[NPV]

India’s famed and strongest batting lineup in the world is right on top of the game at 22/3!

I thought Rohit would open the batting in this game, now I think he fears it going by his decision to let Jaiswal and Rahul open.

Test cricket isn’t for us, we just need to push on with T20 where all the moolah is.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by NPV

India’s famed and strongest batting lineup in the world is right on top of the game at 22/3!

Not sure who even remotely considers our top order as famed anymore, our top order has been garbage in test cricket for quite sometime now.

Kohli continues to make a mockery of himself in international scene, captain ji to follow suit soon. Jaiswal also continues to fail in 1st innings way too regularly. KL Rahul has been the only surprise till now, showing application.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by NPV

India’s famed and strongest batting lineup in the world is right on top of the game at 22/3! .

What's more alarming is that this is the score after just 7.2 overs. The bowlers probably didn't even drop a sweat to bring the No. 5 batter to the crease within the first 10 overs.

My comments on Rohit:

• 2015 (The Cricket Thread)
• 2016 (The Cricket Thread)
• 2018 (The Cricket Thread)
• 2021 (The Cricket Thread)

Originally Posted by msdivy

Rohit's IPL performance earns him a place in tests. He is dropped after poor test performance. He bids his time till the next IPL and gets selected to the test team again. Rohit's test career is caught in this vicious circle.

The vicious circle is finally broken - he is the captain now

[harry10]

Originally Posted by harry10

With rain playing it's part for next 3 days, if Indian batters show some spine this can be a draw as winning it looks out of picture right now.

Originally Posted by Oxy

Winning? Lol. Even if three sessions of play is possible over the next 3 days, we will find a way to lose this test. That is how fragile our batting is.

Saving this test from here would be sheer miracle.

Another shit show of a batting by top order.

Jaiswal trying hard to be Sehwag needs to understand it's going to hamper his game. He has the technique to leave balls and play a patient knock. Will learn.

Gill again same issue as Jaiswal. No need to play extravagant shots when you are just in.

Kohli. Please drop him or ask him to retire. Look at Smith. Technical adjustments he made for the ball coming in and the determination to make a fighting hundred. How can a top batter keep nicking ball on 5th-6th stump regularly is beyond me.

Rain trying hard to save Indian team. But Indian batsman are in no mood to be saved. KL, Pant and Reddy are the only one showing grit.

Edit- as I was typing Pant is gone. Also can Comms stop calling Kohli as prize wicket. He is worse than our all rounders now in batting. Ash and Sundar any day will make more runs and give bowling also.

[Oxy]

We are reduced to 48/4 as I type. At the crease are the perennial walking wicket aka our captain Sharmaji, and a batsman who turns into a walking wicket at the slightest hint of pressure.

I think Australia will enforce the follow on after the first innings rumbling. Just pray we somehow avoid an embarassing innings defeat.

[Eddy]

This looks like a drubbing in the making. And finally the selectors will wake up and drop players. Akash Deep should be scared

[NomadSK]

I truly want this star studded team to be humiliated on the ground by the Aussies in this test. Innings defeat within 3 days with few sessions being curtailed, wow. Then atleast they will do a complete change over for a new team for the 4th and 5th test, which I will root for. I don’t see any application and fight from the batters, thanks to fat IPL cheques and poor batting techniques to offer. I fail to comprehend how they have reached to this level of playing cricket without their technique being exploited and Aussies are making a mockery of them with plans and executing them with impunity.

Meanwhile Kane/Smith/Root are making runs like anything and our King is dragging.

Drop all deadwood from the team immediately.
Sack GG and his personal team management by yesterday.

This is the lowest I have seen Indian test team performing in last 2 decades. One or 2 bad test is understood, but it’s like the chain of events are never ending.

While I type, Indian team is enjoying tea with pakodas on a rainy day, that’s what they are best suited for.

[AtheK]

The biggest pressure currently is on Kohli and Sharmaji's PR team, how will they salvage this now from here.

You win some you loose some, that is ok, it is the manner of last few loss which is unbelievable. Can't win at home, can't win away, top order can't bat at home, can't bat away, what a joke this team has become.

Rohit will lose 5th test in a row here, until rain saves us and keeps belting down for next two days. The way our team is playing it won't take more then 3 sessions for Australia to take remaining 16 wickets and wrap us up.

Bumrah the lone fighter at this point in this team, he must also be thinking wish he was born in Australia. Give him the captaincy from next match and drop both Kohli and Sharma, let them get back home and call it a day.

Gambhir has to take a stand here and be the bad man or else he can also pack his bag and come with them, as a coach he has to take calls and put his foot down, Else go speak in a press conference that he is not being allowed by selectors and step down, anyway he is known for speaking out loud. This needs public shaming to be fixed.

Somehow BCCI needs to add IPL Payouts to the selected players performance in International Arena also, or else the crazy money being thrown at them will just make them even more relaxed. This though is just wishful thinking from my side, BCCI only wants the cash to keep flowing in.

[Oxy]

These batting collapses have been happening since Vikram Rathore times (when he was our batting coach). Nothing has been done about it in all these years, so I don't think anything will change even if we lose this test and the next two by an innings. Remember the 2017 WTC final? We managed to lose that game even when almost 3 days were rained out.

There is absolutely zero accountability. Who cares about tests when we have the IPL cash cow, right? Might as well stop playing test cricket completely and be happy with the hit and giggle format.

Alarm bells should have rung when we were whitewashed at home a couple of months ago, but we selected the exact same tried and tested failures. Rohit doesn't even feel any shame to just walk in as captain into the team as he pleases and ruin everything after that wonderfully well earned win at Perth. Maybe he will have the heart to retire after he ruins the 5 tests in England coming up in June 2025.

[Shumi_21]

Rohit needs to summon all his skills and willpower to stand up and score big now. There's not a more apt time to do so. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. Hope he can make it count to keep us alive in this series.

Meanwhile the rain that was supposed to trouble Australia is troubling us instead. I think this is the third or fourth time that play resumed for barely 2-3 overs before getting washed out again. We've already lost Rishabh to this. But we've also dug our own graves with Jaiswal, Gill & Kohli falling to bad shots in the first 8 overs itself

[IamNikhil]

Zero accountability is the hallmark of Indian cricket currently. Unless these seniors are decisively benched, there cannot be any revival. Someone needs to clean up this mess and stop the embarrassment that is being dished out everyday.

The advent of IPL has caused the slow death of Test cricket, hence many of these players simply lack the mentality and skill required to sustain in a Test series.

Pinning the blame entirely on Gambhir is not the right thing to do, since he has taken the reins recently, but responsibility needs to be fixed across the board.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by harry10

Look at Smith. Technical adjustments he made for the ball coming in and the determination to make a fighting hundred. How can a top batter keep nicking ball on 5th-6th stump regularly is beyond me.

Smith never ceases to bewilder me!
He has such a huge trigger movement and high back lift and still manages to get the bat down in time and place it to any part of the field. He’s a pure hand-eye coordination genius.

I think he went back to his old style with one difference that he’s not going back and across but just across now.

I always wonder why bowlers don’t often get him out lbw with that batting style.

[Asish_VK]

If any self respect is left out in both Kohli & Rohit, they must retire after this series. I really wish both of them scores one century each, if possible win a match as well and retire with some pride (They deserve it for their service till now).

I still believe Kohli's downfall started with the circus created by the BCCI to make Rohit as captain. While Kohli was the captain, the intent of team India was in a different league and Kohli was playing like a dream, I think the entire captaincy fiasco dented his confidence and pride.

Less said about Rohit, the better. His lack of runs in test is not scrutinized since all attention is going to Kohli's situation. I am repeating my words again, Rohit was never a good test captain, not even a good test batter.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Rohit was never a good test captain, not even a good test batter.

True, and I wonder why the selectors can't see it.

If someone looks at his Test career, he has scored mostly at home rather than away. His average outside India or as a captain hovers around 32%.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Less said about Rohit, the better. His lack of runs in test is not scrutinized since all attention is going to Kohli's situation. I am repeating my words again, Rohit was never a good test captain, not even a good test batter.

He is exactly what Dhoni was to test team, red ball was never his forte as well.

I am not sure what is the problem of having a different captain for each format, SKY is doing well as T20I captain, make Bumrah the Red ball captain. Both Kohli and Rohit will probably retire after champions trophy, they can have a different captain for white ODI team, Gill or Pant can be a good choice to be groomed.