Gros Islet (St Lucia), June 23 (PTI) India will derail Australia's T20 World Cup campaign when they face shell-shocked and pressured opponents in their final Super 8 match here on Monday.
A third consecutive victory for India would not only see them top the group and send them to the semi-finals, but would also significantly threaten Australia's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals after an unexpected defeat against Afghanistan in Saint-Vincent Saturday evening.
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After the defeat against Afghanistan, Australia no longer have their fate in their hands and will follow with great interest the final match of Rashid Khan's team against Bangladesh on Monday evening.
India, who had to suffer heavy defeats against Australia in major ICC events, would like to see a premature exit from their powerful rivals.
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In terms of improving their game ahead of the knockout stages, India don't have much to do after fulfilling all the requirements in their back-to-back wins over Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Rohit and Virat Kohli played an impressive role against Afghanistan, while Shivam Dubey, unable to play his role, responded to his critics with a devastating knock.
Rishabh Pant's number three pacer is too often overlooked and that is something he would like to rectify.
The biggest positive for India in this tournament has been the all-round effort of Hardik Pandya, who has now come to the party with the bat to complete his crucial spell.
Kuldeep Yadav took little time to make a match-winning contribution and will be counted on at the wicket in the middle overs.
With teams playing three Super 8 matches with breaks lasting a few days, management will be tempted to rotate players, but are unlikely to do so.
India, who arrived in St Lucia on Saturday evening, opted not to train ahead of the match against Australia due to travel difficulties.
The second day's match will only take place at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground. The Day Nighters scored runs here, but in their previous match at the stadium, England failed to chase down 164 in a day-night match against South Africa.
It was the best shot of the competition, but the sun on the field all day will probably have helped the slower bowlers.
Australia, on the other hand, has big problems ahead of this match. It was a disastrous performance against Afghanistan and Mitchell Marsh's side also had an impressive night on the field.
Having scored just 88 runs in six matches at an average of 111, Marsh will have to lead from the front against India.
In possession of the ball, Offie Glenn Maxwell must check his economy rate of 8.58 points at all times.
In terms of matchups, it will be interesting to see how Kohli fares against leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who has faced the Indian star on several occasions.
Australia played an extra role in replacing Mitchell Starc with Ashton Agar against Afghanistan, but that could change against India.
“It was a tough night for us on the pitch and we own it. We will come back in the next match. It was not an easy wicket but both teams bowled on this surface. (Next India…) First of all, it became clear to us,” the captain said. In a very blunt manner after the Afghanistan match: “We have to win and there is no better team to do it against (India).”
difference:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashavi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (week), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green. Nathan Ellis.
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