Could the SA-India series' fate have been different if Rahane & Bhuvneshwar had played the 2nd Test?

[MRSN]

Could the SA-India series' fate have been different if Rahane & Bhuvneshwar had played the 2nd Test?

first of all congrats to India for winning the third test. They have been outstanding on this tour especially their bowling. but do you think 2nd test could have different result if both match winners of this game had played the second test?

 

[JaDed]

It's all Ifs, but we would had competed well I guess, Bhuvi is a good batsman as well. Hopefully we play them both in England.

 

[Sachin136]

No, we probably would have still lost the second test. But the first test we definitely would've won.

 

[RainMan_]

Yes, Stupid selection was the reason why India couldn't win the series. I Don't think any sane person would select FTB rohit over rahane in overseas condition.

 

[Sidilicious]

No, we probably would have still lost the second test. But the first test we definitely would've won.

Was going to say the same. Had Rahane played in the 1st test, and had we not wasted the conditions in the 1st innings, we would have won.

Nevertheless, I am looking forward to touring England, Aus and NZ next.

 

[austerlitz]

Dropping rahane was criminal.We had bad luck with the toss tour batting didn't perform all that well,south africa was better.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

As I kept saying, winnable series.

If Kohli hadn't messed with the confidence of bats, we would have seen Rahul come to party too.

1-2 is a fair reflection of the series considering the comedies we did (poor preparation, brain dead selections, etc).

Could have been 2-1 atleast otherwise.

But what a performance by Kohli with the bat. Best batsman of the series. Should be Man of the Series.

 

[Madplayer]

Bhuvneshwar was the second most reliable Indian batsman on this tour.

 

[unitedkush]

This is a question that captain and team management must reflect on, this series will go down as a massive lost opportunity.

Anyways, right now we should celebrate. First away Test victory in SENA since Lords 2014.

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

No, we would have lost this test with Bhuvi and Rahane if the toss was lost
These are some of the worst pitches, nothing to do with green mamba or uneven bounce or slowness, the problem is toss was deciding factor in all three matches.
Team loosing the toss have to play out of skin to even be competitive and I am not talking about win.

India winning first two toss would have sealed at least one match for India.

 

[lehen]

No, we would have lost the series, poor top order combined failure) and Toss decided the series
Fair result

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Maybe the first test. If anything it was the lack of practice matches that cost us. A price to pay for Shastri s arrogance and not respecting the game of test cricket.

 

[Oxfordchamp]

It's a learning curve for Kohli as captain..he himself admitted.. right now just enjoy this sweet victory...

 

[shaz619]

This is also why it should have been a 4 or 5 match series, India finally found their best XI but the series is over. Plus they ought to get better and learn from their experiences, it was refreshing to see Kohli bring in Rahane; it shows he was willing to put his ego away.

 

[Bewal Express]

No, we would have lost this test with Bhuvi and Rahane if the toss was lost
These are some of the worst pitches, nothing to do with green mamba or uneven bounce or slowness, the problem is toss was deciding factor in all three matches.
Team loosing the toss have to play out of skin to even be competitive and I am not talking about win.

India winning first two toss would have sealed at least one match for India.

The toss was the deciding factor in as far as the teams batting 2nd couldnt cope with the pressure of a chase. Didnt Kohli say he was going to bowl 1st anyway at Cape Town.

 

[Saurav]

As I kept saying, winnable series.

If Kohli hadn't messed with the confidence of bats, we would have seen Rahul come to party too.

1-2 is a fair reflection of the series considering the comedies we did (poor preparation, brain dead selections, etc).

Could have been 2-1 atleast otherwise.

But what a performance by Kohli with the bat. Best batsman of the series. Should be Man of the Series.

I would have given that to Kumar if from India.Kohli failed in 1st Test.

Could have won series in SA if we just had common sense.That hurts so much

 

[Buffet]

This is also why it should have been a 4 or 5 match series,

Agree with this. I would have liked to see 2 more tests here.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Bad team selection have cost India this series.

Especially after Steyn's injury, I felt India were the favorites.

So, Could the SA-India series' fate have been different if Rahane & Bhuvneshwar had played the 2nd Test? Most probably yes.

 

[Oligochaetes]

Could the fate of this test be different if Steyn had played?

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

OP, I believe so.

Forget the second Test, Dhawan and Rohit had no business playing at all. Rahane, Rahul, Bhuvi should have been there all through the series.

 

[Ab Fan]

Yes

 

[praveen]

Yes. Dropping bhuvi was criminal. He’s our Kapil Dev. Rahane should also have played. I’m not convinced with rohit. Even pujara to an extent. Also feel Toss had zero effect on the result of the series. It was more due to lack of warm up games. Atleast should have had the odis games first up instead of test. Anyways Good fight from both sides and congrats SA for winning the series. Well played India.


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[Chief Destroyer]

It could've been different had Rahul and Rahane played all three.

 

[Buffet]

Indians should have played Kumar, Rahane and Rahul in all 3 tests. You need to back your best players.

I am not sure about series result being different just due to this. Series could have been different if India had won all 3 toss.

 

[Bewal Express]

Yes. Dropping bhuvi was criminal. He’s our Kapil Dev. Rahane should also have played. I’m not convinced with rohit. Even pujara to an extent. Also feel Toss had zero effect on the result of the series. It was more due to lack of warm up games. Atleast should have had the odis games first up instead of test. Anyways Good fight from both sides and congrats SA for winning the series. Well played India.


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The Kepil Dev i saw from 1983 onwards was pretty mediocre bar the odd game. Kumar is a much better bowler than the version i saw.

 

[CadPakFan]

Not sure who would've won but if they did the right selections it would've been a much tighter contest.

 

[Majestic]

Could have been but we can't really make any assumption on that basis only.

 

[praveen]

The Kepil Dev i saw from 1983 onwards was pretty mediocre bar the odd game. Kumar is a much better bowler than the version i saw.

Even better then


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[English August]

The Kepil Dev i saw from 1983 onwards was pretty mediocre bar the odd game. Kumar is a much better bowler than the version i saw.

Check Kapil's bowling in 1991-2 series in Australia. In the 1986 series against England, even though Chetan Sharma took more wickets than him, it was due to Kapil creating pressure from the other side.

People who diss Kap's bowling know nothing about genuine swing bowling.

BK has a long way to go before anyone can mention him in the same sentence as Kapil.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Obvious omissions. One certified overseas specialists. Other one is in form. When you look at the margins India dug their own grave by playing Rohit sharma.

 

[Savage]

I would've picked Rahane ahead of Rohit(if allowed only 1) and most probably played both of them in 1st Test.

Had India won the Toss and batted first in 2nd test then we might've won that Test.

 

[Bewal Express]

Check Kapil's bowling in 1991-2 series in Australia. In the 1986 series against England, even though Chetan Sharma took more wickets than him, it was due to Kapil creating pressure from the other side.

People who diss Kap's bowling know nothing about genuine swing bowling.

BK has a long way to go before anyone can mention him in the same sentence as Kapil.

Friend i actually saw the England series in 86, he was bowling around 75mph and very average. The only thing in his favour was that Englands batting was terrible.

 

[English August]

Friend i actually saw the England series in 86, he was bowling around 75mph and very average. The only thing in his favour was that Englands batting was terrible.

He was never an out-and-out pace bowler. What's your point? I'd like BK to carry the workload of India's bowling for 15 years (without ever being dropped for fitness) before we compare with him with Kaps.

 

[Bewal Express]

He was never an out-and-out pace bowler. What's your point? I'd like BK to carry the workload of India's bowling for 15 years (without ever being dropped for fitness) before we compare with him with Kaps.

For me Kepil after his knee injury was a medium pace swing bowler who was ok at best, but harmless most of the time. Before his knee injury he was a very good bowler, who swung the ball at a decent pace. Kumar is an excellent bowler but seems to lack the confidence of his captain.

 

[Princejain191]

I really doubt whether playing Bhuvi at Centurion would have made any difference. Maybe with the bat. But just not the pitch for his kind of bowling. Just as Philander was pretty average there. And Rahane has also struggled on pitches that don't have good pace, so no reason to believe how he could have helped. But in Cape town, Rahane could possibly have made a difference.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Friend i actually saw the England series in 86, he was bowling around 75mph and very average. The only thing in his favour was that Englands batting was terrible.

Whoever said Kapil was fast? I have watched cricket from 83 onwards and Kapil used to be a very capable bowler and player. The style of cricket was very different from today.

Although I am not sure how you got this 75mph speed from? Can you elaborate? Where and how did you check his speed?

 

[gani999]

Maybe the first test. If anything it was the lack of practice matches that cost us. A price to pay for Shastri s arrogance and not respecting the game of test cricket.

I am happy that someone agrees about Shastri being a disaster.

I wonder what the BCCI was smoking when they made him coach. Shastri's arrogance and boorishness will destroy the youngsters in the team. I wouldn't at all be surprised if it was actually Shastri who was behind the decision to drop Rahane and pick Rohit for the first two tests. Kohli simply seems to be in awe of Shastri and is only too willing to do his bidding.

The BCCI should sack Shastri at once.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I am happy that someone agrees about Shastri being a disaster.

I wonder what the BCCI was smoking when they made him coach. Shastri's arrogance and boorishness will destroy the youngsters in the team. I wouldn't at all be surprised if it was actually Shastri who was behind the decision to drop Rahane and pick Rohit for the first two tests. Kohli simply seems to be in awe of Shastri and is only too willing to do his bidding.

The BCCI should sack Shastri at once.

To be frank it's Kohli's fault as well. I think he wants someone who is a typical yes man who would never question his tactics/strategies. We need a proper professional coach who can get the best out of the team and keep Kohli on his toes. Someone like Mike Hesson of Ne Zealand. Not this hyped up commentator . What coaching credentials does he have anyway?

 

[Chrish]

Possibly..

 

[big_gamer007]

We have ourselves to blame for them he series loss, poor preparation, pathetic team selection, poor fielding cost us.. Hopefully Kohli/Shastri learn and don’t repeat the same mistakes in England.. If we can’t win the series in England this year we will never get a better chance against England in future..

 

[Tusker]

Just better catching, fielding and running between wkts would have won us the series.

 

[Chrish]

Reckon Kohli feels some sort of insecurity regarding Pujara and Rahane. Pujara has saved two high profile home series against SA and Aus which Kohli completely flopped and Rahane has so far been better oversea player than him and also lead the team to victory against Australia where Kohli made a fool of himself.

Reckon he would drop these two at every opportunity he can get in future and his inferiority complex will only hurt the team India.

 

[The_Odd_One]

This was India's series to win. Credit to Kohli for losing it.

SA's batting is bang mediocre with two passengers in Faf and De Kock.

 

[Noman]

This was India's series to win. Credit to Kohli for losing it.

SA's batting is bang mediocre with two passengers in Faf and De Kock.

People Do Not understand The Cricket. Sa cricketer have not brain ofF. Dropping i Dont now How many catches. Sa after Winning test series is not the same team. Indian would have competed better with Those 2 players

 

[Hasan123]

It could have been. They should have played all 3 tests.