[Cricket] Test Series- England in India- January & February 2024

[Eeyore]

I think you're likely to be right. I knew it was tough but hadn't realised that no team has ever scored 300 in a 4th innings in India, so 399 would be some win!

Going back many a moon, a lot of matches hardly got to the fourth innings- except maybe Bombay where it was a seamer's track.

I'm still surprised though. Does that mean 300+ to win, or 300+ in any Test match ?

 

[Si Gull]

Going back many a moon, a lot of matches hardly got to the fourth innings- except maybe Bombay where it was a seamer's track.

I'm still surprised though. Does that mean 300+ to win, or 300+ in any Test match ?

Just checked......
The highest 4th innings score, by a touring side, in India, regardless of the result, is 299 by Sri Lanka.

India scored 387 to beat England in 2008, which is the highest run chase, and have passed 300 in the 4th innings five times.

 

[Eeyore]

Just checked......
The highest 4th innings score, by a touring side, in India, regardless of the result, is 299 by Sri Lanka. India scored 387 to beat England, which is the highest run chase.

That's astonishing. But I think it feeds into the pitches there being so flat that matches were just run fests that didn't make it to the business end, or they were dust bowls where Dave from my village cricket team, who bowled non turning off-breaks, would pick up a five-fer.

Still, my stat of the month is that. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Eeyore]

English school report 1982- 'If Ian had the same interest in this subject as he has in cricket he would make very good progress. He is very careless, lazy, and rarely hands his homework in on time'

 

[Berty23]

I assume Joe root is broken because that shot was an absolute disgrace. He got away with that lbw a few balls earlier when could easily have been given then ran at ashwin getting nowhere near the pitch and tried what was essentially a slog sweep while running to be caught.

Come on then Zak and Jonny. The miracle is on.

 

[Javeaseagull]

I know we all go on about baz-ball but with two days of cricket to play and 399 to win it was pretty well impossible to win anyway. No-one has ever scored over 300 in the fourth innings in India so what was to lose? If baz-ball means going down all guns blazing then I’m all for it! In the longer view Test cricket has been dying on it’s arse for years so this is in serious danger of making it exciting whatever happens.

 

[Berty23]

Bugger. That was close.

 

[dazzer6666]

That’s that then

 

[um bongo molongo]

Very dozy bit of running that from Stokes. Jogged the first half

 

[maltaseagull]

If only we had some middle order batters who could build big partnerships. We might have made history instead of meekly surrendering.

 

[Berty23]

Why is it that unless he is slogging stokes just blocks while root is batting like a pinch hitter? I love bazball but root needs to go back to doing what he does.

 

[Si Gull]

Another 50 from these two and it could get interesting.....

 

[dazzer6666]

English school report 1982- 'If Ian had the same interest in this subject as he has in cricket he would make very good progress. He is very careless, lazy, and rarely hands his homework in on time'

Haha, almost word for word what mine said Probably influenced by me putting down as my ‘proudest moment’ (we all had to write stuff down like that at the end of the last term) ‘castling my form tutor for a golden duck in the staff v pupils cricket match two years in a row’

 

[fly high]

Why is it that unless he is slogging stokes just blocks while root is batting like a pinch hitter? I love bazball but root needs to go back to doing what he does.

Agreed, Root's form has disappeared down the toilet. The occasional good innings doesn't make up for so many fails so something has to change to get his form/confidence back.

 

[Si Gull]

Another 50 from these two and it could get interesting.....

Oh well. Fun whilst it lasted. India have burnt all 3 reviews.....but unlikely to matter now. Be nice to pass 300 and beat the previous highest 4th innings score by a touring side in India.

 

[CHAPPERS]

I wonder if shifting Root down the order would help. Bairstow isn't keeping and Stokes isn't bowling so moving up one in the order could help.

They also definitely need to consider playing two seamers in the next test. There's four of them on tour.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Is Harry Brook available?

 

[Steve in Japan]

Got a lot closer than I thought we would. But we needed to score more in our first Innings, 400 vs 250 proved too big a gap. Athers was saying how well we'd bowled to "restrict" India to 330 odd for 4 on Day 1. I wasn't sure about that; without somebody doing a Pope, we're not scoring enough runs.

Still, 1 all and everything to play for. Game on.

 

[Si Gull]

For a while there, with Stokes and Foakes, it looked like it might happen. In the past such a run chase would have been unthinkable but a combination of a different batting attitude and, possibly, easier pitches (and less dangerous Indian spinners?) means such games can be more competitive.

If nothing else, it means India can't be complacent as the bar for setting a safe target has surely risen by a few notches.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Virat back for the next tests so I would expect India wins from here on in.