The two best sides in One Day International cricket – India and Australia, in a match on Sunday. As a cricket fan, what more could you ask for? Adding to the tension is the fact that the cricket World Cup is only weeks away, to be played soon after the Carlton Mid Tri-Series.
Australia made quick work of England, the third team in the competition. But given the quality of the three sides in the contest, England only seem to be here to make up the numbers. The fight is clearly between India and Australia.
As James Faulkner says, any contest between India and Australia have always been bitterly fought: “The last series [against them] was one of the most remarkable series I’ve been involved in, and probably in history, with the amount of runs scored in 50 overs. I’m sure there’s going to be another big score tomorrow for whoever bats first.”
While Australia won the Test series, they were not exactly dominant, and the Indian team was never shamed. The Indian batsmen led by Virat Kohli, backed wholeheartedly by Ajinkya Rahane, definitely out up a fight, scoring 400+ runs in every Test. It was the bowlers who let the team down, and badly so.
Indian bowling has been terrible to say the least, and held no threat whatsoever in the Test series. Not much is expected to change in the current ODI tri-series, or for that matter in the World Cup to come next, because the bowlers remain the same – the strictly medium paced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the completely ineffective Mohammad Shami, the harmless Ishant Sharma, the ordinary Ravi Ashwin, and the lone fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who will be the only realistic threat the Indian bowling attack possesses.
Speaking about his side’s prospects in this competition and in the World Cup to be played soon, India’s captain, M S Dhoni said, “Getting used to the conditions is very important. The wickets will be quite similar to what we may get in the World Cup, but at the same time we have to stay in the present. We are playing against two very good teams.”
There is also a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of M S Dhoni, who has recently retired from Test cricket. There is uncertainty over the future of Australian captain Michael Clarke as well, even as he battles to recover from injury. The captaincy is now in the very capable hands of George Bailey. Mitchell Johnson is also out with an injury, but Pat Cummins has been a capable and arguably faster replacement.
For Australia, there is a chance of fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu getting a game. He is a fast bowler of Indian origin, and given the shortage of fast bowlers in India, perhaps Dhoni would wish he was playing for India rather than for Australia. David Warner is under an injury cloud as well.
Whatever happens, a great match is in prospect.
Team news
Australia: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Steven Smith, 5 George Bailey (capt), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Pat Cummins, 11 Xavier Doherty.
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Akshar Patel, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Umesh Yadav
Match Conditions
A great day is in prospect tomorrow at the MCG in Melbourne, bright and sunny, with no rains expected whatsoever. The fans of both teams will be out in full force. The pitch is expected to be belted, expected over 300 runs to be scored by both teams.
Watch India take on Australia on Sunday, 18th January, at 8:30 PM live on Star Sports!
