The second quarter-final at the 2011 Cricket World Cup takes place on Thursday between two of the genuine heavyweights when hosts India face Australia in Ahmedabad.
India went through as Group B runners-up, while Australia came through in third in Group A, with neither of the pre-tournament favourites producing an overly convincing first phase.
Suddenly, the two heavyweights with huge expectations on them are now matched up against one another in a huge clash which will shatter one nation.
*India’ Group performance2nd in Group B, 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie*Results’
India 370/4, Bangladesh 283/9, India won by 87 runs India 338, England 338/8, match tied Ireland 207, India 210/5, India won by 5 wickets Netherlands 189, India 191/5, India won by 5 wickets India 296, South Africa 300/7, South Africa won by 3 wickets India 268, West Indies 188, India won by 80 runs
Statistics Most runs; Virender Sehwag (327), Sachin Tendulkar (326), Yuvraj Singh (284) Best batting average; Yuvraj Singh (94.67), Virender Sehwag (65.4), Sachin Tendulkar (54.33) Most wickets; Zaheer Khan (15), Munaf Patel (9), Yuvraj Singh (9)
The Good India’s top order had been highly rated prior to the tournament and they have mostly delivered with freescoring form, particularly from Virender Sehwag and the evergreen Sachin Tendulkar. The runs haven’t been a problem for India, but their top order is a key to their totals, particularly considering their collapse against South Africa after a wonderful start.
Yuvraj Singh has been in sensational form with the bat as well for India, while he has chipped in with his fair share of wickets so far. Singh is averaging 94.67, while he’s picked up nine wickets, including 5/31 against Ireland.
Skipper MS Dhoni hasn’t been really required to score freely just yet. Dhoni has no half centuries so far but does not appear out of form. He looms large as a key figure when he gets going.
On the bowling side, Zaheer Khan is enjoying a great tournament for the Indians and his performance in the final group game against the West Indies underlined his value. Khan is taking wickets at a good economy, while spinner Harbhajan Singh may not be breaking through as much but he’s keeping things tight.
The Bad India’s bowling attack is the major concern for this side, with the selectors struggling to settle on Khan’s partner to open. Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and Shantakumaran Sreesanth> have all been tried but fail to convince. Interestingly, Sreesanth was favoured for the opening game but after 0/53 off five overs was dumped and hasn’t been used since. The question is who is going to support Khan against Australia’s openers, could Dhoni go with spin to open the attack?
All-rounder Yusuf Pathan’s place in the team is another concern, with his return of one wicket and a batting average of 14.8 so far. It’s simply not good enough and he appears to be wasting a spot in the team, considering that form.
Finally, and perhaps most minor, is the team’s recent failure to convert starts. Virat Kohli, after his superb 100 not out in the opener against Bangladesh, hasn’t really re-discovered his touch, while Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir are due bigger scores. Sehwag’s fitness is a worry too after an inflamed knee kept him out of the final group game, with his replacement Suresh Raina failing in that game.
The Captain On Sehwag’s fitness, Dhoni said: “We are taking a call in the evening or maybe [Thursday] morning before the start of the game. Apart from that, all the others are fit.”
On Sehwag’s importance, Dhoni added: “He can play an aggressive game, change the course of a game in the first five overs and give your team the kind of momentum that is needed.”
Dhoni continued about the middle-order struggles: “We have batted really well especially the top order, which means more often than not, the lower order is getting to bat when they are looking to accelerate or as the scorecards suggest, more often or not, we have lost quite a few wickets and again, we are looking to bat for whatever number of overs are left.”
“We have not really capitalised on the slog overs or on the second Powerplay. Hopefully in the coming games, we will be able to accumulate more runs.”
*Australia’ Group performance3rd in Group A, 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 no result*Results’
Australia 262/6, Zimbabwe 171, Australia won by 91 runs New Zealand 206, Australia 3/207, Australia won by 7 wickets Sri Lanka 146/3 (32.5 rovers), Australia DNB, match abandoned due to rain, no result Australia 324/6, Kenya 264/6, Australia won by 60 runs Canada 211, Australia 212/3, Australia won by 7 wickets Australia 176, Pakistan 178/6, Pakistan won by 4 wickets
Statistics Most runs; Brad Haddin (279), Shane Watson (265), Michael Clarke (225) Best batting average; Michael Clarke (112.5), Brad Haddin (55.8), Shane Watson (53) Most wickets; Brett Lee (12), Mitchell Johnson (10), Shaun Tait (10)
The Good Australia’s opener duo of Shane Watson and Brad Haddin have been electric in the tournament so far, yet neither has gone on and made a century. Both have three half-centuries and are averaging above 50. Their opening partnership is a key to Australia building a good total. If they don’t can collapse in the middle order, as they did against Pakistan.
One man holding the middle order together in the World Cup is number four Michael Clarke who has found his touch this tournament after a tough Ashes series. Clarke only been dismissed twice this tournament and is averaging over 100.
Australia’s attack has been well led by Brett Lee who has struck in all six matches in the World Cup so far. Lee has been consistent with 12 wickets at an average of just over 15, while his economy rate isn’t bad. If fellow opener Shaun Tait can get his radar on, they form a strong pair, with Mitchell Johnson adding fire to the attack.
The Bad First and foremost, captain Ricky Ponting’s form with the bat is most alarming, with an average of 20.4 after five innings. He needs runs otherwise not only his tournament but his ODI career could be over.
But Ponting isn’t alone in struggling with the bat for Australia, with Cameron White also short of runs with 58 from five digs so far. Australia’s misfiring middle order is a concern. White’s spot in the side must be under scrutiny with David Hussey waiting in the wings.
As well, Australia’s inability to bowl sides out is worrying, with their spin attack hardly striking fear into opponents, with offspinner Jason Krejza’s return of five wickets from six matches.
The Captain Ponting said: “Wherever we’ve played India and whenever we’ve played them, we’ve had a really good record against them. The last tour here in one-day cricket [in 2009] was one of the proudest I’ve had as a player and as a captain. We had five or six of our better players out and they were at full strength, and we managed to beat them in their conditions. We can take some confidence from that.”
“We know that our last game wasn’t our best game in the tournament so far, but by the same token, a loss when that happened was not going to be the worst thing for us I don’t think. They’ve seemingly got through reasonably well, but some of the collapses they’ve had with their batting in the last couple of games have been quite dramatic. Hopefully … we can really expose that middle to late order in this game and see where that takes us.”
On changes to the Australia side, Ponting said: “There’s a good chance that any of our guys could come in for this game. Coming off a loss last game wasn’t ideal for us, and we have to have a look at what we think is going to be the best make-up and balance for the game tomorrow.”
Sports Pundit prediction; Australia to win in a relatively close game