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Tempers and reputations will come to the fore in the second World Cup semi-final, as India play Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 2:30pm (AEDT).
The enduring image of Tuesday evening’s epic of Auckland will be the moment the vanquisher picked up the vanquished.
Grant Elliott’s hand out to a inconsolable Dale Steyn stood out for all the qualities lovable about cricket – hard fight, exemplary skills, and to cap it off, unquestionable sportsmanship.
Expect no such niceties on Thursday as global cricket’s Goliaths to battle in possibly the blockbuster clash of the World Cup.
India are not the tamed lion of the summer – their last seven outings have justifiably and emphatically stated their claim to defend the title won in 2011. Call their time between November and January as the time they took in the sights and made notes. Boy, did they make notes.
Brisbane bounces, Sydney spins, Adelaide flattens and Melbourne mesmerises.
Having jotted these points, MS Dhoni and co have thus far constructed an imperious title defence, defusing any notion of fear from a team looking anything but competent mere months ago. They did lose to England, after all.
But now comes their sternest test. Whatever their bluster they deliberately ran on first gear, the ledger against Australia this summer stands at zero wins. Getting a first is the dream of all who bleed blue, and the enduring nightmare of the mere speckles of gold that will be present at the SCG.
For their part, Australia has run a near flawless campaign. Nothing can be done when rain cost a game in Brisbane, while Mitchell Starc nearly stole victory from the New Zealanders in Auckland after a poor batting display. Despite the supposed talk of a narrow win against Pakistan (since when was a six-wicket margin narrow?), the Australians are at home, and will believe their destiny is to seek revenge against New Zealand on Sunday.
The crowd may be uncontrollably Indian by the majority, but that will little worry Michael Clarke. Playing against modern India comes attached with a partisan crowd cheering against you if you’re Australian – hardly unfamiliar circumstances. While the crowd will not cause problems, the pitch might.
Who knows the mindset of curator Tom Parker, whose prerogative it is to prepare Thursday’s wicket. While India would be pining for hot days on an uncovered surface to bake the pitch, Australia will be glad to see the regular rain and grey clouds ensuring the covers remain firmly on. Last thing Australia want is to be spun out of a World Cup Final at home.
For India, the key players will be their spinners, for therein lies the key area of strength for the tourists. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have had fine, if somewhat understated tournaments. Cite that more to the unprecedented success of India’s fast men. But for a team that can only boast two strong players of spin in captain Clarke and Steven Smith, Australia’s goal will be to minimise Ashwin and Jadeja’s role.
India’s batsmen retain gold standard, yet they face their strongest attack yet. Defeated South Africa they did, but it was a Proteas’ force shorn of Vernon Philander for large parts. The trio of Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood offer a far sterner test for the vaunted Indian batting lineup. The key likely may be to start slow and await the less threatening prospects of Glenn Maxwell and the support act.
Australia’s tactics are less subtle and rely more on the fire and brimstone of Mitchell Starc with ball and David Warner with the bat. However, further contributions are necessary from both Mitchell Johnson and Aaron Finch if they are to pressure India off their rosy course.
Yet in Maxwell and James Faulkner, the home side possess the critical power players that can severely crush India’s title defence in one good hour. For India, regular wickets are critical to halting the impact of the Australian lower middle order from amassing a mammoth total.
As with New Zealand in the last game, Australia can claim nominal favouritism via knowledge of the home conditions (the term “home advantage” can be applied loosely given the crowd composition), plus the incentive of a final at the MCG. Yet as established, India have proven far superior to the meek outfit that folded. Expect plenty of skills, and even more sledging in what may showcase the best and worst cricket has to offer.
Preview written by Vas Venkatramani
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