South Africa v India, 3rd Test, Johannesburg, 24-28 January, 2018

JGK wrote:Well that escalated quickly.

Aye the Amla dismissal was the turning point

That ended fast.

Congratulations Taipan on the series win.

Dupe

furriner wrote:That ended fast.

Congratulations Taipan on the series win.

And to you and Trike. Was an interesting series, and proves you must always bat first in tests. Kohli must be kicking himself for the Cape Town decision.

The first time inTest history that all 120 wickets have fallen in a series:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22233540/120-wickets-grabs-120-wickets-taken

Interesting stat, somehow befitting a tight series.

Congrats to the Bannies on a very good win and the Yarps on winning the series.

As expected, India won, the SA brittle batting woes strike again.

India did it comfortably.

No Ashwin in that win ... first Indian win for a long while without him?

I thought this was a really great test series. All 3 matches could have gone either way, really well matched teams playing. As an Indian following the team for the last 20 years, there is something so satisfying in seeing 5 good pacers playing for us.

First test was just bad selection - you play Dhawan and Rohit Sharma as part of 5 specialist batsmen in South Africa - you might as well give up on expecting big scores. Pandya bailed us out in the first innings, bowlers made a win possible in the 2nd innings. But selections and no time to get used to conditions was always going to be a handicap.

2nd test - he ****** still keeps Rahane out and somehow drops Bhuvi. I wish so badly that Kumble was here, because Shastri either thinks too much like Virat or is too scared of him to tell him he might be wrong. Rohit Sharma plays again, we still compete with SA with the ball - still too shaky with the bat. Kohli plays a blinder to give us a chance.

3rd test - We get the batsmen right finally, Pujara does what he does when he isn't running himself out like an idiot, Kohli again shows his ATG'ness, Rahane plays a blinder in the 2nd innings. This time Amla almost makes the win possible for SA, but the bowlers again do the job, like they did all 3 tests.

BTW, Shami is the new Anderson, not Ishant Sharma.

This is the only series ever where every wicket has gone down.

Agree that the Indian selections were a bit baffling, but so too were South Africa's, especially the last test where they opted for a fifth bowler on a greentop who didn't bowl that many overs, but didn't offer anything with the bat either. Surely they had to play a batsman. Maybe had Morris been available, they would have chosen him.

South Africa did well in the first two because they had the tougher batting conditions in the Cape and were shorn of Steyn early in the match. Centurion was tailor-made for India but they couldn't make it count. Poor selections didn't help them.

Moving forward, SA will be concerned about their catching, brittle batting and getting the make-up of their team right. Steyn might be available again, but can they trust him to get through a test?

Faf is not happy with the pitches for this series, he said he just wanted regular SA decks but got lottery surfaces.

Elgar thought this test should have been abandoned before the last day.

One of the most entertaining and satisfying series to watch as an Indian fan. I'd say better than a lot of series I've seen in a long time.

Our selection woes aside, I'd say SA were deserving winners and 2-1 is a fair summary.

Spot on Furri. An engrossing series. Could be bad tho for your effigy business.

Crikey!!! All over in 4 days???

These sporting wickets, ay? Looks like the SAffers were Shami-bumrahed.

The problem they have is that play was temporarily stopped because the pitch was deemed to be too dangerous.  Faf thinks because they finished the match they should be okay.


The issue now becomes what happens post-match when the ICC looks at a report compiled by match referee Andy Pycroft.

With the ICC having employed a new demerit points system at the beginning of the year, the Wanderers is in hot water.

Five demerit points means that the venue will not be able to host international cricket for 12 months.

If the pitch is deemed to have been 'poor' by the ICC, the Wanderers will be given three demerit points.

But, if it is decided that the pitch was 'unfit' for Test cricket, it will be given five demerit points and the year-long been will be imposed immediately.


ICC deliberating as to whether the Wanderers faces a ban.
The latter situation may be avoided by the fact that the Test match was in fact completed, but with play having been stopped late on Friday because of the conditions it can be argued that, at some point at least, the wicket was dangerous and unfit for Test cricket.

A ban would be catastrophic for the Wanderers and CSA.

The 'Pink Day', an ODI against India on February 10, is sold out already. The venue will also host a T20I against India on February 18 and the fourth Test against Australia on March 30.

Woo. Enjoyable match, enjoyable series. 2-1 is a fair reflection, I'd say. South Africa were better, but 3-0 would've been harsh on India.

Elgar was fantastic in the final innings. Ugly as sin, though.

Red wrote:

The problem they have is that play was temporarily stopped because the pitch was deemed to be too dangerous.  Faf thinks because they finished the match they should be okay.


The issue now becomes what happens post-match when the ICC looks at a report compiled by match referee Andy Pycroft.

With the ICC having employed a new demerit points system at the beginning of the year, the Wanderers is in hot water.

Five demerit points means that the venue will not be able to host international cricket for 12 months.

If the pitch is deemed to have been 'poor' by the ICC, the Wanderers will be given three demerit points.

But, if it is decided that the pitch was 'unfit' for Test cricket, it will be given five demerit points and the year-long been will be imposed immediately.


ICC deliberating as to whether the Wanderers faces a ban.
The latter situation may be avoided by the fact that the Test match was in fact completed, but with play having been stopped late on Friday because of the conditions it can be argued that, at some point at least, the wicket was dangerous and unfit for Test cricket.

A ban would be catastrophic for the Wanderers and CSA.

The 'Pink Day', an ODI against India on February 10, is sold out already. The venue will also host a T20I against India on February 18 and the fourth Test against Australia on March 30.

The MCG copped 3 demerit points for the POC the billy put up before he ran off home