INDIA vs SA - INDIA Tour of South Africa 2017-18

[uttermost]

I want India to make sub 100 scores in all innings in this series.

so should I proudly predict that they would, or should I predict the opposite? because whatever I predict, opposite happens.

or just wishing subconsciously that India fails hard in this series is enough to make sure India wins it?

[uttermost]

I predict 2-1 victory for India, but deep down, I wish they suffer innings defeat with 3-0.

lets see how my iron leg works.

[Kool_SRG]

52 minutes ago, uttermost said:

I want India to make sub 100 scores in all innings in this series.

so should I proudly predict that they would, or should I predict the opposite? because whatever I predict, opposite happens.

or just wishing subconsciously that India fails hard in this series is enough to make sure India wins it?

Rahane ni entha kottanidham 

[uttermost]

5 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Rahane ni entha kottanidham 

Rahane sure shot 50, with all 6 innings combined  

[Kool_SRG]

1 minute ago, uttermost said:

Rahane sure shot 50, with all 6 innings combined  

[MRI]

12 minutes ago, Kool_SRG said:

Rahane ni entha kottanidham 

Rahane will contribute this series.. he plays well overseas..

[Kool_SRG]

2 minutes ago, MRI said:

Rahane will contribute this series.. he plays well overseas..

Hope so but his confidence level seems to be too low, hopefully he turns it around.

[MRI]

1 minute ago, Kool_SRG said:

Hope so but his confidence level seems to be too low, hopefully he turns it around.

I dont think his confidence is low. His shot selection has been wrong for slow pitches..

[timmy]

slip catching lo india worst 

[Kool_SRG]

Newlands trying hard to provide SA pace in drought conditions

And on the last morning of 2017, it rained.

Okay, it drizzled, but for the people of the Western Cape, the province of South Africa enduring its worst drought in more than a hundred years, the drops were welcomed like small mercies. Things in this part of the country are bad. Showers are timed at no more than two minutes, toilet flushing has been reduced to only if absolutely necessary, and people have been asked not to use more than 87 litres of water each per day.

It's in these circumstances that India's tour of South Africa begins, in these conditions that South Africa hope to be able to present India with a pitch with pace, bounce and seam movement. And the only way that can happen is with the sprinkling of water.

Luckily, Newlands has borehole-water supply but groundsman Evan Flint told ESPNcricinfo it has still been a tricky preparatory period. "With the pitch, we've been able to carry on watering it as usual every day with borehole water. But the outfield, we've only watered it twice a week so it's a little bit drier and maybe not as lush as we would like it. The challenge is that we need to leave live grass on the wicket, thin grass, so that there is pace, but we want to make sure the ball doesn't grip and turn. Ideally, what we need is a little bit of rain in the morning and then sun in the afternoon and I don't know how many days we will get that for."

December 31 was a rare day on which exactly that happened, but Flint hasn't seen much of that over the last few months. The usual Cape winter rains were thin and the unseasonal spring and summer showers have been few and far between. Still, he has been hard at work since the off season started in April.

Flint usually spends months "keeping an eye" on his Test pitch - it is generally the same one and it generally does the same things. There's some life in it upfront, it flattens out over the next two days and then starts to deteriorate. In recent years, the wearing down of the pitch has not happened as much as expected, something Flint recognised. "That has sometimes been a criticism of my pitches - that they don't deteriorate," he said.

The 2011 New Year's Test , which India played in, is a case in point. After India made some early inroads, both sides scored first innings totals of over 350, South Africa's second innings was just under 350 and India were set 340 to win. They would likely have got there if time hadn't run out. It's tough to say the same about South Africa's chances of taking wickets. The drawn match at Newlands gave India their best result in a series in South Africa: also a draw.

Newlands general view Getty Images

That they hope to go one better this time is a no-brainer and they have come with a balanced enough side to mount a serious challenge. Furthermore, South Africa will remember how the green mambas in Johannesburg in 2006 and in Durban in 2010 backfired on them. Those two matches remain the only two India have have won in this country, having played 17. Back then, they had an attack with one or two standouts (Sreesanth in 2006, Zaheer Khan in 2010) and a few supporting acts. Now, they have a five-man attack, all equally capable of holding their own.

Still, South Africa see their best chance as trusting in their bowlers to do the damage and their batsmen to withstand, much like India did the last time South Africa visited their shores in 2015. Rank turners in Mohali and Nagpur meant two of the four matches end inside three days, in India's favour. The Nagpur pitch was subsequently rated poor by the ICC but the fact remained, India had ended South Africa's nine-year unbeaten run on the road. It doesn't need any further explanation to conclude that South Africa will want to get some of their own back.

"Everybody is pretty clear on what they want. We've tweaked a few things in terms of trying to get fresh green grass and we're also working on getting the wicket hard, so we're rolling it, but we have to keep the grass alive at the same time," Flint said. "It will help the bowlers out in the beginning but it's not going to be the Wanderers or Centurion."

South Africa may have to wait until the second and third Tests upcountry to really unleash their full hostility on India. Until then, they can only know that Newlands has done everything it can to support the cause, and, like everyone else in the province, they can pray for morning rain.

[Kool_SRG]

On 12/31/2017 at 6:34 PM, timmy said:

slip catching lo india worst 

No fixed Slip specialist they are trying different options.... Only Rahane is bit better.

 

Mundu ayite manchi settled undedi Dravid & VVS Laxman at First & Second Slip.

[Kool_SRG]

India Vs South Africa: Shikhar Dhawan Declared Fit For 1st Test, Ravindra Jadeja Doubtful

 

Shikhar Dhawan was seen limping into the team hotel ahead of the departure for South Africa.

 

In what could be a huge relief for Team India, opener Shikhar Dhawan has been declared fit for the first Test of the three-match series starting on January 5 at Newlands in Cape Town. "India opener Shikhar Dhawan is fit and is available for selection for the first Test. Dhawan had suffered a minor ankle injury before the team's departure to South Africa," a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) release said on Wednesday. Dhawan had raised many eyebrows when he was seen limping while entering the team hotel ahead of the team's departure for South Africa. His left ankle was heavily strapped and he was accompanied by physio Patrick Farhart.

The left-hander had played two Tests in the home series against Sri Lanka and scored 192 runs at an average of 48.00.

As per the BCCI release, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been suffering from viral illness for the past two days. The BCCI Medical Team has been monitoring him and is also in touch with the local medical team in Cape Town.

"The BCCI Medical Team in consultation with the local medical team has decided that Jadeja will be taken to a hospital for treatment and expects him to fully recover in the next 48 hrs. A decision on his availability for selection for the opening Test against South Africa will be taken on the morning of the match i.e. 5th January 2018," the release said.

If India go ahead with the expected three pacers and a spinner combination, Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to get the nod ahead of Jadeja. 

[timmy]

india bowl first bumrah debuts 

[timmy]

rahane gaadini pakkana pettaru gaa calling @fake_Bezawada @Kool_SRG @Kontekurradu 

[timmy]

Kumar to Elgar, OUT,

D Elgar c †Saha b Kumar 0 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

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