Well, the Poms have been skittled for 112 in the Day/Night Test in Ahmedabad. India are 3/99 in reply at stumps on Day 1, so doesn’t look like it will be a high scoring game.
Huge stadium they’ve got there, capacity 110,000 all seated. Largest cricket ground in the world. Looks nice and modem too, was recently renovated, unlike most other grounds in India which look like they haven’t been touched in 30 years or more.
England still hasn’t learned from its last test defeat, bamboozled by spinners Patel (who took six wickets) and Ashwin (who grabbed three). Worse, the tourists have only one front line spinner in the team in Jack Leach.
It’s hard to do much about it now if you haven’t come prepared with a few plans to blot their spinners.
I can see India running away with this series 3-1.
New Zealand beat Australia by just four runs in today’s second T20 match in Dunedin, thanks to Martin Guptill’s 97. There were also valuable contributions from captain Kane Williamson and James Neesham. The Aussie bowlers again bowled poorly, conceding 10 runs or more per over, although they picked up late wickets to restrict the home side to 7/219.
The Aussies were struggling at 6/113 at the end of the 13th over before the whirlwind 92-run partnership between Marcus Stoinis (78) and Daniel Sams (41), the 7th highest in T20I history, nearly took their team across the line. Their batting was much better than game one, although their bowling still need improvement.
This is where the addition of Starc, Cummins and maybe Hazlewood finishes the team, along with Abbott, Cam Green and Henriques. Smith, Warner, Labuschange, and to a lesser extent Carey, make a team with Finch (although I’m beginning to doubt him), Wade, Phillipe, Stoinis, Agar, Zampa, Sams, Mitch Marsh, D’Arcy Short, J and K Richardson and Maxi, plus maybe Turner and Tye.
Without the ‘Test’ players and an in form Finch, the team just doesn’t have the final elements it needs to be the No.1 side again.
Good comeback from England today.
After being only 13 runs in front at the start of play today with 7 Indian wickets still to get, England have bowled India out for 145 and restricted their lead to just 33. Joe Root picked up 5 for 8.
Looks like a pretty even contest now with India having to bat last.
Stunning collapse by India, getting a taste of their own medicine. They lost their last eight wickets for 47 runs.
In the blink of a eye, the 3rd Test is over in less than 2 days! (it’s only the 7th time that’s happened since 1946 in the 2,197 Tests played since then)
England were bundled out for 81 in their 2nd innings, the 31 overs were ALL bowled by spinners. India got the required 49 for victory in less than 8 overs!
Quite remarkable!
Not what we want to see from test cricket. I only saw the highlights but the pitch looked to be challenging to say the least, though typically poor application by modern era batters fed on fast food cricket was also a factor.
The Sheffield Shield is a much better prospect for enthralling cricket at the moment… though yesterday’s T20 match was pretty good (I only saw the last two overs, from the Braidwood club).
As an aside, it’s amazing how weekday matches in NZ draw near sellout crowds. I know Dunedin is a university city but still, they must have pretty lenient ‘sickie’ policies over there. I have noticed this even before the COVID-19 era.
Yeah I thought that too… Amazing.
RE the test match in India, my view it exposes technique issues with the batting. I wonder if a 70s team played on that pitch what would of the result been we may never know. The defense of the players was a lot better back then.
Yes. Proper test match batting- the kind that Steve Waugh could pull off in his sleep- is a lost art these days. T20 cricket is squarely to blame. It’s true that there are more results because of it, but I think the overall standard of test cricket is poorer.
By the same token, at least we are not seeing scores of 600+ plus on roads where bowlers don’t have much of a chance and matches petering out to the inevitable draw because no side had a hope of getting 20 wickets, that’s pretty boring to watch too.
As you say, Dunedin is full of students - plus it was O-Week (orientation/week before uni starts proper) so guaranteed crowd.
Not that hard to take a day of annual leave or half-day it though…
From the NRL broadcasting rights thread. Seven seems to still be looking to get out of their contract with CA.
And possibly all pissed. 
I know I was during O Week.
Absolutely. They used to burn couches in Dunedin on the terraces at the cricke tin the 1990s, think they’ve calmed down a bit since then though
Which means game 4 of the T20 series against Australia, scheduled for Auckland next Friday (March 5), is now under a cloud.
For the seven days from tomorrow (February 28), Auckland will be in level 3 while the rest of NZ will be in level 2 under the country’s COVID alert system. Sporting events can’t take place under level 3, while fans won’t be allowed into sporting events under level 2.
I imagine they will just play with no crowd?
Indeed.
It also means Wellington will host game 3 and game 4 of the Twenty20 series.
UPDATE 1/3: the fifth and final game will also be played in Wellington.
UPDATE 2/3: the fifth and final game at Wellington will start early so the Aussies can take a chartered flight home after the match.
Australia bounced back to form tonight, beating New Zealand by 64 runs in Wellington to keep the T20 series alive. Ashton Agar was named player of the match for taking 6/30, the best figures by an Australian in men’s T20 internationals, including three wickets in the 13th over. Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell both scored 50s. One of Maxwell’s sixes was so big that the ball smashed an empty seat in the stadium.
After the match Maxwell signed the broken seat which would be auctioned on TradeMe, with proceeds going to Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust.
New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals and were rarely in the contest. Riley Meredith, who made his T20I debut for Australia, chipped in with two wickets.