India tour of Australia (Nov 22, 2024 - Jan 03, 2025)

[GarlicJam]

Marnus has had pretty poor returns the last couple of years.

I think Marnus will be very lucky to play in Adelaide.

The selectors have chosen strangely, imo, with taking Inglis as the back up batter. Surely if they need another keeper, they can bring one in?

I reckon Labuschagne has massively overthought his problems, making them worse. He needs to be out of test cricket, I think.

[GarlicJam]

I can't recall the last time I have seen the Aus test team so convincingly pummelled. Especially on home soil, and in Perth, and in the first match of the series.

Full credit to India. They have almost made that NZ whitewash go away, in just three days.

[Durhamfootman]

ouch!

perhaps the Aussie papers will be quite forgiving

[GarlicJam]

They will only have to look to the Indian and the English papers from a few weeks ago, for their lead, I'm sure.

The number one target will be Marnus, but there are growing murmurs about Steve Smith as well - though, I reckon he's probably tight for at least one more poor return.

[sussexpob]

No idea what has happened to Marnus. He's went from impossible to get out, to a walking wicket recently.

With Smith I think there is hints of decline, esepcially with the way he gets out now and then

[sussexpob]

I reckon Labuschagne has massively overthought his problems, making them worse. He needs to be out of test cricket, I think.

The impression I get watching him recently is, he's trying to bunker down and buy himself time at the crease, but not posing any threat to bowlers. Bowlers can be aggressive to him and get it wrong, and not get whacked around as a result..... with the effect being they eventually get the bullseye given enough time.

He has to be more positive and play some shots. If you aren't putting away the bad balls, you are going nowhere waiting for the good ones.

He will get it right eventually. You dont average just under 50 in 50 tests if you can't bat. Maybe needs a lucky 2 dropped catches style 100, play some good strokes and it will flood back. Sure, if you had a guy smashing attacks round in the domestic levels, maybe you drop him... but with no seemingly quality and obvious replacement, I think you just have to trust he will eventually find his groove.

Less confidence with Smith. I think with him the way he is getting out suggests the eye sight and that once in a generation hand-eye coordination might be passing him by in his mid-30s. Balls he used to get bat on, he doesn't anymore.

[bigfluffylemon]

India chipping away, despite some decent resistance from Head and Marsh. Unsurprising, but still going to be a huge defeat.

Blimey, that kid Jaiswal is good. I think we already knew that, but I heard some previews speculating that he'd struggle on Australian pitches - they were betting he'd score a series aggregate under 275. Seems unlikely now...

I remember reading once about Labuschagne when he was in his great run of form that he was statistically the luckiest batsman in world cricket - it terms of proportion of his innings in which he got a let-off, and the runs scored after let-offs (Ben Stokes was up there too). In the hypothetical world in which every chance was taken, his average would have been in the low 40s. Still good, and he's obviously good enough to punish let-offs, and everyone gets dropped sometimes, but the point was that his average wasn't maintainable if the luck turned. So I wonder if some of his poorer returns were an inevitable result of him not being as good as appeared, plus pitches in Australia getting much tougher to bat on recently after a period of being very, very flat.

As for Smith, he always looked like an walking lbw with his unusual technique, but his combination of reflex and hand-eye coordination worked for him. The moment the reflexes start to go, his technique is going to struggle. He's such a fierce competitor that I wouldn't put it past him to find a solution, but it's looking like decline.

The Australian media are already laying in to the team and the test isn't even over - the end of the 'Smith/Cummins' era being announced...

[mikesiva]

The travelling Indian support has been very good. But the home support in Perth has been poor over the four days. There are lots of empty seats.

It never used to be like that. What happened? Has the younger generation moved over to BBL?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Impressive by India after a shaky start. Seven in the match for Bumrah v failure of Aussie top five seems the crucial contest. He took 5 of those 10 wickets.

[mikesiva]

Australia 238 all out

Head 89
Marsh 47

Bumrah 3-42
Siraj 3-51

India won by 295 runs.

[sussexpob]

A lot is made of Marnus' form, but I think the first two changes I would make would be getting rid of Carey and Mitch Marsh.

Carey is neither a great keeper nor much of a proper batsman, and while he's not been a disaster I think that Australia need to eek out a few extra scores down the order by seeing if Josh Inglis will score (although they picked the lad from Queensland to cover Carey's possible unavailability last year, so maybe Inglis is not on the test radar - which would be weird as he has a decent FC record and has been really good in T20Is - and the Queenslander is 33 odd).

And I really dont get why Mitch Marsh is in the team. Hardly bowls, got a terrible record with the bat. Is he there for his comedy social media interviews to get likes? Maybe in a team with a solid top 5 or with a bowling attack that is weak, his bits and pieces act might have some use, but he's not a very good or utilised bowler, and neither is he a top 6 quality bat. I would get a specialist in there and milk 5 overs from somewhere else in the side.

[meninblue]

[GarlicJam]

The travelling Indian support has been very good. But the home support in Perth has been poor over the four days. There are lots of empty seats.

It never used to be like that. What happened? Has the younger generation moved over to BBL?

You are probably comparing this to previous tests at the much smaller WACA. The first 3 days (I think) set records for test attendance in Perth. (only the 5th test at the new ground I think)

It has a capacity of around 60K, so maybe looks a lot less full with more folk in?

[GarlicJam]

A big toss this one, a lot of interest right now.

Toss was won by India and not surprisingly they have opted to bat.

[Durhamfootman]

quite a bit of work for India to do if they want to rebuild this first innings. Currently 109-6 with Starc and Boland doing all the damage