India vs Australia: 4th Test; March 25-29, 2017 at Dharamsala

[Misty]

Australia Test Squad
David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Peter Handscomb, Steve O'Keefe, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis

India Test Squad
Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav

[Mick180461]

Bird for Lyon the Doat then, can't see any other changes.
Misty you keep referring to the bowling of Maxwell & Smith, Smithy seems to have completly forgotten about his own bowling and only rates Maxwell a net bowler to be used only as a hail mary.

[MikeR68]

On the assumption that Australia had lost 6 wickets for a 50 run lead, so very lucky, IMO Khawaja for Warner, either Agar or Swepson for O'Keefe (reason is Lyon bowled well test 1 and 2 O'keefe only performed test 1, both terrible test 3) and to see how he goes, Bird for Hazelwood who has only taken 8 wickets in 3 tests and 6 of those came in 1 innings, the unknown for India. India don't seem to have trouble with Hazelwood, but neither did Sri Lanka.

[Katto]

Bird for Lyon the Doat then, can't see any other changes.
Misty you keep referring to the bowling of Maxwell & Smith, Smithy seems to have completly forgotten about his own bowling and only rates Maxwell a net bowler to be used only as a hail mary.

dumbest of all time?

[Katto]

only issue I have with Bird is he's not quick enough for these slow wickets

you need someone who can crank it up to 140kph on occasion

[Mick180461]

Bird for Lyon the Doat then, can't see any other changes.
Misty you keep referring to the bowling of Maxwell & Smith, Smithy seems to have completly forgotten about his own bowling and only rates Maxwell a net bowler to be used only as a hail mary.

dumbest of all time?

I this post works - yes

[raja]

Normally I'd expect Dharamsala to be a fast-paced wicket but now you never know what BCCI does to it.

[Leo]

Good Luck Australia

[Misty]

Sorry MS
We not afraid of your fast bowler, I think its Fashion for Australian players to say useless comments for up coming test.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-aus ... 87961.html
MS Australian fast bowler says for Indians:

[Mick180461]

Sorry MS
We not afraid of your fast bowler, I think its Fashion for Australian players to say useless comments for up coming test.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-aus ... 87961.html
MS Australian fast bowler says for Indians:

I never take much notice of what the players say, yes the Aussie players are right into useless comments.

[Katto]

Starc needs to STFU

[Misty]

Normally I'd expect Dharamsala to be a fast-paced wicket but now you never know what BCCI

does to it.

Not true, if BCCI wants their way,kohli gets ''CERTAIN BRAND BALL'
Ball was not doing nothing on day 5.

[Verity]

Hope VK scores a massive ton this Test, too good a player.

[Misty]

Most likely, ''he will'', Clarke says on Bombay TV because ball came to the bat very well at Dharamsala.

[Misty]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-aus ... 88024.html
Shami third seam bowler for india ?

I rate Shami better option than Bhuvi
For last test.

Misty

[Misty]

Ishant ?
OMG! 3 test 3 wickets at 69.66

[Misty]

Bird or Stoinis?

[Misty]

Hope VK scores a massive ton this Test, too good a player.

Ball could fly to the slips when you play even forward defensive stroke before lunch. Rahane and HandscomB will be fun to watch, if I have to lead Australia,i win toss and put India to bats first.

[Verity]

Ishant ?
OMG! 3 test 3 wickets at 69.66

He bowls ok just for the wrong team, would easily average in the 20's if he played for Aussies, NZ, England or South Africa

[baggygreenmania]

What is DOAT Mick.. dumbest of all time I am thinking? He should go as should SOK.. done nothing since his 12 in the first game. As it is being played at altitude..the massive Himalayas, then we should bring in Bird or Stoinis to bolster the pace attack.. I would also have Swepson as he could be an unknown quantity at altitude.

[Leo]

Ishant ?
OMG! 3 test 3 wickets at 69.66

He bowls ok just for the wrong team, would easily average in the 20's if he played for Aussies, NZ, England or South Africa

Rather wrong team, you can say in wrong condition. His away average is 37.56.

In Australia: 62.15
In England: 40.84
In New Zealand: 30.91
In South Africa: 54.16

Only in West Indies his average is 20.93.

[Misty]

Thanks for such details stats for Ishant but BCCI Coach and captain now certain to includes him for Dharamsala instead Bhuvneshwar.

I think Bhuvi's first or only visit to England more successful than any series he played but still,i think bhuvi more ideal at Dharamsala than ishant.

[Misty]

What is DOAT Mick.. dumbest of all time I am thinking? He should go as should SOK.. done nothing since his 12 in the first game. As it is being played at altitude..the massive Himalayas, then we should bring in Bird or Stoinis to bolster the pace attack.. I would also have Swepson as he could be an unknown quantity at altitude.

Swepson with 14 first class game for Queensland most unlikely to play on Saturday but Stoinis practices more yesterday for his more bowling than batting so he probably get the Nod as far is selection concerns
Mitchell Johnson suggest in Indian Regional newspaper to includes

Stoinis (his batting ability, bonus for us)
Bird (Deserves)
Haze
Cummins (our match winner)

Mitch says 4 fast and one spinner need, even if our tail seems to long, we have confidence to win series.

Curator Chauhan,predicts wicket will helpful for '' Fast and medium fast bowlers '' well Clarke says team win toss will win game but Curator not think so.

I myself misty, think whoever hold more catches in slip cordon, has more chances to win than other way around.

[baggygreenmania]

Stoinis or Maxwell? Both inconsistent with the bat. Maxwell best spin player of two. Stoinis' bowling will be a bonus. gee I dunno. If curator say pitch is suitable for pace then Stoinis must get nod. The one positive is that Cummins has pulled up fine after a gruelling test.

Dennis Amiss got a pair of ducks in his debut on his first Australian tour..I recall. Lillee got him both times.

[Mick180461]

Stoinis or Maxwell? Both inconsistent with the bat. Maxwell best spin player of two. Stoinis' bowling will be a bonus. gee I dunno. If curator say pitch is suitable for pace then Stoinis must get nod.

Dennis Amiss got a pair of ducks in his debut on his first Australian tour..I recall. Lillee got him both times.

Are we seriously thinking they are going to drop Maxwell &/or play Stoinis as a front line bowler? I have never seen the Australian selectors drop a player the match after they score a 100 unless it's for a player returning from injury. I will say this again Stoinis is in no way an Allrounder, handy change bowler, if Marsh was fit maybe you might play Stoinis, with Marsh as the 3rd seamer and Stoinis the 4th and 1 spinner.

[baggygreenmania]

Recall they dropped Brad Hodge after he score a ton. Hodge was a far better bat at the time than Maxwell. Tell CA that Stoinis is not an all rounder. The panel seems to get confused. They also picked Cartwright as one..and then realised their mistake and rather than admit it publicly they dropped the man. Stoinis is a specialist batsman that can hold down an end. How is his spin play? Maxwell's was fine during his ton.

[Leo]

I have never seen the Australian selectors drop a player the match after they score a 100 unless it's for a player returning from injury.

Jason Neil Gillespie

[Verity]

Maxwell is rubbish and that innings was shit imo, could have been out 10 seperate times but no way will he be dropped.

[Misty]

Rodney Redmonds 163 was in vain in his only test for NZ vs Pakistan, he never selected again.I would like to see maxi selects for Australia vs England in aus or England because so far he only plays his all innings in Sub-continent only.

[Misty]

Which Australian all rounders only test century was unbeaten DBL ? (other than Jason G's 201*)

[Misty]

If Maxwell left out (I do not think he will but ...) he should not feel bad because Sir BRADMAN was dropped very next game after his début test, Australia 66 all out in second innings.

[Misty]

This test batsman scored 2000 test runs with no century, other than bowler?

Bruce Laird
N.Sidhu
Chetan Chauhan
Hick
Watson

[mukeshkr]

India Will Won the Last Test Match and Also Series... Good Luck Indian Cricket Team for the Last match of the series...

[Misty]

Stoinis or Maxwell? Both inconsistent with the bat. Maxwell best spin player of two. Stoinis' bowling will be a bonus. gee I dunno. If curator say pitch is suitable for pace then Stoinis must get nod. The one positive is that Cummins has pulled up fine after a gruelling test.

Dennis Amiss got a pair of ducks in his debut on his first Australian tour..I recall. Lillee got him both times.

Amiss's test début at oval vs WI also not that good but he had poor record vs Arch rival Australia dismissed for 7 Duck alone vs Australia.Thompson also dismissed him for 4 and 0 in the same test besides Adelaide Duck in each innings off great Lillee.

My father read your post says,'' otherwise in FC he scored over 100 hundreds, over 200 Fifties and over 400 catches with over 43000 runs, in his 5th career game (test) in England, he was dismissed vs MCkenzie and Cowper for 0 in both innings.he was Famous for his 262* not out (test), carried his bats, one of all time best innings of decades""

[Misty]

Leo,
Make sure you check update on Virat because today he only doing under arm practice minus batting, otherwise rahane will lead India.I notices you selects VK in IIHAG.
Misty


http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-aus ... 88197.html
Shreyas Iyer (DBL century vs Australia) called up to cover Injured Virat

[Misty]

Umesh Yadav took 12 wickets in 3 test so far, who is more dangerous for Australia for tomorrows 4th test.
Why?

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/co ... 88193.html
Good luck umesh as Ash(17w) not far away.

[Boycs]

Ishant ?
OMG! 3 test 3 wickets at 69.66

He bowls ok just for the wrong team, would easily average in the 20's if he played for Aussies, NZ, England or South Africa

I had to read this about 15 times to believe you said it

[baggygreenmania]

No pics of the pitch on morning of the match. So will it finally be a deck for the quicks or another for the spinners? Who will be picked and who will be omitted? SOK and our premier spinner Nathan Lyon have been producing diamonds one week and rocks the next. Can we afford for it to be another offering of rocks? I would like to see either Mitchell Swepson or Ashton Agar given a game.

[Misty]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-aus ... 88229.html
Full credit to espn cricinfo.com

Big picture
This series that has hit plenty of heights, the mountaintop locale of Dharamsala seems as fitting a place as any for the fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be decided. India's players, and doubtless a few on the other side, probably expected the fourth Test to be a festive occasion, completing a marathon home international season with the completion of a comfortable series win over Australia against the most picturesque background possible. But as the former BCCI president Anurag Thakur found out when the match was first scheduled at the ground of his home association, things don't always go to plan.

Instead Dharamsala plays host to a match that will be anything but valedictory. Australia have fought India all the way through the series, having started with a stunning upset in Pune, and now find themselves needing only a draw to go home with the trophy. India, by contrast, have had to dig particularly deep to avoid defeat, first getting decidedly pugilistic in Bengaluru, then relying heavily on the serene Cheteshwar Pujara to forge ahead of the contest in Ranchi. Even so, Steven Smith's team refused to buckle under last-day pressure, allowing them to travel to Dharamsala with confidence they can handle just about any situation.

There remain questions for both sides to answer. Virat Kohli's sore shoulder is yet another obstacle for him in a series where the Australians have kept him exceptionally quiet in terms of runs if not words. Quite apart from the physical infirmity, Kohli must find a way to escape the funk he has entered when coming out to bat all series, either attacking too soon as in Pune or finding himself starved into error as in Bengaluru or Ranchi. Equally, Australia's vice-captain David Warner reaches Dharamsala having not yet made an impression on India's bowlers; the helmsman of Sunrisers Hyderabad's 2016 IPL title has far more to offer, and in the series' decisive match he will be straining to prove it.

Among the bowlers, the physical strain of back-to-back matches at the end of a long season will loom large. Neither R Ashwin nor Nathan Lyon had as much impact as expected in Ranchi, and only partly because they missed the footmarks provided by the injured Mitchell Starc. Australia's concern about Pat Cummins' ability to cope with his workload in the third Test was underlined by precautionary scans on his back that showed no damage done. India have extra pace options in reserve, depending on how the pitch and conditions reveal themselves on match day.

In a crucible of this kind, there may of course be further flashpoints between the two opposing sides. The joking observation of Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland - in a radio interview this week - that he's not sure Kohli "knows how to spell" the word sorry was an unexpected quarter from which to stir things up once more. But as this series has shown and Dharamsala will doubtless confirm, expectation is always a chance of being confounded.

India: DWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: DLWWW
In the spotlight

By playing the longest innings ever by an Indian Test batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara made himself Australia's No. 1 wicket-taking priority in the final Test. The tourists have enormous respect for Pujara's concentration and shot selection, but also feel that a little extra bounce could be the way to defeat him. As Josh Hazlewood put it: "Any sort of bounce is an added bonus for the quicks against most of their batters, and probably him in particular. But he's got a great temperament and I guess you've just got to try and get under his skin somehow, but he just loves batting and loves batting a long time. He's definitely a key wicket for us."

By David Warner's logic, the wheel of his overseas under-performance is bound to turn soon. This series he has hinted at taking control of a match on several occasions, whether the first morning of the series, or the start of the second-innings chase in Bengaluru. But there has also been a sense that India's bowlers know how to find a way past him, so long as they stay patient. Every other member of Australia's top six has made a major contribution at least once in this series; Dharamsala could be Warner's turn.
Team news

Kohli will undergo a fitness test on Friday night or Saturday morning to determine whether he is able to play. If he is ruled out, Iyer is likely to slot into the middle order to make his Test debut, and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the side. M Vijay may also be a doubtful starter - he did not train on Friday, and had missed the Bengaluru Test with a shoulder injury. If either or both miss out, India are unlikely to tamper with their six batsmen + keeper + four bowler combination, given the loss of so much experience from their batting line-up.

India still seem unsure whether Mohammed Shami is fit enough to last five days, so if there is any change in their bowling attack, it is likely to be the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in potentially swing-friendly conditions, possibly at Ishant Sharma's expense.

India: 1 M Vijay/Abhinav Mukund, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt)/Shreyas Iyer, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Karun Nair, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pat Cummins has been cleared of any back trouble after his return to Test matches in Ranchi, so the likelihood is for an unchanged Australian side after Glenn Maxwell's first-innings century at No. 6.

Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Steve O'Keefe, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

Dharamsala's location and altitude have tended to offer some help to pace bowlers in the past, though during last year's World Twenty20 the pitch was slow and assisting spin. The surface has a thin film of green grass that is expected to be shaved off by match morning and some help for spin can be expected.

Kohli expected it to offer "good bounce for the spinners" and "good pace off the wicket for the quicks". Dharamsala should have pleasant weather through the Test, with maximum temperatures in the low-to-mid-20s, with forecasts of rain towards the second half of the match.

Stats and trivia

• Australia are seeking their first series win in India since 2004
• Dharamsala will become the 27th Test venue in India
• Should he play, Kohli will need 89 runs to avoid completing his least productive Test series as a batsman - previously 134 runs at 13.40 in England in 2014

Quotes
"I'm focused on what we can control, and that's playing each ball one at a time and concentrating on the processes of what we need to do in the middle and doing them for just a little bit longer than we have perhaps in the last two Tests. It's a really exciting time for this team to be involved in this game."
Steven Smith
"I think the series is beautifully placed and everyone's really excited for the Test match, both sides and people watching as well. It's been a very, very exciting series of ups and downs, [a] roller-coaster ride. I hope it finishes really well and people get to see some really good cricket here as well."
Virat Kohli

[baggygreenmania]

You did cut and paste that article. Not type it?

So what sort of pitch are we going to get Misty?
Did you see Steve Smith and the Aussie boys meeting the Dalai Llama at Dharamsala yesterday?

[Misty]

Yes half an hour episode on TV, smith and Warner standing next to D.Lama.who gave special blessing to help Cummins for his back trouble nagging problem, whole aus team was there.

[Misty]

Good bounce for the spinner but grass cut yesterday morning so lot less helpful for Haze after lunch.

[Misty]

Kohli is a bit of a "boom or bust" player in Test cricket, at least recently. A few exa
- In 2014/15, he reached 30 once in ten innings in England. Then he made five hundreds, including thee 140+ scores, in his next ten innings (in Aus & SL).

After making 200 in the WI in July last year, he reached 20 just twice in his next seven innings (top score 45). Then he followed up with three double centuries and a 167 in his next 11 innings.

- However he's followed that up with his series, where he's not passed 15 in five innings and, as a result, averaging lower than the opposition no.9 as you point out.

In ODIs he is incredibly consistent and, by all accounts, he's one of the hardest workers if not hardest worker in the Indian team - suggests his struggles are driven by technical deficiencies at Test level. Root, Williamson & Smith have better techniques and hence are more consistent

Baggy
My thought above but eve of each test, I cut and paste from various resources.(on subject)

[Misty]

I wish good luck to Shreyas Iyer to establish in Indian test team, he should be there during SRT's days but politically he missed by selectors.

[baggygreenmania]

Good bounce for the spinner but grass cut yesterday morning so lot less helpful for Haze after lunch.

So you are saying the deck will only help the quicks in first session or generally with the new ball? But basicly it will be another deck for the spinners.. So Australia will again pick two spinners? Please Swepson. As Josh needs wickets he must get them with the hard,new ball.

[baggygreenmania]

Shreyas Iyer is he an all rounder? He played in the Aussie Winter A series. Impressed me from memory.

[Mick180461]

Crickinfo says Kohli out Kuldeep in, can't even find him on the team sheet.

[Going South]

Rahane is captain now ?

Hahahahahaha

Love it as raja hates it.

I raise my glass to test cricket ruled by T20 specialists.

Soon maxwell would be test captain

Aaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha

[baggygreenmania]

Mick CI is also saying talk of pace and bounce in the deck is "unfounded". With one of the world's most fearsome bowlers in our lineup..it was never going to be a fast track? Will be a new ball track that will take turn on the third day. Again the toss is vital. CI saying the deck has some grass but also cracks appearing already. Another batting minefield for days 4-5 by the sounds of things.

[baggygreenmania]

GS some sanity may prevail in this Test as Rahane has none of the over the top captaincy of Kohli. Appears to have a calm but astute head for the game with little of Kohli's histronics.