Watch Australia v India, World Cup 2011, Quarter-Final

Battle of the flawed heavyweights

March 23, 2011

Match Facts

March 24, Ahmedabad
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)

Whether Virender Sehwag will play Australia in Ahmedabad is not yet public knowledge

The Big Picture

This match can be seen through several prisms: champions of the world v pre-tournament favourites, misfiring middle order v misfiring middle order, pace-reliant attack v spin-heavy attack, athletic fielders v incompetent fielders. Australia against India is a clash between teams with obvious imperfections. The loser goes home while the winner heads to Mohali, to play Pakistan on March 30.

If any of Ricky Ponting's men are relatively weak-willed, compared to the Australians of campaigns past, they have had plenty to help them focus in the days leading up to this quarter-final. An Australian paper reported Cricket Australia were going to discuss Ponting's future as captain. An English paper reported Ponting was going to jump before he was pushed. An Indian paper reported sinister allegations about Australia's game against Zimbabwe, prompting an angry retraction demand from the ICC. Whether they were planted to drive Australia to distraction is debatable, but none of the stories was substantiated.

Off-field dramas aside, Australia's progress in this World Cup was smooth at first - a comfortable win against Zimbabwe, a smashing one against New Zealand - and then uninspiring, when they laboured against Kenya and Canada. In each of those matches, at least one weakness was evident: a captain struggling for form, a middle order troubled by turn, spinners incapable of striking, and fast bowlers with wonky radars. All of these frailties were exposed by Pakistan, who ended the legendary unbeaten World Cup run on 34 matches. Australia's successes have been built around the opening partnership of Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, and the energy of Brett Lee. That might not be enough to topple India - but it might, for MS Dhoni's team is far from the shoo-in semi-finalist it was expected to be.

Before the World Cup began India's batting line-up was thought to possess the armour of God, their bowling was considered less formidable but effective in home conditions, and the fielding was known to be average. As their campaign played out, it became evident that the armour didn't fit the middle order - there were collapses of 9 for 29 and 7 for 51 - and the bowling, while adequate on helpful surfaces, was mediocre on flat pitches. The fielding has not been average. It has been abysmal. Slow anticipation, slower approaches to the ball, failure to cut off angles, and plain lethargy have allowed opponents to run at will.

For a long time during West Indies' chase, it seemed as though India would make the quarter-finals by beating only the three weakest teams of their group, which would have vindicated this forgiving format designed to prevent the upsets of 2007. But Zaheer Khan saved the day, as India expect him to. Zaheer apart, India have relied on Yuvraj Singh for an extraordinary number of wickets, as well as consistent runs in the middle order. The key, though, is at the top, where Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have provided tremendous starts. But even if they do it again against Brett Lee and Shaun Tait, it may not be enough.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)

India: WLWWT
Australia LWWWW

Watch out for...

The batting Powerplay was conceived as an asset for the batting team, an aid in the pursuit of fast runs. In the months leading into the World Cup, it began to be a banana skin, with wickets falling as batsmen resorted to rashness during the fielding restrictions. India have slipped spectacularly on it during the tournament, scoring 9 for 154 off 130 balls. During the batting Powerplay, India lost 1 for 32 against England, 4 for 30 against South Africa and 4 for 28 against West Indies, squandering positions of immense strength. Australia haven't mastered it either, making only 4 for 121 off 100 balls. Those five tricky overs could make or break a campaign tomorrow.

If the stakes weren't large enough to fire up Ponting, the talk about his captaincy and retirement will have strengthened his determination to end his form slump with a cathartic performance. Ponting has been dismissed by the short ball - a strength turned weakness - in this World Cup and by spin, a more traditional subcontinent susceptibility. His composure has also been strained. Eight years ago to the day, Ponting ended India's World Cup dream in Johannesburg with a century of frightening brutality. He plans to watch videos of it in the hope that it will help him reproduce something similar in Ahmedabad.

Sachin Tendulkar watched that World Cup slip out of India's grasp as the bowlers conceded 359 in the final. He was then dismissed in the first over of the chase. The Player-of-the-Tournament prize was little consolation. He has the opportunity to write a wonderful script tomorrow - a 100th international century in a victory that will dethrone the World Champions. But cricket, like life, is never perfect.

Team news

Virender Sehwag missed the last group game because of an inflamed knee and India are keeping news of his fitness under wraps. He batted on Tuesday and on the eve of the game as well, but Dhoni said they might wait as late as match morning to take a decision on his participation. If Sehwag does not play, India are likely to field the same XI that beat West Indies.

India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag/Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir/Suresh Raina, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.

Australia have had an unchanged team since Michael Hussey replaced his brother in the XI, and they are likely to do the same against India. The weakest links have been middle-order batsman Cameron White and offspinner Jason Krejza and potential replacements could be David Hussey and allrounder John Hastings.

"We haven't finalised our 11 yet. We'll have a bit more of a think about things this afternoon, make sure all our players have got through training well, with no injuries or illnesses," 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."

Australia (probable): 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White/David Hussey, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Jason Krejza/John Hastings, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Shaun Tait.

Pitch and conditions

Australia played their World Cup opener at Motera, where they started slowly against Zimbabwe before accelerating to a formidable total. Ponting expected tomorrow's pitch to be similar to that one. "It was pretty much what you'd expect for a subcontinent wicket: a little bit slower, spun a bit more in the second innings of the game maybe than the first," he said. "We're going to send our coaches down late tonight to have a look at the ground and see if there's any dew about. I think it's supposed to be 41 [degrees] or something [similar], so it will be nice and hot for the boys out there."

Stats and trivia

• India have lost their last four games in Ahmedabad. They batted first in three of those matches.

• Brett Lee has 50 ODI wickets against India, the highest by an Australian bowler. Four of his nine five-wicket hauls are against India.

• India have not won a game against Australia in a global tournament while chasing. Their last win against Australia in a World Cup was in 1987.

• In 14 ODIs against India in India since 2007, Australia have won eight and lost five.

Quotes

"People have been talking about the short-pitched ball a lot, and not to forget the best batsmen in the world don't like facing the short-pitched deliveries. One good thing, it's not something new to us. It follows us. Wherever we are, the shadows of short-pitched deliveries can be seen. I don't think it's a new strategy."
MS Dhoni hopes that familiarity will breed confidence when Lee, Tait and Johnson thunder in.

"Maybe we've just learned to keep our mouths closed a bit more. A lot of that chat hasn't really happened since [Glenn] McGrath and [Shane] Warne went out of the team. Hopefully, our cricket will do the talking on the field tomorrow."
Ricky Ponting on sledging and whether there will be plenty of it during the quarter-final.

Watch India Vs Australia 3rd One Day International Live Streaming

Sunday, 24 Oct 2010

			India Vs Australia
Venue :3rd One Day International, Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Margao, Goa Live action starts from: 03:30 GMT (09:00 IST) ODI Australia Tour of India 2010-11 Match

India Vs Australia 3rd One Day International 24 Oct Live

India are 1-0 up in the three match series with only one game to go. Things look good for India ahead of New Zealand assignment. It is very evident from attitudes of both teams that the one day series is an unimportant one and both the teams are looking beyond the series, perhaps the World Cup. Big names from both the teams are missing.

This has made series interesting as it gives a chance of youngsters of both the countries to shine and reserve a birth for the Subcontinent World Cup next year.

India would enter to play at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa with little worries. They already have an uncatchable lead against a battling Australian team. Perhaps the only worry in the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni mind would be their fast bowlers. But again India have learned to live with that worry.

They will be a compact unit with many of their players in confidence and fancying to shine in front of home crowd. One thing that seemed to have gone milder is the fact that these two are bitter rivals who cherish and celebrate every victory over each other. This would motivate this new look Indian team to carry on and snatch only chance of victory from Australia on this tour. Virat Kohli was magnificent in the last game and would like to be backbone of Indian batting on 24th October. India had chased a big target of 290 with relative ease and therefore will be upbeat for another run fest.

India have won three of their last five games.

Australia, with the Ashes coming up, World Cup in the corner, nothing seems to be going right for them. Australia like India were missing big names but the performance on 20th October exposed the serious lack of depth in an aging Australian side. Michael Clarke, few doubt his ability to lead, seemed out of options with his bowlers.

Australia, more than any team in the world would want to win now. They have been humiliated for far too long by England, Pakistan and now India. They certainly would look to level the series on Sunday and restore some pride and confidence. Their batsmen would be at ease having put up a decent show last time around, but their ground fielding and bowling needs serious improvement if they want to win on 24th October. Australia have a history of making comebacks form lowly positions. We can have a compelling game in store for us in Goa on Sunday.

Australia have managed to win two of their last five games.

Watch India v Australia, 3rd ODI Live Streaming

India v Australia, 3rd ODI, Delhi

Reinforced Australia prepare to fight back

October 30, 2009

Match facts

Saturday, 31 Oct 2009

			India Vs Australia
Venue :3rd One Day International, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi (D/N) Live action starts from: 09:00 GMT (14:30 IST) ODI Australia Tour of India 2009-10 One Day International Match

Saturday, October 31
Start time 14.30 (09.00GMT)

Ricky Ponting's resources have taken a severe hit in India

Big Picture

Ricky Ponting doesn't like the idea of a seven-match ODI series. It's too long, he believes. Now that the first two games in India are out of the way with one win each, he can pretend his team are about to embark on a five-match series. That of course ignores the question of momentum, which is firmly in India's favour after their 99-run victory in Nagpur. Not a lot went right for Australia on Wednesday and, with injuries still plaguing their squad, they haven't been able to enjoy a settled build-up to the third game in Delhi. Australia's main problem surrounds their attack and its inability to contain India's powerful batting line-up. An injured Brett Lee is flying home and an unfit James Hopes is expected to miss this clash, making India favourites to go 2-1 up.

For India, there isn't much they can improve on their Nagpur effort, although they'll be keen for Sachin Tendulkar to post his first decent score of the series. MS Dhoni's remarkable century in the second match, combined with strong efforts from Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir, have given Australia plenty of headaches leading into the Delhi encounter. The one key difference between Nagpur and Delhi should be the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, which is not expected to produce a particularly high-scoring match.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia - LWWWW
India - WLWLW

Watch out for ...

Gautam Gambhir: Yes, it was Dhoni who stole the show in Nagpur but in both matches so far Gambhir has contributed substantially at the top of the order. In Vadodara, his 68 from 85 deliveries steadied India after the early loss of the openers, and in Nagpur, he made 76 off 80 balls to set up the platform from which Dhoni launched his assault. The Australians will be desperate to remove Gambhir early at the Kotla; India will look to their No. 3 for another anchoring role.

Shaun Marsh: Indian viewers have seen the very best of Marsh during the IPL and Tim Paine's departure should ensure Marsh opens with Shane Watson for the remainder of the series. He's most comfortable at the top of the order and will be keen to re-establish himself as one of Australia's permanent one-day openers following a six-month lay-off that started when he hurt his hamstring during the series in the UAE against Pakistan.

Team news

With no injuries to speak of, India have no reason to alter their line-up. After a 99-run victory, why would you?

India (probable): 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashish Nehra.

The situation isn't so clear-cut for Australia. Lee's elbow injury has ended his series and Hopes remains on the sidelines. Australia's sub-standard bowling effort in Nagpur could bring Moises Henriques and Doug Bollinger into the equation, with Ben Hilfenhaus especially vulnerable having leaked 83 runs on Wednesday. Ponting wasn't happy with the team balance in Nagpur, which could mean a debut for Henriques, probably at the expense of Adam Voges. Graham Manou will replace the injured Paine but won't take his batting position and is likely to slot in at No. 7.

Australia: (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Cameron White, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Adam Voges/Moises Henriques, 7 Graham Manou (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus/Doug Bollinger.

Pitch and conditions

The quality of the Kotla pitch in Delhi was slammed during the Champions League Twenty20, when slow, low bounce made it mighty hard to score runs. For the ODI the pitch is expected to be a bit better, but not much. Batsmen will need to be extra judicious in protecting against straight balls due to the low bounce. In short, don't expect a repeat of the 354 India posted in Nagpur.

Stats and trivia

• During the Adam Gilchrist years, Australia's other wicketkeepers barely got a look-in as Brad Haddin held down the No. 2 spot. Things have quickly changed and Manou will be the fifth gloveman Australia have used in ODIs in just over 18 months, after Gilchrist, Haddin, Luke Ronchi and Paine.

• Australia haven't played an ODI in Delhi since 1998, which means Ponting is the only man in their squad with international one-day experience there.

• MS Dhoni's 124 in Nagpur was the highest score by any captain against Australia in an ODI, beating Sanath Jayasuriya's 122 in 2003.

Quotes

"Although we were soundly outplayed the other day, the positive of that was we were one-nil up in the series, so we're back to level pegging now, back to a five-match series really."
Ricky Ponting wants to start afresh in what is effectively a five-match contest now.

"We will try to carry the confidence from Nagpur and build on that rather than think about injuries to the Australians. Of course it's a big problem for them ... but we are focussing mainly on what we have to do well, and of course fielding is a major part."
MS Dhoni isn't placing much importance on Australia's problems.

Watch India Vs Australia 2nd ODI Live Streaming

India v Australia, 2nd ODI, Nagpur

India out to hurt injury-hit Australia

Match facts

Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009

			India Vs Australia
Venue :2nd One Day International, Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur (D/N) Live action starts from: 09:00 GMT (14:30 IST) ODI Australia Tour of India 2009-10 One Day International Match

Wednesday, October 28
Start time 14.30 local time (09.00GMT)

Big Picture

Yuvraj Singh's impending return means Virat Kohli would go back to warming the bench

Australia's lead-up to their second clash against India in Nagpur will be more structured than the approach to the first, when their pre-match plans were affected by the late arrival of the New South Wales players participating in the Champions League final and their game-time strategy hit by the loss of Brett Lee and James Hopes during India's chase. This time their bad news has come in advance - Lee and Hopes are out with elbow and hamstring problems, and there are doubts over Mitchell Johnson, who hurt his ankle, as well, although coach Tim Nielsen was hopeful about his participation - yet they will be challenged to repeat the win they recorded at Vadodara.

India, on the other hand, are likely to be boosted by the return of Yuvraj Singh, who had broken his finger during the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. Among the several problems India faced in Vadodara - a scattergun bowling attack, a mis-firing top order, and a less-than-electric fielding unit - was inexperience in the middle and lower order. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are promising emerging talents but fielding both players in the same XI doesn't inspire much confidence. Yuvraj's inclusion will solve that problem.

Wedneday's game will be the first one-day international in Nagpur since the new stadium was built on the city's outskirts in Jamtha. It had hosted the deciding Test of the India-Australia series in 2008 but that match was blighted by poor crowds largely due to the inaccessibility of the venue. One-day cricket, however, is a far bigger draw than the five-day version and only the commute, especially back to the city after the match ends at night, could prevent a packed house at the one of India's best stadiums.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia - WWWWW
India - WWLWL

Watch out for ...

Virender Sehwag: He hadn't played international cricket since the tour of New Zealand earlier this year and his first two balls in Vadodara reminded everyone of what India had missed. Sehwag cracked Lee through point and midwicket for fours and added another boundary, against Peter Siddle, a ball later. However, he didn't carry on and his brief innings - 13 off 11 balls - would have merely whetted his appetite.

Yuvraj Singh: On his day, Yuvraj is among the most destructive one-day batsmen, and his days tend to happen more often at home than abroad. Yuvraj averages 43 at a strike-rate of nearly 95 while playing in India, compared to an average and strike-rate of 39 and 84 overseas. In his last one-day series in India, he devastated England, hammering 325 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of nearly 130.

The batting Powerplay: Both teams struggled after taking it in Vadodara. Australia managed only 33 runs off theirs, taken between 43 and 47, and lost three wickets. India were worse. They opted for it in the 35th over, lost Gautam Gambhir first ball, and scored 32 for 3 during the fielding restrictions.

Nathan Hauritz: Watch out for Hauritz? Really? His seemingly gentle offbreaks are always under-rated but he bowled a valuable spell in the first ODI. He kept the run-rate down during the Dhoni-Gambhir partnership and had figures of 7-1-15-1 before getting hit by Harbhajan Singh towards the end of the game. He was not the most heralded spinner in the series but he was the best one on show in Vadodara.

Team news

India have a few changes to ponder over. If Yuvraj returns, it will be at the expense of either Kohli or Jadeja. However, Yuvraj's return adding strength to the middle order could also result in India fielding the extra specialist spinner in Amit Mishra if the pitch is conducive for slow bowling. In that case, both Kohli and Jadeja could miss out. The other player likely to miss out could be Praveen Kumar, who leaked 77 runs off ten overs in the first game. Despite his success with the bat, his spot could go to Munaf Patel.

India: (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Praveen Kumar/Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Assuming Johnson will be passed fit, Australia have to replace Lee and Hopes. The contenders are Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jon Holland and Shaun Marsh. Either Bollinger or Ben Hilfenhaus is a certainty for the third fast bowler's spot, and considering Australia got by with Hopes bowling only two overs in the first game, they could strengthen their batting and give his spot to Shaun Marsh.

Australia: (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Adam Voges, 7 Cameron White, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz 10 Doug Bollinger/Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Peter Siddle.

Pitch and conditions

Deciding what to after winning the toss in India is usually a no-brainer. Most teams prefer to bat, and take advantage of a slowing pitch as the game progresses. However, the decision in Nagpur may not be so clear cut. The pitch is expected to be flat and excellent for run-making but dew in the evenings could make captains think twice before batting first, especially if there are a few slow bowlers in the line-up. Dhoni said that one of the matches during the recent Challenger Trophy was severely affected by dew and he said the organisers were trying to minimize its effect on the game by spraying the ground with chemicals.

"It looks like a good wicket. And if there is dew, they will spray the outfield, may be use the super-sopper as well during the drinks break," Nielsen said. "But yes, it will be a bit more difficult with dew around especially for spin bowlers who will find it hard to grip the ball. It will have an impact. For the team batting second, the difficulty in chasing will be reduced a bit with dew around so the team batting first needs to make a competitive total."

Stats and trivia

• Ricky Ponting is the highest run-scorer in ODIs in 2009, having scored 1005 runs in 24 matches with two centuries and seven fifties. Michael Hussey is third with 926 at an average of 42.

• MS Dhoni has the best average for anyone who's played atleast 10 matches in 2009. Dhoni's scored 768 runs in 21 matches at an average of nearly 70.

• Shane Watson has the distinction of having scored the most hundreds and ducks in 2009. He's scored three centuries to date, and also been dismissed for duck four times.

• Mitchell Johnson is the leading wicket-taker in 2009, with 39 wickets in 26 matches at an average of nearly 30 apiece.

Quotes

"Brett is certainly out of tomorrow's game but Mitchell Johnson's woken up a lot better today morning than we thought he would be when we drafted the media release yesterday evening. We will see how he pulls up through the training session today and all the indications are that he might well be available tomorrow morning. At this stage, Mitchell is not completely out."
Tim Nielsen is keeping his fingers crossed on Johnson.

"We have not been great with our death bowling. If you see the last game, the first few overs - 42nd over onwards - it was good and in the 50th we gave away one run. In between there was a span of four overs when we gave away 50-52 runs."
MS Dhoni knows India's bowling at the end of the innings is a problem.