matches
For South Africa: 974 runs by Jacques Kallis from nine matches

Leading wicket-taker:

For India: 45 wickets by Anil Kumble from 12 matches (Stats mean nothing - Kumble was ineffective on the South African pitches)
For South Africa: 40 wickets by Allan Donald from seven matches (He was SA's strike bowler)

Highest total:

For India: 459/10 at Centurion in 2010
For South Africa: 620/4d at Centurion in 2010

[Loose halo]

I hope we get this televised. We don't get SA games typically - but we don't get SL games neither and we got India touring there.

Do SL and Ind share a home broadcaster?

The South African cricket broadcaster is not a fan recently of Sky TV in NZ.

Foxtel are doing the series here in Australia.

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Some small observations, I have watched previous Indian tours against South Africa in South Africa.

1) In previous tours, Indian pace bowling lacked support. South Africa used to see off Srinath and Prasad (as they were the major threat), the Indian backup medium fast bowlers like David Johnson, Doddanarasaih Ganesh, Unadkat etc were whacked around (they got in through the ' quota ' system or through some influence with selection panel never really made it at internationals again). So basically the weak link was the third and fourth pace bowler in the Indian setup.

2) Injury problems with Indian fast bowlers. Zaheer Khan (the usual suspect) missed some crunch games due to injuries. There was no substitute bowler for Zaheer in the same class as his.

3) Indian batsmen unable to tackle the bounce and seam movement. Azharuddin was a clear example getting out fishing outside off stump. He was leaden footed and a walking wicket. Excepting Tendulkar and Dravid to some extent and some surprising wicketkeeper batsmen like Parthiv Patel and Deep Dasgupta, India struggled. There were exceptions like Pravin Amre (Shreyas Iyer's coach) and WV Raman who played the odd gutsy knock.

4) Indian spinners rendered ineffective. India's leading spinners like Anil Kumble didnt make much of an impression in South Africa. I have my own doubts on Ashwin, lets see. An inspired selection would have been Kuldeep and Chahal.

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South Africa squad for Cape Town Test

Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn

That is a good side India will get a hostile bowling attack and won't have the Curators in their pockets.

Are their hyped up star batsmen up to it?

I have taken the short odds on a series win for SA.

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South Africa squad for Cape Town Test

Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn

That is a good side India will get a hostile bowling attack and won't have the Curators in their pockets.

Are their hyped up star batsmen up to it?

I have taken the short odds on a series win for SA.

If you ask me honestly, I would have preferred India not to play the Sri Lanka series and go early to SA. The pitches in SA are completely different to India (except in a couple of high altitude locations). They are not even remotely same.

Only saving grace I see is this time India have a fast bowling attack that can perform on these tracks (I am referring to the first change and possibly second change bowlers).

Batsmen will have a tough time.

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Rahane dropped. Surprising and difficult decision considering his record in SA.

[Boycs]

I was about to say “didn’t he score two hundreds in a test against them?” But actually that might have been in Nagpur or somewhere when SA toured India

[bolero]

Wow decent Indian pace bowling attack after a long time.

Mohammad Shami
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
Jasprit Bumrah
Hardik Pandya

Ashwin lone spinner.

Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma dropped.

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I was about to say “didn’t he score two hundreds in a test against them?” But actually that might have been in Nagpur or somewhere when SA toured India

Ajinkya Rahane has a good record overseas, besides being the vice captain.

To drop him is a big statement by Virat Kohli. Your favourite Rohit Sharma has been included.

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Out of his 9 centuries, 1 in New Zealand, 1 in England, 1 in Australia, 1 in West Indies and 2 in Sri Lanka, total 6 centuries are abroad.

It is not easy to drop Rahane.

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Rohit Sharma averages 11 and Rahane 70 in South Africa.

[Boycs]

This bugs you doesn’t it

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Rahane's average in :-

South Africa - 69
Australia - 57
New Zealand - 54
England - 33

[bolero]

This bugs you doesn’t it

Yup.

[Boycs]

Scattergun first over with half of it sprayed down the leg side but the other half gets Elgar for a duck and then beats Amla with a corker!

[Paddles]

This bugs you doesn’t it

Not as much as Jacques Kallis being better than almost all Indian seamers of the last 20 years does.

Good thing he only averaged 55+ with the bat - or he'd touch a nerve.

#michaelvaughanfishingemoji

[Paddles]

Safrica pick 5 front line bowlers.

#whatsthatabout? #quotas.

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See the comments on twitter - Rahane fans are furious....


‏

@SPORTSNASHA

In spite of scoring heavily in 2 ODI series, winning one man of the series , he was dropped from one dayers. Averaging above 50 in tests overseas, he is dropped in 1st test against South Africa. He is Ajinkya Rahane.@virendersehwag @cricketaakash @YSB7

@DhirajMahajan29

This is over smartness of Mr. kohli & coach Mr. Ravi that Must deserving test player Ajinkya Rahane is not in playing 11 today.

KASHISH
‏

@crickashish217

Feel for Ajinkya Rahane so much today, and then people say nice guys don't finish last. Feel for Ishant too.. he is twice the bowler in helpful conditions.

APRAMEYA .C
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@APRAMEYAC
Unfair to drop vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. 1 Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma won over the other. Another Mumbai man Ravi Shastri played a part? Rahane averages 53.44 outside India 6 tons, 69.66 in SA #cricket #SAvIND

Prasad Suroshe
‏

@PrasadSachinist
One of the most pathetic decision by Indian captain @imVkohli to drop Vice captain & India's most dependable overseas Test Batsman Ajinkya Rahane from playing XI!India will miss not only good batsman but a slip fielder too. #SAvIND

Rohit
‏

@vella_banda

Well, playing Rohit Sharma ahead of Ajinkya Rahane is not a good move, it's an foolish one! #SAvIND #IndvsSA #INDvSA #IndvSAonSonyTen3

Tejaswi Kalawatia
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@LaatanBaba

Incredulous to leave Ajinkya Rahane out, one of our more solid batsmen in overseas conditions, what role is the coach playing in team selection? Apart from sucking upto his captain #SAvsInd

[Paddles]

7 for 2 SOA

Not Markram #bighopeshewouldthrashStraya

[Boycs]

Well I bet you’re glad they picked kumar.

12/3 all to kumar. Elgar, the newbie and now amla

[bolero]

12/3

[Boycs]

Looks like a beautiful day. Gorgeous ground and stunning backdrop I’d love to go there one day.

Did we ever have any SA forum members?

[bolero]

Looks like a beautiful day. Gorgeous ground and stunning backdrop I’d love to go there one day.

Did we ever have any SA forum members?

There was one lady. Dont recollect her name. 2 members from SA. They were regulars at one time.

[Yorkshire]

Not even 5 over new batsman faf

[Boycs]

Or what I expected! Hopefully just an early morning blip as SA will put BCCI back in their box later.

Shame amla is gone, I’ve a whole day off to watch this and I enjoy watching him bat but alas

[bolero]

Or what I expected! Hopefully just an early morning blip as SA will put BCCI back in their box later.

Shame amla is gone, I’ve a whole day off to watch this and I enjoy watching him bat but alas

Indian fans still venting their anger on Rahane being dropped, hinting that Kohli wants only 'yes' men.

[Yorkshire]

I have Guest from England now at home
Bye folks

[Boycs]

Or what I expected! Hopefully just an early morning blip as SA will put BCCI back in their box later.

Shame amla is gone, I’ve a whole day off to watch this and I enjoy watching him bat but alas

Indian fans still venting their anger on Rahane being dropped, hinting that Kohli wants only 'yes' men.

Do they not get on?

[Boycs]

I have Guest from England now at home
Bye folks

bye!

[bolero]

Indian fans still venting their anger on Rahane being dropped, hinting that Kohli wants only 'yes' men.

Do they not get on?

He is not 'part' of the Kohli group. Guys like Dhawan and Sharma are close to Kohli.

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De Villiers in fully cry . 5 boundaries.

Quick counterattack.

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Fastest speeds:-

Bumrah - 141 kmph
Shami - 140 kmph
Bhuvaneshwar - 136 kmph

I might not be updated though.

[Boycs]

Went upstairs to check a Kohli catch. To Kohli's credit he never seemed to claim it, seemed quite open that he wasn't sure if he'd caught it or not and wanted it checked?

I didn't like the comment by the commentator "Kohli perhaps trying his luck early in the series" that implies an underhanded dishonest side of Kohli that I don't think he would appreciate.

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16.3
0
Mohammed Shami to du Plessis, no run, an edge has been taken by Kohli at second slip, but no one is sure if that has carried. Soft signal not out as the umpire's go upstairs. First look - Kohli's right palm doesn't look to have made an action to scoop the ball up like you would see in low catches like this...yep, that is given not out. That was a length ball in the corridor that straightened on Faf. He went after it with soft hands

[bolero]

South Africa totally on top.

[bolero]

De Villiers crushing the bowling. SA cruising.

[Yorkshire]

16.3
0
Mohammed Shami to du Plessis, no run, an edge has been taken by Kohli at second slip, but no one is sure if that has carried. Soft signal not out as the umpire's go upstairs. First look - Kohli's right palm doesn't look to have made an action to scoop the ball up like you would see in low catches like this...yep, that is given not out. That was a length ball in the corridor that straightened on Faf. He went after it with soft hands

That was out but not given

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16.3
0
Mohammed Shami to du Plessis, no run, an edge has been taken by Kohli at second slip, but no one is sure if that has carried. Soft signal not out as the umpire's go upstairs. First look - Kohli's right palm doesn't look to have made an action to scoop the ball up like you would see in low catches like this...yep, that is given not out. That was a length ball in the corridor that straightened on Faf. He went after it with soft hands

That was out but not given

Not conclusive. Some Indian fans on twitter claimed it out. But Kohli didnt appeal as he was not sure.

[Yorkshire]

Bumrah is specialist for t20 with 39 wickets in 2017.Runs came very easy.way too many 4 gone before Lunch ,107 for 3 : 4.12 NRR : ABD 59 not out

[bolero]

Bumrah is specialist for t20 with 39 wickets in 2017.Runs came very easy.way too many 4 gone before Lunch ,107 for 3 : 4.12 NRR : ABD 59 not out

TBH, I was surprised with Bumrah's selection. Bolt out of the blue. Ishant / Umesh would have been more threatening.

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Jasprit Bumrah's first wickets:
IPL - Virat Kohli
ODIs - Steven Smith
T20Is - David Warner
Tests - AB DE VILLIERS

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35.3
0
Pandya to du Plessis, no run, big appeal, no says umpire Kettleborough. Full delivery outside off, jags back in after pitching, like the de Villiers dismissal, but du Plessis gets forward. It hits him on the front pad, in front of off. India review. First impression was outside the line but HawkEye says in line. That is umpire's call, clipping the top of off. Did the umpire say outside the line or height? Doesn't matter

..............................

35.5
W
Pandya to du Plessis, OUT, out this time, no doubt. Du Plessis has nicked off two balls later and SA are in big trouble! Good length outside off, keeps a tad low too. Du Plessis cuts, but is a tad late on the shot. Toe-end to the keeper. Kohli sends off du Plessis with some ecstatic celebrations
F du Plessis c †Saha b Pandya 62 (104b 12x4 0x6) SR: 59.61

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This Umpire's Call thing is creating controversy all over the world.

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De Kock hammering Indian bowling.SA on.top.

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De Kock out.

Betfair has SA still slight favourites punters must think India will find batting difficult.
Capetown can be tough we will have to wait and see how the pitch behaves when India bat.

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Philander with his philandering ways smashing sub standard bowling to pulp.

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Dhawan drops a sitter as SA setting the pace.

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Maharaj slogging SA appear to be taking risks.

Unusual tactics by SA.