wild card is the heat wave. Will it bring the bowlers into play on days 4-5

He has taken some inspired catches and made some excellent stumpings, that others wouldn't have made.

They have been decisive.

It could do.

He is a good keeper, probably the best in Australia - that does not make him a good captain at the same time.

Forecast, today 36d, tomorrow 34d, Sat 27d & Sun 23d.
Favours the Indian's the way they are going

1st innings is key.

India probably bat around 170 overs. If we bat 120 overs it will probably force another 70-90 overs from them forcing the draw to be the most likely outcome

they also have to bowl a day in a heatwave tomorrow which should sap their energy if we are good enough

2 draws and they keep the trophy

It doesn't, but you were discussing the specific position of wicketkeeper not being a good position for a captain.

On the other hand, even if it is not ideal, Paine is more suitable for captain than anybody else ATM.

You've extolled what you consider to be Smith's virtues. I disagree. Smith always looked irritated and tense as captain. He looked frustrated with teammates and gave negative body language. These are the traits of a person who is not mature enough to be a captain.

I have not read much about Ricky Ponting lacking captain's qualities as evaluated by former team-mates , but I have about Michael Clarke and Steve Waugh.

Nevertheless, I know someone who has met Ponting and found him to be very disappointing and shallow as a person. This was in terms of an aid agency working overseas.  

If we bowl them out today.

I think if they can stay in they will bat 1/2 a day tomorrow, which gives them only 1/2 day in the heat & 2 1/2 days t bowl us out twice.

which won't happen

if they do that we may as well just wait until sydney

Sydney is a frightening pitch for a decider since the toss matters so much

I must admit when people say x is a bad captain or y is a good captain I have no opinion on the subject

perhaps I never played under a captain that made a difference to the team

I remember flemming being tactically astute in a series against Australia

Smith has matured and learnt by what he has gone through - He will be captain again & go onto to be one of the best.
That there is no one else, shows CA & selectors poor management.
So come on DC, what is going to be done to right what is a very average team with very average captaincy & vc's

They have. Stuck to the task. Induced false shots. specially from Kohli who has the Indian gods on his side. 

Boy do we need some wickets.

kohli nearly chops on

Australia has shown incredible character on a tough pitch to not lose their discipline

Now he has thrown it away. Looked like he wanted to hit out recklessly.

Agree. Cummins and Hazlewood specially. Tho I do question why Cummins has not tried the short stuff today. Worked well for him on first day.

India did its homework re weather. That could well have been a major reason they batted first.

Three wickets fallen from 125 overs. That tells us what kinda deck this is. 

Cummins has Pujara.  What a knock. What concentration. 319 balls faced.. batted for almost four sessions.
Two quick wickets. That will make our bowling group feel better. Temp is now 36C.. 40C in the middle?

Mark Waugh claims Pujara has to bat patiently because he doesn’t have enough shots to play adventurous innings.

It was a patient hundred from him.

I ignore whatever M Waugh says. Betting his brother would not say something so silly. 

Patient hundreds win Test matches. By the time Pujara retires betting he has more tons than M Waugh. 

Is India contemplating a declaration today? There has been a concerted effort in the last half hour to get on with it. 

that concerted effort was short lived. 

This one sided cricket must turn away even avid supporters.. imagine what it is doing to people thinking of watching the sport for first time.

37C now. 

Is India digging themselves into a bit of a hole. Not far off tea on second day and they only have 340 runs. Even with our brittle batting that does not seem anywhere near what they need. 

Has everybody abandoned this game.

if we take our chances we probably have them out by 350 odd which would probably have india in trouble on this pitch

considering the class of kohli and pujara, the terrible wicket, the bad luck and heat wave its been an amazing effort by the bowlers

first ball from starc is wrong line but second ball on the money at 141.4 k/h

this team has impressive fight