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After the few seconds of cursing in the wake of South Africa’s semi-final defeat and an appreciation of a New Zealand side who couldn’t have times their rise to peak performance any better, attention inevitably turned to the second semi-final.
It says a great deal that India will go into the clash with Australia as second favourites, but not by as great a margin as would have been the case had such a scenario been offered prior to the tournament.
Underwhelming in the tri-series and even losing to England (a false dawn if ever I’ve seen one), the Indians appeared to be cut from the same cloth as some of their predecessors – that is, dismal travellers.
Put them on a surface offering little lateral movement or bounce and it would become a question of their batting line-up against the opposition, of who could rack up the most. Add the aforementioned factors into the equation, however, and the odds would lengthen significantly.
Too often the accusation of not caring has been thrown at the Indians and more often than not it has been when things haven’t been stacked in their favour.
They don’t give a damn about Test cricket apparently, but that didn’t seem to be the case when they were beating the Australians 4-0 at home not too long ago.
The tri-series was merely a case of time being passed, yet the side who got the better of England on these shores last summer in the 50-over game rarely looked like one who were just filling the days.
As ever, the truth is floating around somewhere out there, but what is undeniable is they have certainly discovered their mojo in this tournament.
MS Dhoni’s men have played an enterprising brand of cricket, they’ve been up for the battle, and they’ve got their tactics and line-up pretty much spot on.
While their batting has lived up to its billing for the most part, it is the other side of their game that has served up the surprise.
Seven times they have taken to the field and seven times they have managed to take all 10 wickets. I had to have a double take when I saw that statistic. But that’s how it is and with a seam attack punching well above its weight they will fancy their chances of outgunning the Australians at the SCG.
If, and this is where the game will be decided, they can put a score on the board, then the unwritten rule of a chase being more tricky than setting a target, especially when there is the magnitude of the occasion to be factored in, will come into force and funnier things have happened.
That said, if the boot is on the other foot then Australia will be hard to stop. Even though they bat a long way down and saw off some spirited Pakistan resistance in Adelaide, Australia, like every other side, look far more comfortable defending than chasing.
The license to bat in an uninhibited style, while granted throughout a game, carries less obvious risk in the first innings, as the loss of a wicket doesn’t alter the dynamic in the same fashion as when a required rate is staring you in the face.
Add to the mix the SCG surface, which can offer a fraction more to the slower bowlers as the day wears on, and denying India the opportunity to get their spinners into the game shouldn’t be underestimated as a key part of the contest.
There will be some who point towards home pressure as having a bearing on the Australians’ psyche, but too much should not be read in to that. One only has to look across the Tasman to see how feverish support can inspire rather than cower, and the advantage of playing on home soil has hardly been squandered so far.
So in conclusion, bat first and win the game. If only, and don’t go telling a a South African this, it were so simple.