[Shumi_21]

Originally Posted by NPV

Sarfaraz run out for a quick fire 62

That was totally Jadeja's fault, he went in his shell after getting into the 90's and totally sold Sarfaraz down the river trying to get an impossible single on 99. Rohit threw away his cap in frustration in the dressing room and I hope he gives Jadeja an earful after the day's play. And I also expect Jadeja to score another 100 tomorrow.

[SidTheChamp]

Originally Posted by Eddy

So finally, all your prayers are answered. Sarfaraz gets a debut today on one of the flatter tracks in the country.

I have never seen such excitement throughout for a debut. Not just us, everyone from ex-cricketers, commentators, social media was pumped up for Sarfaraz.

He's a special talent and it was such a heartbreak today. Hopefully he gets the hundred in this series only.

[harry10]

I am really angry at Jadeja. Great innings but what a moron he is between the wickets. Sarfraz was gutted. Deserved a 100. Jadeja is a selfish cricketer. If you have followed his career from start you will know.

Anyways, Sarfraz batted beautifully and reminded everyone why he is averaging 70 in first class. Tight defense, rare guy who ducks under bouncers, brilliant against spin. And whoever said stuff about his fitness needs to eat a humble pie as he was very good between the wickets. I envision more accolades for him.

[schumi_pete]

I was as incandescent with rage as Rohit was in the dressing room when Jadeja ran Sarfaraz out. It is wholly unacceptable that an individual prioritizes his milestone over the needs of the team.

Yet again, we have probably let England off the hook by not batting them out of the match already. If Jadeja and the rest of the lower order cannot muster at least another 120-150 runs tomorrow, England will still be in the match.

But on Sarfaraz, he looked the best batter today despite the tons from Rohit and Jadeja. He looked decisive and assured whether he was defending or going for an aggressive shot, the mark of a guy who is a really good player. He should start in Tests for us ahead of the likes of Iyer/Patidar once Rahul and Kohli come back into the picture. Rahul, Gill and Sarfaraz are fighting for two spots in the middle order essentially once Kohli is back.

[AtheK]

Keeping aside the run out which has been already ridiculed and rightly so, what a confident debut by sarfaraz. Everyone was talking about him, he was under all the pressure while coming to bat not because of scorecard (Kudos to dravid to send Jadeja ahead of him, keeping aside the run out) but because of all the expecations that were riding on him and he played so well.

I haven't seen such a confident debut by an Indian batsman in recent times(Maybe jaiswal), he has really made a statement today, and thanks to Jadeja instead of his century all the focus is now on sarfaraz and how he got unlucky. Run out aside Jadeja played a peach of an innings as well, selfish or not, but when he came out to bat we were ready to be steam rolled. Good to see Rohit get some runs.

We need to get to 400, with Jurel and Ashwin still to come, we should be able to achieve that. Now all eyes on Jurel tomorrow, also patidar needs to make sure he cashes on second innings or his position is a toast, with KL coming back patidar might be out for sometime.

Good day of cricket overall, test match is so much joy.

[landcruiser123]

Great batting by a relatively inexperienced batting lineup. Glad Rohit came to the party with a century! Good to see Sarfaraz handed a debut - I hope he gets a consistent run!

Some stats I dug into:

Indian batting lineup total test career runs (excluding the current game): 12,298.
Joe Root's test career runs(excluding current game): 11,468.

It's been a while since I saw an inexperienced Indian test batting side! In terms of test runs, our top 3 batsmen were:
1. Rohit - 3,827 runs
2. Ashwin - 3,271 runs
3. Jadeja - 2,893 runs

[Eddy]

I missed watching the game.

How did Sarfaraz look? I tried watching the highlights but they show only the boundaries. Was his defense tight? Control?

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

1. Rohit - 3,827 runs
2. Ashwin - 3,271 runs
3. Jadeja - 2,893 runs

Reaction 1: See how pathetic our captain has been in tests.
Reaction 2: Media and fans haven't been kind to and appreciative of the all-round performances of the two spin masters.
Speculation 1: Ashwin could have been given the skipper's hat for a few matches.

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Reaction 1: See how pathetic our captain has been in tests.
Reaction 2: Media and fans haven't been kind to and appreciative of the all-round performances of the two spin masters.
Speculation 1: Ashwin could have been given the skipper's hat for a few matches.

Agree completely. Ashwin has won so many matches for us but has been treated real bad. A thinking player like him deserves the captaincy in home tests

[am1m]

Meanwhile, NZ on course to wrap things up against a pretty new SA side on day 4 itself. Can't recognize most of the names in the SA squad, talk about transition! Considering that, pretty creditable performance against an experienced NZ side, in NZ. Williamson equals Younis for the most 4th-innings centuries with 5.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I missed watching the game.

How did Sarfaraz look? I tried watching the highlights but they show only the boundaries. Was his defense tight? Control?

He played aggressively so his defense wasn’t really tested. He played as if he’s been with the team for 25-30 tests, with no regard to the England’s bowling attack. His batting period was the almost as enjoyable as Bumrah taking wickets in the first innings of second test.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by creative420

He played aggressively so his defense wasn’t really tested. He played as if he’s been with the team for 25-30 tests, with no regard to the England’s bowling attack. His batting period was the almost as enjoyable as Bumrah taking wickets in the first innings of second test.

This is the first time I saw him bat, and if this is how he bats, he is a genius.

Excellent judge of length which suggests a very quick eye, reminded me of Sehwag.

Unlike the others, he does not lunge forward to spinners, because he picks the length early and well. Uses the depth of the crease to play the ball late, which also explains why he cuts well. Batsmen of yore like the great Gundappa Viswanath used to do this

Very very clean hitter of the ball, again picks the length well and hits cleanly over the top, very Sehwag like.

The rest of the Indian batting lineup could take a leaf out of his book on how to rotate strike. Not easy to replicate however because of his technique as explained. Uses the depth of the crease to play the ball late and uses his wrists to place the ball between square leg and mid on. Doesn't have to depend on the sweep unlike the English to do this. All the Indian batting greats of the past could do this, something which is missing today.

Above all, looked completely uncluttered and confident. Seemed like he belonged there. Was a memorable debut ton for the taking, before Sir left him stranded.

Looking forward to watching him bat in the second essay. A special mention for Rohit too, curbed his natural aggression and his penchant for the hook/pull to deny Wood. Test cricket batting masterclass it was.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by am1m

Can't recognize most of the names in the SA squad, talk about transition!

The reason for sending the B-team from CSA is the board gave preference to their T20 league against this test series.

[NPV]

Despite the loss of Jadeja and Kuldeep this morning, India now on 401/7 thanks to a decent partnership that’s building up between Dhruv Jurel and Ashwin

Good opportunity now for youngsters to make their presence known and cement their places. The best thing that can happen to any team is to have a myriad of options for every spot in the playing 11

[hemanth.anand]

440 (Penalty) in the end is not a bad score at all considering we were 33/3. The fact that nobody just gifted their wicket away to the opposition was nice to see.