This is a guaranteed win match.Actually Sai did way better in IPL playoffs than Gill. This is his home ground.He is probably trying to be needlessly too cautious. No.3 is such an important spot.
Agree. 7 + 5Tier system is very important for survival of test cricket.
After epic Anderson Tendulkar series we are being tortured by playing low quality tournament,s low quality test series.
Gill probably picked him because of his runs on flat decks in the IPL. He has an average of 35 in domestic cricket, Easwaran should have been given the opportunity but Gambhir & his selections.
Not the right venue for a test match with a low ranked team. It should have been a smaller city, where people would go to watch a match with West Indies
Nothing absurd about Gill averaging below 40! I find him a bit of a softie. No way you should be playing a reverse sweep when you don't play it in even in T20s No way it should be done in a test match especially when you have everything at your command.
Agreed. This is what comes from trying to force an all-format player. He's excellent in Tests and One-dayers and should stay in his late. It's not like he's some atrocious T20 player but by pursuing this path, we risk turning him into a Jack of all trades and Master of none.
It stuck me as well. From the days when we played 6 batters and sometimes a poor wicketkeeper to make it 7 batters and 4 bowlers to now when we're playing only 4 specialist batters.
I think Sundar is must especially after his exploits in last year's series against NZ.
Sai is slow starter for T20 . we don't need Sai in our dynamic batting line-up for T20. We want jaiswal and you're talking about Sai.
I can never understand GG’s selection criteria. Why is Abhimanyu Eeswaran playing in the Irani cup?
GG doesn't care about stats. He used to consider Sanju the best young batter from India.
There are many optionsAnother disappointed innings from Sai. He needs to understand that he will get only 2 chance in whole series to prove his worth at 3 .
He is wasting golden opportunity to cement his place in the team. But we have not Many options either for Number 3 position.
Well sundar is a generational talent
Then he shouldn’t be coach tbh
Because his father made comments about his non selection in Indian team & likes of Sai getting selected inspite of Easwaran having average of 50 in first class cricket. GG & Agarkar decided to throw Easwaran out of the team, next stop for Easwaran is keep opening for Bengal until retirement. He should have been given atleast one opportunity in test matches.
Damn, this is so sad
GG and his ego!
Gill getting out today has nothing to do with pitch aiding movement. That was a brain fade moment from him and he paid the ultimate penalty.
I don't think you actually saw the dismissal. He played a reverse sweep. A shot he barely plays even in a T20.
Rohit and Kohli's retirement were the single biggest boost to our Test team. Such a shame it happened a few years late.
Yeah, have been saying this for few years now. No way they should have bee allowed to play BGT earlier this year. But we as a nation, are too enamoured by emotions and hero worshipping.
We won't. Jadeja, Sundar are too good for us to be troubled. We should pay but we won't. We handicap ourselves like this too often (we just did it in the Asia Cup) and get away with because we're too good compared to these oppositions.
Look no further than their troll armies on X who will belittle anyone and everyone including bowlers like Bumrah just to brown nose those two. Thankfully, they have mellowed down lately.
They've mellowed down because they know that their heroes' time is over.
I agree.
Both are injured.
Injured
I talked about Sai, because he is playing tests... Jaiswal is already in our test lineup... Yes Jaiswal can play in T20s, but I don't mind it, because he is an established (to some extent) test opener now, so don't want to disturb his rhythm (just like how we lost KL Rahul the test batsman for a long time sacrificing for his LOI exploits. Now that he is playing only tests, he is back). Sai Sudarshan was the prime batsman in last IPL, so I wanted him in our T20 setup... Maybe he can replace even SKY... T20 lineup should be refurbished every 2 years, if Indian management understands this - then India will win every T20 worldcup...Sai is slow starter for T20 . we don't need Sai in our dynamic batting line-up for T20. We want jaiswal and you're talking about Sai.
@harshjoshi87
No it’s a legal case apparently due to r@pe
We can bowl 10 if we're so inclined today. 37 overs left in the day. 100 off 25 and then let them have a bat against a lead of 250.
Naah, let Reddy and Washi get a bat.
I'm okay either way. Game's a formality at this point
I would like that very much ... 317/4 & 34 overs left - we can get 400 which should be enough .
Long-term injury?
I'm leaning towards the suggestion from @saimayubera. Might as well give everyone a bat. It's not like we're going to learn anything from this Test.
Nothing embarrassing about it. They were great...some of those teams would be in contention for all time great status. Each one of our victories was glorious and hard fought.
looks like they will bat till Lunch tomorrow ... DK said that !
That's the right decision. Bat once and bat big.
I thnk we have to stop using his career average as a reference. People improve. He average 70 or something last season. It is a different matter whether he should play or not. THey see something in him. He played risk free T20 cricket and made 759 runs last season. But i think he is over trying in Tests.
Lead of 250 over WI is huge ...
Make it even bigger. 400-450. It should be such a shellacking that everyone should question the status quo in Test cricket.
I was discussing with someone else earlier. He does feel like a Test batter - all the strokes, plenty of time - all the stuff that attracts selectors to a batter. Somehow it's not coming together yet. I'm willing to give it a a bit more time but we'll have to decide about Jurel once Pant comes back. He's making himself increasingly unstoppable.
The reason Sai is backed is because they feel he's a guy who can play the highest quality of bowling , especially pace bowling.
my fave Bell being interviewed ...
Series like this doesn't hurt us. We shouldn't be juggling too much ane make players feel unsafe.
