Semi-final spot on the line in Mohali
And so, here it is. The last game in Group 2, a straight knockout match
between India and Australia. They have arrived here not via long and
winding roads, but short and parallel ones. Both lost their opening
games of this tournament to New Zealand. Both beat Pakistan. And both
scraped home against Bangladesh, though not without some palpitations.
Now, 12 days after the tournament proper began, the parallels will end,
with one of these teams to move through to the semi-finals.
Not that everything has been the same for these two teams. India's
selectors have stuck firm throughout the tournament, using the same 11
players in every match so far. Australia have made changes in every
match and have used 14 of their 15 squad members, with fast bowler
Andrew Tye the only man yet to be chosen.
Australia were similarly unsettled when these two teams met in a
three-match series in Australia in January, India using only 11 players
(the same 11 from this World T20) and Australia trying a whopping 19
different men. There's flexible and then there's frantic, and it's not
clear which Australia have been in T20 cricket recently. They lost all
three games to India in that series, yet have done enough to get
themselves one match from a World T20 semi-final.
The last time India played at home to Australia in a world event was the
quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup, when MS Dhoni's men triumphed in
Ahmedabad. They went on to win that tournament at home, one of the
greatest moments in Indian cricket. If they are to repeat that success
in the World T20, they must first get through this quasi quarter-final.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: WWLWW
Australia: WWLWW
In the spotlight
Handling spin has never been a strength of Australia's, and
will turn the ball away from a batting order heavy on right-handers.
Jadeja is India's leading wicket taker in this tournament (though with
only four to his name that may not be saying much) and will hope to find
whatever turn there is in a Mohali pitch expected to be on the slow
side.
key during the late stages of an innings and his bowling
offering an important point of difference, as Australia's only left-arm
seamer. His use of the slower ball earned him a five-for against
Pakistan, and at the same venue he would be dreaming of the same kind of
performance against India.
Team news
India have not changed their side so far in the tournament; don't expect them to start now. An unchanged XI is almost certain.
India (probable) 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 have ummed and ahhed in this tournament, unsure whether to
stack the team with allrounders or trust the specialists, and their
batting order has been constantly changing according to the team
balance. It is just possible the batting group may stay the same for
this game, though Nathan Coulter-Nile must be under pressure to retain
his spot in the attack having failed to take a wicket in three games
this tournament.
Australia (possible) 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.
Pitch and conditions
There were plenty of runs in the Mohali pitch against Pakistan when
Australia made 193 for 4, and spin played less of a role than it has at
some venues. A slowish surface is again expected, and it must be noted
that by the time the men walk out for the toss the pitch will already
have been used for 40 overs, with the India Women and West Indies Women
playing on the same pitch in their match earlier in the day. The
forecast for Sunday is good.
