Daijiworld Media Network
Sydney, Feb 26: Hello and welcome to our coverage of the game between Australia and India at Sydney. It is almost a must win game for India today (they will have an outside chance even if they lose). They will take on Australia, who have been up and down through the series. India's captain MS Dhoni mentioned yesterday that they will play the best available eleven,
No rotation policy today, so all 3 big guns are playing. Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar are injured, so Praveen Kumar gets a chance.
Can India lift their spirits after the reported 'crack' among the senior members of the team? A million dollar question will be answered with the the result of the ODI match No 9 in the Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series against Australia here on Sunday, February 26 at Sydney.
Four years back, India emerged Champions in the tri-series in Australia beating the host country. But this time around, a spot in the final is seems doubtful.
To book their berth in the final, India must beat Australia on Sunday and also beat Sri Lanka on Feb 28 with a comfortable margin. India must also keep its run-rate better to guarantee a spot in the finals.
Unfortunately, Indian cricket team has been much in the news for its differences among senior players, specially a reported rift between captain Dhoni and opener Sehwag. Though both claim there is no problem in the dressing room, it is not easy to come back strong and beat the No 1 ODI side Australia in its own soil.
India has so far played 6 matches in the series, beating Australia and Sri Lanka once, and then registering a tied match against Sri Lanka. They lost twice to Australia and once to Sri Lanka. Interestingly, India batted second in all six matches !
It would be interesting to see, how India will approach if they bat first.
India's rotation policy affected its first few matches. There has always been a different opening pair. Apart from Gambhir - Sehwag pair that put together 52 runs against Sri Lanka, opening batsmen have failed to click.
The man waiting for his 'hundredth' century, has unfortunately not completed 100 runs in the 4 matches he has played in this series. Gambhir has been impressive in two consecutive wins, but thereafter he failed again. Kohli and Dhoni promised a lot in this series, but they both should keep their forms to win match against Australia on Sunday. Raina and Rohit Sharma are yet to prove thier abilities in this series. Ravindra Jadeja too did not live upto the expectation as an allrounder.
The good news for India is, Irfan Patel is all set to fill India's long drought in the genuine all rounder position. Coming back after a couple of years from international cricket, Pathan has shown lot of promise with both ball and bat.
Unlike India, Australia have no problems except minor worries of their opening partnership. Wade and Warner, though they did not contribute with big runs, managed to put enough scores on the board.
Austalia's star all rounder Shane Thomas is back in the side after recovering from injury, and can cause problem for India with both bat and ball. Hussey brothers are in superb form. Captain Clark, Forest are as reliable as ever.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Shane Watson(c), Peter Forrest, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Matthew Wade(w), Daniel Christian, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus
Dhoni: Watson brings stability to their side, but we have to worry about our own problems. Easy to calculate, you have to win both the games and qualify. We have to get partnerships when it comes to the batting. We haven't won tosses, we always want to bat first but are always chasing. In the first leg of the tournament, we wanted to rotate and experiment. Now we have to play the best eleven. It's good to have the big guys at the top order, we all know how dangerous they can be.
Watson: Pitch looks beautiful. We have to see off the new ball and once we do it, it looks like a very nice wicket. Very excited to play, and to be captain of my country feels special. I'm feeling good, the last couple of weeks have been good and I'm ready to go. It's a must win game for us, really excited. Harris is out, Mckay returns.
Australia have won the toss and elected to bat
Pitch report: Conditions are very humid and there is a slight cloud covering. This is the same wicket where Sri Lanka thrashed Australia. There is no moisture, the 2 new balls will swing around. If India can play 2 spinners, they will get assistance. You have to see off the new ball, but it is a very good wicket. Win the toss and bat first, say Tom Moody and Wasim Akram.
Now it is bad news for Australia: Michael Clarke will not play today because of a back injury. Shane Watson, who was out injured for the last couple of months, will return to the side and lead the team as well!
Bad news for India: Zaheer Khan is out with an injury, and will not play today.