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.
Ken
Guest
Who has Australia won against? Well they did win a heap of games against India this summer...
Buk
Guest
Yes agreed.
Tiger
Guest
Your mob will have to get through India first Mango. They're a different beast from the one that toured earlier this year. Should be a good contest.
razpor
Guest
Brendon taylor in form can smash just about any attack in the world.Brilliant batsman to watch.Also even in that match all three indian quicks had identical figures at 3-30(or so) for each of them.Only the spinners took a hammering due to short boundaries but even they bowled well.
razpor
Guest
In the triseries kumar and binny opened the bowling for India,nowhere to be seen in the scheme of things now.
razpor
Guest
Final scoreline for test series 2-0. And one loss in the triseries and that too went to the 49 over.
razpor
Guest
Who has australia won against?? Same argument and a useless and pointless one at that.
raz
Guest
And the same aussie team in India wouldnt even win a ranji match and i am not kiddin,the 4-0 whitewash was some real eyeopener.Aussies cant play spin to save thier lives and they proved that again in Uae .India infact fared much better ,atpeast they had a chance to win in one or two test matches .final scoreline was still 2-0 ,much better than a complete whitewash. It goes both ways you see.
raz
Guest
It ll ve a very tough game for india,there is no denying that. But you are forgetting India did win the Cb series in 2008.But all those numbers are useless its just one game.Anyone can win. But i ll hate to loose to Australia,if they go on and win another cup,5 damn times ,thats too much for anyone. :D /jk
raz
Guest
Well thats what you pay for having drop in pitches,you wont get that true bounce that the pitches in australia once had.
Don Freo
Guest
The Roar didn't say that. David Lord said that. He knows nothing.
saha
Guest
Sri Lanka scored 300+ against Oz, but what SA did was brutal. India is going to bowl you out.
saha
Guest
The roar said they dodged a bullet when they faced Pakistan, but India won over them with ease. South Africa lost to Kiwis and everyone who watched said their heart skipped a beat because of the stress involved. But India bowled them out and won with about 100+ runs to spare. Hopefully it will be a India vs NZ final. The 2 teams that ranked first in their pools having a face off in Finals :D
saha
Guest
You sure?
Jo M
Guest
Pitch is going to be interesting seeing that the ICC pitch consultant is here to oversee the preparation. Geez, I bet Mr Parker ain't too happy with being advised.
Bobbo7
Guest
Sorry sd I can't t really decipher much of that but I presume if is something like "stra'ya is better" etc etc. You might be interested to note my comment made no mention of NZ whatsoever.
sd
Guest
milne !
sd
Guest
yeah ! reason -james faulkner avz 109 in chasing ! he is simply amazing
sd
Guest
so "And lets be honest here – Starc aside (who has been simply amazing) the Aussie quicks have not been great."kiwi bowlers -boult aside(who has been simply amazing ) other's are worst than our grade learning quiks ? southee 7/33 and from there............................. mile avz 42 ?5 wickets in whole tournament johnson bowl better than him ! vettori hammered by gayle ? hazlewood 4/35 against pak? did you watch the game?
Meng
Guest
Bat first and win the game. You hear kids say it before they know where mid-on is and which way a leg-break turns. It seems like sound reasoning, but the only problem with it is that it's completely false. Australia have a 12-4 win-loss ratio batting second in the last two years, and these games were played across the world (Australia, India, UAE, England). Australia chase targets better than they set them, and they are very good at setting targets...