Internet Desk: India will have their task cut out as they take on a formidable Australian side in a virtual knock out clash of the World T20 Super 10 Group 2 clash in Mohali. MS Dhoni and his men will have to pull off their socks against an improving Australia if they are to make it to the last four.
Under fire middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh had an extended session at the nets ahead of their must-win match. Yuvraj, who was not amongst the runs against Bangladesh and New Zealand, took throw downs from assistant coach Sanjay Bangar for close to an hour. Yuvraj came to bat at the nets after the turn of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ravinchandran Ashwin. He batted alongside Rahane, Suresh Raina and skipper M S Dhoni, who mostly faced the slower bowlers and continued even after the trio was done. Yuvraj mostly practiced the aerial strokes, both in front and behind the wicket. He last played an international match here in October 2-13 when he was out for a duck.
Another batsman who is yet to get going is Suresh Raina. The middle order batsman did score a 30 against Bangladesh but the team will need a much bigger score if required. The other batsman who batted longer than others was Ajinkya Rahane, who is yet to get a game in the tournament.
The bowlers who spent most time in the nets were Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh and injury prone Mohammad Shami. The bowlers though have done a decent job especially the spin combine of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The bowling at the death by Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya will be tested against the formidable Aussie batting line up.
The hosts pitted as the overwhelming favorites going into the tournament, have been far from convincing in the three games they have played so far. They crashed to a 47 run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the opening match before bouncing back with a six-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan at Eden Gardens. In the last match against Bangladesh at Chinnaswamy stadium it was sheer brilliance from the Indian captain that saw them through by one run.
Australia, on the other hand, have been improving with every game and a convincing win against Pakistan in a must-win match at the same venue on Friday have prepared them well for another knock-out battle. James Faulkner and Shane Watson think playing India in their own backyard is the ultimate challenge but the home team also knows they have a daunting task at hand tomorrow. India, however will take confidence from the fact that they whitewashed Australia in Australia in the three-match T20 series in January even though they played against a different squad then.
It is expected to be a humdinger as two sides are packed with game changers.