So here we go! The big one – India versus Australia. Ideally this should have been a final, but it’s more of a quarter-final, as the loser will definitely bow out of the tournament. So this is like one of those gladiatorial contests, where the winner takes all and joins New Zealand, West Indies and possibly England in the semi-finals.
What’s common between India and Australia is that they have both beat Pakistan and Bangladesh, and have lost to New Zealand, who really have a great side, and have just demolished Bangladesh earlier in the day to finish with 4 wins out of 4.
So the World T20 Cup has been a great tournament so far, with a lot of breathtaking action and full of tension, especially the match between India and Bangladesh, which went to the wire. Had India lost that match, things would have been a lot more complicated for them, but luck was clearly with them on that day.
India have selected the same team match after match, without really making any changes, while Australia have tried 14 players so far and have finally settled on a team that they feel confident with. The problem with Australia is that they have far too many talented players to choose from, and so had a lot of chopping and changing to do.
But the team that played the last match looks very good indeed, with 6 match winning batsmen at the top, in Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith , Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson. Each has his own strength and can change a game all by themselves.
The Australian bowling is not as strong as they lack an out-and-out fast bowler like Mitchell Starc, who is injured and Mitchell Johnson, who has since retired. So this is something the Indian team should look to target. James Faulkner will be Australia’s most important bowler, largely because of his control and the fact that he has been playing in the IPL for long, and so is familiar with Indian conditions as much as anyone.
The Indian batting line-up looks good as well, but they do have an obvious weakness in Suresh Raina, who is just too inconsistent for this level. Yuvraj Singh hasn’t really stamped his authority since coming back into the side even though he has supported Virat Kohli admirably in a couple of matches against Pakistan. Ravindra Jadeja’s batting form seems to have deserted him and it’s been long since he has done anything much as a batsman.
The Teams
India : 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yuvraj Singh, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Ashish Nehra
Australia : 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 David Warner, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Shane Watson, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Adam Zampa, 10 John Hastings/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 Josh Hazlewood.
Match Conditions
Spin will play a big role tomorrow with the pitch at Mohali having the reputation of being a slow turner. No rain is expected as its summer in India and the weather is as hot as it gets. Any rain would actually be a relief to everyone involved in the game as well as to the people of Punjab, where the game is being played.
Watch India take on Australia in the World T20 Cup tomorrow at 7:30 pm live on Star Sports!
