4th Test: India v South Africa at Delhi

[quote author=dillinger10 link=topic=101666.msg667355#msg667355 date=1449247065]
Thanks, Gina. Personally, I think this series is just a mere blip on the radar and a combination of playing in India on pitches that are turning square on day one and not playing much Test cricket this year. From an outsiders perspective, it would appear that the opening pair is South Africa's main area of concern.

I can't see England getting much out of the upcoming series - they have far more questions marks in their side - especially their own batting.
[/quote]

I hope you're right that it's only a blip on the radar.

As for the opening batsmen, I think that Dean Elgar will probably keep his place for the time being as he's done better than some of the other batsmen, so it's more a question of who has partner will be. I don't think that either of his partners during this series are openers at domestic level, so that could be part of the problem. However the selectors like to give a player a few games to prove themselves (hence the fact that Dane Vilas is there ahead of Quinton de Kock), so it's possible that they'll persist with Temba Bavuma.

The middle order is a concern too, and I'm particularly worried about Hashim Amla's form. As I said before, it's possible that the captaincy is hurting his personal performance.

I can't see major changes in the bowling line-up though, but I'm not sure which spinner will play in the home series. And I do expect to see de Kock back behind the stumps.

An unbroken 133-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane - the first century stand of the series - deflated South Africa after Morne Morkel had given them a sliver of hope with three early top-order wickets. India were 57 for 4 when Rahane joined Kohli early in the post-lunch session. They were still in command, their lead a healthy 270, but South Africa were eyeing the possibility of having less than 400 to chase. When bad light brought day three to a close with nine overs still to be bowled, Kohli and Rahane were still unbeaten, on 83 and 52 respectively, India's lead now a mighty 403.

[quote author=Gina145 link=topic=101666.msg667521#msg667521 date=1449271370]
I hope you're right that it's only a blip on the radar.

As for the opening batsmen, I think that Dean Elgar will probably keep his place for the time being as he's done better than some of the other batsmen, so it's more a question of who has partner will be. I don't think that either of his partners during this series are openers at domestic level, so that could be part of the problem. However the selectors like to give a player a few games to prove themselves (hence the fact that Dane Vilas is there ahead of Quinton de Kock), so it's possible that they'll persist with Temba Bavuma.

The middle order is a concern too, and I'm particularly worried about Hashim Amla's form. As I said before, it's possible that the captaincy is hurting his personal performance.

I can't see major changes in the bowling line-up though, but I'm not sure which spinner will play in the home series. And I do expect to see de Kock back behind the stumps.
[/quote]
I didn't realise that both Bavuma and van Zyl are middle order batsman being pushed up the order to open. England have tried this recently with Jonathan Trott and Moeen Ali, and I am not a fan. I would much rather go with a specialist opening batsman that is comfortable at the position.

Reeza Hendricks opened in the ODI series for South Africa A against England A earlier in the year and fared well, averaging 64+, although I think he is more of a one day batsman. The one player that I am really surprised that has never been given a look in is Stephen Cook. He is a natural opener and averages 40+ in First Class cricket. His dad, Jimmy, was a wonderful opener in his own right.

Stephen Cook's name has been mentioned recently but I'm not sure whether the selectors are looking at him. My guess is that if they bring in someone new, they'll go for someone younger  I'd like to see Cook given a chance though, if only because his father missed out on the opportunity to have more than a fleeting taste of international cricket when he was way past his prime.

I'm not actually 100% sure where van Zyl normally bats, but in his first few tests he batted in the middle order. I see he opened the batting for SAA vs India A in August, so either I'm wrong or they were preparing for him to open on this tour. But it's not the first time we've had middle order batsmen pushed up the order and a couple of previous players did quite well in their new role - Herschelle Gibbs was a great success and Neil McKenzie did well for a while. Still, it's probably better to pick a specialist.

Reeza Hendricks was mentioned too, but I'm afraid I don't know too much about him.

Kohli's back. Even when in bad form he manages a century almost every series.

Rahane will be the new Dravid I think.

Kohli falls 6 runs short of 3,000 Test runs. India are in full control of this match, leading by 424 with 5 wickets remaining.

[quote author=TRINIDADDY link=topic=101666.msg667598#msg667598 date=1449375866]
Kohli's back. Even when in bad form he manages a century almost every series.

Rahane will be the new Dravid I think.
[/quote]
Impressively for Rahane, the majority of his runs have come outside of India. To date, he has only played the 5 Tests at home. He has excelled in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa with only failures in England and Sri Lanka - though he still managed centuries in both of those series.

India declared before lunch, leaving South Africa to face a testing twenty minutes and Ashwin struck in the penultimate over. Can South Africa push this into a fifth and final day?

South Africa have really dug in after lunch, doing everything in their power to bat through the rest of the day taking minimal risks. Bavuma and Amla showed incredible discipline with a stand of 44 off 38+ overs before Ashwin got the breakthrough. Amla and ABDV at the crease now. It will be interesting to see how ABDV approaches this.

Centuries now for Rahane in Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India, as well as a 96 in SA.

He also joins Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Hazare, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli as the only Indians with centuries in both innings.

Amla and ABDV are engaging in some hilariously over-the-top blocking now. This is some serious Jimmy "the paddams" Adams styled stone-walling.