3rd Test: India v Australia at Ranchi on Mar 16-20, 2017

[WaznTheGreat]

That was a great partnership,we may need 500 at least on this thing cos Donald Viratman could get 400 by himself

 

[hineyrulz]

Where's JJ and tommy?

Having a hit of tennis???

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

I'm not a cricket tragic but that pitch is the worst-looking I've ever seen. I can't believe it'll hold up very long.

Like others I'm amazed at the pitches produced thus far. Do the Indians not realise that even die-hard Aussie fans were predicting a 4-0 loss?

 

[hineyrulz]

Key now is for these 2 to get through the fist hour tomorrow morning, then build from there

Love to see Both these guys get double tons, but one step at a time..

Yeah the fist hour is always tough, India seem to relish it.

 

[I'm a loser baby...]

Yeah the fist hour is always tough, India seem to relish it.

Yeah, they love that stuff. Perverts.

 

[JJ]

Never doubted the Show LOL

 

[Meth]

Maxy will at least take this seriously, unlike the marsh brothers, have him down for being there with the captain at stumps

called it

 

[JJ]

Wade must be spewing, batting below this chump - he'll show you all today

 

[Meth]

5000 test runs for Smith. 7th fastest in history to get there based on total innings played. First of the "big four" to get 5000 runs and he has played the least innings.

Kohli has played the least innings

 

[Twizzle]

The pitch wont deteriorate over night, its the hot Indian weather and general play that causes it to deteriorate so we need to make the best of the next day or so, but it was only 30 degrees in Ranchi yesterday and generally their temps are closer to 40 degrees so we should enjoy these conditions while we can.

Big day coming up.

 

[Twizzle]

Kohli has played the least innings

Very true and he's a class act but Smith did it with an average of over 60, only other person to do that was the Don.

I think V-Rat's next thousand will be very slow as he's going through a rough patch as most do but its a measure of the man how he deals with this and obviously his injury wont help him during this test match.

He'll bounce back, I just hope its when we are on the plane home.

 

[Meth]

Very true and he's a class act but Smith did it with an average of over 60, only other person to do that was the Don.

I think V-Rat's next thousand will be very slow as he's going through a rough patch as most do but its a measure of the man how he deals with this and obviously his injury wont help him during this test match.

He'll bounce back, I just hope its when we are on the plane home.

Smith is #1. No doubt about that.

 

[hineyrulz]

Need to bat for as long as we can today, the less we have to bat on day 3, 4 or 5 the better.

Hopefully it's stinking hot today and the pitch starts breaking up.

 

[JJ]

Yep, Smith is undoubtedly the best test batsman in the world - the only rival is de Villiers when he plays again (and to be honest I think he's the best all-round bat in the world, still). Kohli, Williamson and Root will all be great in their own right, but there's a gap between them and Smith, he's been astonishingly good for a couple of years now.

 

[Iafeta]

Random question?

Is Smith our most important individual player since Border in the 80s?

Probably most important bat, rivalling Stephen Waugh. Both Smith and Waugh have been the glue amongst indifferent batting line ups quite often. Ponting was equally good, but he was most often bookended by the likes of Hayden, Langer, Taylor, the Waugh brothers, Hussey, Martin so it wasn't so heavily on his shoulders.

 

[lockyno1]

Yep, Smith is undoubtedly the best test batsman in the world - the only rival is de Villiers when he plays again (and to be honest I think he's the best all-round bat in the world, still). Kohli, Williamson and Root will all be great in their own right, but there's a gap between them and Smith, he's been astonishingly good for a couple of years now.

Joe Root is up there. Those two are very close.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Joe Root is up there. Those two are very close.

Take a look at Roots conversion rate.

To be close to Smith he needs to score hundreds when they count, not 70s.

 

[JJ]

Smith, like Border has the pressure on him that Crowe and now Williamson do - essentially the team depends on them making runs - Crowe had Jones for a bit, Williamson has Taylor mostly

Smith has Warner on flat decks, but is the Lone Ranger aside - although Renshaw and perhaps Handscomb could provide decent support

 

[JJ]

Joe Root is up there. Those two are very close.

WTF?

I'd have Root firmly at #4 among the 4 younger players - 1. Smith, Williamson and Kohli close, Root 4

 

[Meth]

I would have

1- Smith
2- Kohli

Root and Williamson looking at 3rd and 4th