Would you have missed this one match, even if it were not a World Cup Quarter Final match? Hardly anyone would utter a no as an answer to this one question if it were posed on national debate. Such has been the intensity in both the sides of India and Australia whenever they take field against one another. And why wouldn't there be? In the past one year, these are the two sides that have regularly been among the top 3 ODI sides in the World, with South Africa making up the third party.
It is the most high profile match of this high profile Quarter Final line up and almost everyone is geared onto it. The only regret is, at the end of this match, one of the best sides in World Cup cricket will be out of the tournament, no matter which way the result swings.
Let us have a look at the World Cup 2011 campaign of the two teams:
Australia
Versus | Result | Runs Scored | Wickets Lost | Runs Given | Wickets Taken |
Kenya | Won | 324 | 6 | 264 | 6 |
Sri Lanka | Washed Out | - | - | - | - |
Canada | Won | 212 | 3 | 211 | 10 |
New Zealand | Won | 207 | 3 | 206 | 10 |
Zimbabwe | Won | 262 | 6 | 171 | 10 |
Pakistan | Lost | 176 | 10 | 178 | 6 |
Total | W - 4 L - 1 NR - 1 | 1181 | 28 | 1030 | 42 |
Bowling:
Australia are certainly not the side of the old and you must be tired to hear that by now. Hell, even Yuvraj Singh has mentioned that already. However, that does not mean that you could afford to take the World Champions lightly. They are wounded but they are wild and the wounded wild are the most dangerous. The table shows that they have managed to take 42 wickets in 5 matches that could be completed. That is one dangerous figure as this shows that Australia have managed 8.4 wickets in every match and that is almost cleaning up the entire line up. In fact, Australia have failed to clear the line up only twice, once in a match that they lost to Pakistan and surprisingly the other in the match to Kenya. They have fearsome bowlers and the numbers show the fear.
Batting:
They have also managed to score a fair number of runs, considering only 5 matches have been counted. However, what is important to note is that Australia have managed to score these runs and win matches without losing too many wickets by the end of it. This signifies a good start and good support from at least two in the middle order. Australia have been all out only once, and as we will see in the analysis on India, a solid middle order might be the daunting factor.
India
Versus | Result | Runs Scored | Wickets Lost | Runs Given | Wickets Taken |
South Africa | Lost | 296 | 10 | 300 | 7 |
Netherlands | Won | 191 | 5 | 189 | 10 |
Bangladesh | Won | 370 | 4 | 283 | 9 |
Ireland | Won | 210 | 5 | 207 | 10 |
England | Tied | 338 | 10 | 338 | 8 |
West Indies | Won | 268 | 10 | 188 | 10 |
Total | W - 4 L - 1 Tie -1 | 1673 | 44 | 1505 | 54 |
Bowling:
India have a similar record as to Australia in this World Cup and that is something that every Indian fan who has followed cricket in the period of 1996 - 2010 would be proud of. In fact, from the looks of the table, India seem to better off than their opposition. What comes as a surprise is that Indian bowling which is clearly its weak link has managed to take 54 wickets in 6 matches, which leaves us with an average of 9 wickets per match, which is clearly an astonishing figure. It is true that these wickets have been to a concentrated few like Zaheer Khan, but then again this is entirely the reason why they are called match winning bowlers. However, one fear factor for India is that they managed to give away a lot of runs too. Hopefully, MSD would continue with Ashwin now and not allow Nehra, Sreesanth and Chawla to play havoc with the ball.
Batting:
This Indian batting line up is certainly the best India has ever had in terms of numbers, and variety. However, while the runs have been up on the board, the batting hasn't lived up to its full potential except in the match against Bangladesh. India have had some spectacular collapses at the end of innings against England, South Africa and West Indies, with the collapse against South Africa being the most dramatic where they lost 9 wickets and scoring only 29 runs. It was a certainly a match where the fall of wickets cost India a minimum of 50 more runs. They can not afford such a collapse against Australia, as the South African side did offer some chance to the Indian bowlers, Australian middle order and openers would not give any.
India v/s Australia
One look at the table and you know you are eagerly waiting for the contest to begin. Pakistan have already won their match against West Indies and booked themselves a place in the semi finals. There can be nothing more mouth watering than a clash of Pakistan and you know who!
The match is being played at Motera tomorrow. The match might have some personal milestones crossed but that is not what is on my mind. All that I have on my mind is
INDIA!! INDIAA!!!
