Hero Honda Cup 2009: India vs Australia

November 09, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

Sunday was a bad day for India who opted to bat first and finally lost the show to the touring team Australia in the 6th ODI of the Hero Honda Cup. With this victory, Australia has clinched the seven match series by 4-2.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first in the heavy weather conditions and the side suffered since the beginning as they lost the top batting order. They never got the time to recover and hence fell flat to the World Champions.
India managed to make 170 in 48 overs while the Australians chased down the target in 41.5 overs losing just 4 wickets.
From Australian side, Shane Watson (49), Ricky Ponting (25), Cameron White (25) helped for a good base while the match was completed by Michael Hussey (35 not out) and Adam Voges (23 not out).
Previously, India who opted to bat first were slumped to 27/5 in 9 overs and even a hundred looked far for the team.
Fortunately, Ravindra Jadeja (57) and Praveen Kumar (54 not out) pushed the score to 170 before they coiled.

Sunday was a bad day for India who opted to bat first and finally lost the show to the touring team Australia in the 6th ODI of the Hero Honda Cup. With this victory, Australia has clinched the seven match series by 4-2.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first in the heavy weather conditions and the side suffered since the beginning as they lost the top batting order. They never got the time to recover and hence fell flat to the World Champions.

India managed to make 170 in 48 overs while the Australians chased down the target in 41.5 overs losing just 4 wickets.

From Australian side, Shane Watson (49), Ricky Ponting (25), Cameron White (25) helped for a good base while the match was completed by Michael Hussey (35 not out) and Adam Voges (23 not out).

Previously, India who opted to bat first were slumped to 27/5 in 9 overs and even a hundred looked far for the team.

Fortunately, Ravindra Jadeja (57) and Praveen Kumar (54 not out) pushed the score to 170 before they coiled.

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Hero Honda Cup 2009: Henriques out of fifth ODI

November 04, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News, Player News No Comments →

Moises henriques has been ruled out of the fifth ODI on Thursday against India in Hyderabad. Henriques hurt his right hamstring in the fiels during the MOhali ODI and he couldn’t be flown home as only three games left.
Australia is badly affected by injury with key players – Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and callum Ferguson being unavailable for the series and after the series started it was Brett Lee, James Hopes and Tim Paine.
Now Siddle has also flown home due to injury. With Henriques injury, Cricket Australia is forced to find a replacement as now the team is with only 13 fit members.

Moises Henriques has been ruled out of the fifth ODI on Thursday against India in Hyderabad. Henriques hurt his right hamstring in the field during the Mohali ODI and he couldn’t be flown home as only three games left.

Australia is badly affected by injury with key players – Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and Callum Ferguson being unavailable for the series and after the series started it was Brett Lee, James Hopes and Tim Paine.

Now Siddle has also flown home due to injury. With Henriques injury, Cricket Australia is forced to find a replacement as now the team is with only 13 fit members.

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Hero Honda Cup 2009: Siddle out with injury

November 03, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News 1 Comment →

The ongoing Hero Honda Cup 2009 is badly hit by injury. Many players have been injured and the teams have lost the key players in the tournament.
Australia’s Peter Siddle will return home after he suffered stiffness in his left side during MOnday’s win at the MOhali.
Siddle bowled 5 overs and the decision is part of precautionary measure.
The selectors are yet to decide on a replacement player. Recently Brett Lee and James Hopes have flown home due to injuries.
There is a possibility of Dirk Nannes or Brett Geeves to join the team.

The ongoing Hero Honda Cup 2009 is badly hit by injury. Many players have been injured and the teams have lost the key players in the tournament.

Australia’s Peter Siddle will return home after he suffered stiffness in his left side during MOnday’s win at the MOhali.

Siddle bowled 5 overs and the decision is part of precautionary measure.

The selectors are yet to decide on a replacement player. Recently Brett Lee and James Hopes have flown home due to injuries.

There is a possibility of Dirk Nannes or Brett Geeves to join the team.

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Hero Honda Cup 2009: 4th ODI: India vs Australia

November 03, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News 2 Comments →

Australia won the 4th ODI against India at Mohali by 24 runs in the ongoing Hero Honda Cup 2009.
With this the series has been levelled and Australia remains in the top slot in the ODI rankings.
India won the toss and chose to field first. THey restricted Australia to 250 in 49.2 overs but India couldn’t face the Australian bowling attack and lost all the wickets in their 46.4 overs making just 226 runs.
Good batting performance was shown by Watson (49), Ponting (52), White (62) and Hussey (40). While other players from Australia were out with just single digit scores.
Nehra slammed 3 wickets, while Harbhajan with 2 and Yuvraj with 1.
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar fell short by 7 runs to create the world record of 17,000 runs. He made 40 runs which is the highest from Indian side.
Bollinger and Watson got 3 wickets each and Hauritz got 2 wickets.
Watson was declared man of the match.
Australia won the 4th ODI against India at Mohali by 24 runs in the ongoing Hero Honda Cup 2009.
With this the series has been levelled 2-2 and Australia remains in the top slot in the ODI rankings.
India won the toss and chose to field first. They restricted Australia to 250 in 49.2 overs but India couldn’t face the Australian bowling attack and lost all the wickets in their 46.4 overs making just 226 runs.
Good batting performance was shown by Watson (49), Ponting (52), White (62) and Hussey (40). While other players from Australia were out with just single digit scores.
Nehra slammed 3 wickets, while Harbhajan with 2 and Yuvraj with 1.
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar fell short by 7 runs to create the world record of 17,000 runs. He made 40 runs which is the highest from Indian side.
Bollinger and Watson got 3 wickets each and Hauritz got 2 wickets.
Watson was declared man of the match.
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Hero Honda Cup 2009: India vs Australia: India won by 6 wickets

October 31, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News 1 Comment →

India won the third ODI against Australia in the Hero Honda Cup 2009 taking a lead in the series by 2-1.
Australia won the toss and chose to bat at the Feroz Shah Kotla and ended up with 229 runs in 50 overs. The openers Watson (41) and Ponting (59) showed good stand of 72 runs for the first wicket.
After Watson, Hussey (81 not out) stood till the end and helped Australia move up with their scoring.
From India, Jadeja slammed 2 wickets while Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Raina with one wicket each.
Chasing the target of 230, India began their batting power with Sehwag (11) and Sachin (32). The Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir returned back bowled with just 6 runs and then YUvraj Singh and captain Dhoni played some excellent cricke and made the target easily acheivable.
Yuvraj Singh made a fantastic 78 runs with 8 fours and 2 sixes and was declared man of the match.
Suresh Raina hit the winning shot with 10 balls remaining and Dhoni made 71 runs with 6 fours.
Johnson, Henriques and Hauritz took one wicket each.
The next match is on November 2nd at Mohali.

India won the third ODI against Australia by 6 wickets in the Hero Honda Cup 2009 taking a lead in the series by 2-1.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat first at the Feroz Shah Kotla and ended up with 229 runs in 50 overs. The openers Watson (41) and Ponting (59) showed good stand of 72 runs for the first wicket.

After Watson, Hussey (81 not out) stood till the end and helped Australia move up with their scoring.

From India, Jadeja slammed 2 wickets, while Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Raina with one wicket each.

Chasing the target of 230, India began their batting power with Sehwag (11) and Sachin (32). The Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir returned back bowled with just 6 runs and then Yuvraj Singh and captain Dhoni played some excellent cricket and made the target easily achievable.

Yuvraj Singh made a fantastic 78 runs with 8 fours and 2 sixes and was declared man of the match.

Suresh Raina hit the winning shot with 10 balls remaining and Dhoni made 71 runs with 6 fours.

From Australia, Johnson, Henriques and Hauritz took one wicket each.

The next match is on November 2nd at Mohali.

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2nd ODI: India vs Australia: India won by 99 runs

October 28, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

India won the second ODI against Australia in the Hero Honda Cup 2009 at Nagpur by 99 runs. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was adjudged man of the matvh for his wonderful 124 runs.
The detailed scoreboard is given below:
India innings (50 overs)
V Sehwag c Hilfenhaus b Johnson 40(31 balls, 4*6, 6*1)
SR Tendulkar c White b Siddle 4(8 balls, 4*1)
G Gambhir run out (Hauritz) 76(80 balls, 4*6)
Yuvraj Singh c & b Hilfenhaus 23(24 balls, 4*2,6*1)
MS Dhoni c Paine b Johnson 124(107 balls, 4*9,6*3)
SK Raina c Paine b Johnson 62(50 balls, 4*6,6*1)
Harbhajan Singh not out 1(1 ball)
P Kumar run out (Siddle/Paine) 1(1 ball)
Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 14, nb 2) 23
Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 354
Fall of wickets:1-21 (Tendulkar, 3.3 ov), 2-67 (Sehwag, 10.1 ov), 3-97 (Yuvraj Singh, 15.1 ov), 4-216 (Gambhir, 33.6 ov), 5-352 (Dhoni, 49.3 ov), 6-353 (Raina, 49.5 ov), 7-354 (Kumar, 49.6 ov)
Bowling:BW Hilfenhaus:10-0-83-1-8.30(1nb, 4w), PM Siddle:10-0-55-1-5.50(3w), MG Johnson:10-0-75-3-7.50(1nb, 5w), NM Hauritz:10-0-54-0-5.40, AC Voges:5-0-33-0-6.60(1w), SR Watson:5-0-47-0-9.40
Australia innings (target: 355 runs from 50 overs)
SR Watson c Tendulkar b Sharma 19(26 balls, 4*3)
TD Paine b Kumar 8(14 balls, 4*1)
RT Ponting lbw b Kumar 12(16 balls, 4*2)
CL White c Raina b Harbhajan Singh 23(42 balls, 4*3)
MEK Hussey b Jadeja 53(60 balls, 4*6)
AC Voges b Jadeja 36(44 balls, 4*1)
SE Marsh st Dhoni b Jadeja 21(21 balls, 4*1, 6*1)
MG Johnson b Nehra 21(19 balls, 4*2, 6*1)
NM Hauritz not out 30(32 balls, 4*3)
PM Siddle c Dhoni b Sharma 3(5 balls)
BW Hilfenhaus run out(Yuvraj Singh/Dhoni) 16(12 balls, 4*2)
Extras (lb 5, w 8) 13
Total (all out; 48.3 overs) 255
Fall of wickets:1-20 (Paine, 4.6 ov), 2-41 (Watson, 9.1 ov), 3-45 (Ponting, 10.1 ov), 4-93 (White, 20.6 ov), 5-140 (Hussey, 30.3 ov), 6-180 (Marsh, 36.5 ov), 7-194 (Voges, 38.3 ov), 8-223 (Johnson, 43.3 ov), 9-230 (Siddle, 44.4 ov), 10-255 (Hilfenhaus, 48.3 ov)
Bowling:P Kumar:8-1-37-2-4.62(1w), A Nehra:7-0-40-1-5.71(2w), I Sharma:8-0-34-2-4.25(1w), Harbhajan Singh:10-0-62-1-6.20(4w), Yuvraj Singh:8-0-39-0-4.87, RA Jadeja:6.3-0-35-3-5.38, SK Raina:1-0-3-0-3.00

India won the second ODI against Australia in the Hero Honda Cup 2009 at Nagpur by 99 runs. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was adjudged man of the match for his wonderful 124 runs. With this, India has leveled the series 1-1.

The detailed scoreboard is given below:

India innings (50 overs)

V Sehwag c Hilfenhaus b Johnson 40(31 balls, 4*6, 6*1)

SR Tendulkar c White b Siddle 4(8 balls, 4*1)

G Gambhir run out (Hauritz) 76(80 balls, 4*6)

Yuvraj Singh c & b Hilfenhaus 23(24 balls, 4*2,6*1)

MS Dhoni c Paine b Johnson 124(107 balls, 4*9,6*3)

SK Raina c Paine b Johnson 62(50 balls, 4*6,6*1)

Harbhajan Singh not out 1(1 ball)

P Kumar run out (Siddle/Paine) 1(1 ball)

Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 14, nb 2) 23

Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 354

Fall of wickets:1-21 (Tendulkar, 3.3 ov), 2-67 (Sehwag, 10.1 ov), 3-97 (Yuvraj Singh, 15.1 ov), 4-216 (Gambhir, 33.6 ov), 5-352 (Dhoni, 49.3 ov), 6-353 (Raina, 49.5 ov), 7-354 (Kumar, 49.6 ov)

Bowling:BW Hilfenhaus:10-0-83-1-8.30(1nb, 4w), PM Siddle:10-0-55-1-5.50(3w), MG Johnson:10-0-75-3-7.50(1nb, 5w), NM Hauritz:10-0-54-0-5.40, AC Voges:5-0-33-0-6.60(1w), SR Watson:5-0-47-0-9.40

Australia innings (target: 355 runs from 50 overs)

SR Watson c Tendulkar b Sharma 19(26 balls, 4*3)

TD Paine b Kumar 8(14 balls, 4*1)

RT Ponting lbw b Kumar 12(16 balls, 4*2)

CL White c Raina b Harbhajan Singh 23(42 balls, 4*3)

MEK Hussey b Jadeja 53(60 balls, 4*6)

AC Voges b Jadeja 36(44 balls, 4*1)

SE Marsh st Dhoni b Jadeja 21(21 balls, 4*1, 6*1)

MG Johnson b Nehra 21(19 balls, 4*2, 6*1)

NM Hauritz not out 30(32 balls, 4*3)

PM Siddle c Dhoni b Sharma 3(5 balls)

BW Hilfenhaus run out(Yuvraj Singh/Dhoni) 16(12 balls, 4*2)

Extras (lb 5, w 8 ) 13

Total (all out; 48.3 overs) 255

Fall of wickets:1-20 (Paine, 4.6 ov), 2-41 (Watson, 9.1 ov), 3-45 (Ponting, 10.1 ov), 4-93 (White, 20.6 ov), 5-140 (Hussey, 30.3 ov), 6-180 (Marsh, 36.5 ov), 7-194 (Voges, 38.3 ov), 8-223 (Johnson, 43.3 ov), 9-230 (Siddle, 44.4 ov), 10-255 (Hilfenhaus, 48.3 ov)

Bowling:P Kumar:8-1-37-2-4.62(1w), A Nehra:7-0-40-1-5.71(2w), I Sharma:8-0-34-2-4.25(1w), Harbhajan Singh:10-0-62-1-6.20(4w), Yuvraj Singh:8-0-39-0-4.87, RA Jadeja:6.3-0-35-3-5.38, SK Raina:1-0-3-0-3.00

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2nd ODI: India vs Australia: India sets tough target of 355

October 28, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

Australia won the toss and opted to field first against India in the second ODI of the Hero Honda Cup at Nagpur.
Though India lost Sachin (4), Sehwag (40) and Yuvraj (23) even before reaching 100 runs, Captain Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir (76 runs from 80 balls, 4*6) made excellent partnership and helped raise the teams total to a large extent.
After Gambhir returned to the pavillion, Raina joined Dhoni. Dhoni gave a catch to Paine in Johnson’s ballin the 49-3 overs, when he was at 124 runs from 107 balls (4*9, 6*3). Raina made 62 from 50 balls (4*6, 6*1).
After 50 overs, India set a target of 355 runs for Australia. With a huge target, Australia has started batting.

Australia won the toss and opted to field first against India in the second ODI of the Hero Honda Cup at Nagpur.

Though India lost Sachin (4), Sehwag (40) and Yuvraj (23) even before reaching 100 runs, Captain Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir (76 runs from 80 balls, 4*6) made excellent partnership and helped raise the teams total to a large extent.

After Gambhir returned to the pavillion, Raina joined Dhoni. Dhoni gave a catch to Paine in Johnson’s ball in the 49.3 overs, when he was at 124 runs from 107 balls (4*9, 6*3). Raina made 62 from 50 balls (4*6, 6*1).

After 50 overs, India set a target of 355 runs for Australia. With a huge target, Australia has started batting.

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India vs Australia: Australia lead by 1-0

October 26, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

India came close to victory against Australia in the first One-Day International but lost to the Champions by just 4 runs, with victory coming only in the final over.
It was Harbhajan Singh (49 from 31 balls) and Praveen Kumar (40 from 32 balls – not out) who took the match a long way with their 84-run stand off 57 deliveries.
Even captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded that his team lost the plot well before Harbhajan and Kumar staged a fightback. He felt the match was lost in the five overs of batting Powerplay – which was taken at the start of the 35th over – when three wickets fell while scoring just 32 runs.
“We lost four wickets in the Powerplay and I think that was the turning point. We lost three wickets in the Poweplay without cashing in too much, but thanks to Bhajji and Praveen they took the game close. I think we lost too many wickets in the Powerplay,”Dhoni said, reflecting on the defeat at the IPCL stadium in Vadodara on Sunday.

India came close to victory against Australia in the first One-Day International but lost to the Champions by just 4 runs, with victory coming only in the final over.

It was Harbhajan Singh (49 from 31 balls) and Praveen Kumar (40 from 32 balls – not out) who took the match a long way with their 84-run stand off 57 deliveries.

Even captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded that his team lost the plot well before Harbhajan and Kumar staged a fightback. He felt the match was lost in the five overs of batting Powerplay – which was taken at the start of the 35th over – when three wickets fell while scoring just 32 runs.

“We lost four wickets in the Powerplay and I think that was the turning point. We lost three wickets in the Poweplay without cashing in too much, but thanks to Bhajji and Praveen they took the game close. I think we lost too many wickets in the Powerplay,”Dhoni said, reflecting on the defeat at the IPCL stadium in Vadodara on Sunday.

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India Vs Australia ODI Series: Schedule

October 21, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Cricket News No Comments →

Match date Team Time Venue
Oct 25 Ind Vs Aus, 1st ODI 09.00 IST Reliance Stadium, Vadodara
Oct 28 Ind Vs AUS, 2nd ODI 14.30 IST Vidarbha Cricket Assocaition Ground, Nagpur
Oct 31 Ind Vs Aus, 3rd ODI 14.30 IST Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Nov 2  Ind vs Aus, 4th ODI 14.30 IST Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali – Chandigarh
Nov 5  Ind Vs Aus, 5th ODI 14.30 IST Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Nov 8  Ind Vs Aus, 6th ODI 09.00 IST Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
Nov 11 Ind Vs aus, 7th ODI 14.30 IST Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Teams:
Australia Squad: Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jon Holland, James Hopes, MItchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Tim Neilsen
India S

Match Date Team Time Venue

Oct 25 Ind Vs Aus, 1st ODI 09.00 IST Reliance Stadium, Vadodara

Oct 28 Ind Vs Aus, 2nd ODI 14.30 IST Vidarbha Cricket Assocaition Ground, Nagpur

Oct 31 Ind Vs Aus, 3rd ODI 14.30 IST Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Nov 2  Ind vs Aus, 4th ODI 14.30 IST Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali – Chandigarh

Nov 5  Ind Vs Aus, 5th ODI 14.30 IST Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Nov 8  Ind Vs Aus, 6th ODI 09.00 IST Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Guwahati

Nov 11 Ind Vs Aus, 7th ODI 14.30 IST Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Teams:

Australia Squad: Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jon Holland, James Hopes, MItchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Tim Neilsen

India Squad (For 1st and 2nd ODI): MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Sudeep Tyagi, Munaf Patel

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ICC Champions Trophy: Australia Vs India

September 28, 2009 By: Spunky Category: Champions Trophy 2009 No Comments →

After opening with a bad display on Saturday, India has a tough task to face today as they take on Australia at Centurion. Among the four teams in group A, Pakistan are in a strong position to qualify for the semis as they have won their matches against India and West Indies. Australia have won their first match while West Indies and India have not won even a single match. Only the top two teams will advance to the semi-finals.
Against Pakistan, only Indian left arm seamer Ashish Nehra impressed finishing with 4/55. And Dhoni said, “We didn’t bowl well. I tried whatever we had, but the captain can’t really go and bowl. At the end of the day, the bowlers have to go and bowl. It’s all about adapting to conditions. We should have adapted to the conditions. We could have done a lot better. Frankly speaking, I thought I was short of three bowlers. I didn’t know who to turn to.”
The Indian bowlers cannot afford to have another off-day as defending champions Australia have a strong batting line-up.
Australia’s depth in batting was on view in their opening match against the West Indies on a difficult track in Johannesburg on Saturday, where they managed to reach 275/8 after being 171/7 at one stage.
The pitch at Centurion is expected to favour batsmen more than fast bowlers as Pakistan showed against India on Saturday, with Shoaib Malik scoring a brisk century and Mohammad Yousuf making an 88-ball 87.
Australia are likely to field the same side that beat the West Indies by 50 runs, with batsman Michael Clarke still doubtful due to a back pain.
India, already without key batsman Yuvraj Singh due to a finger injury, will also need to bat better against Australia having excellent fast bowlers in Brett Lee and Johnson.
Teams (from):
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Virat Kohli.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

After opening with a bad display on Saturday, India has a tough task to face today as they take on Australia at Centurion. Among the four teams in group A, Pakistan are in a strong position to qualify for the semis as they have won their matches against India and West Indies. Australia have won their first match while West Indies and India have not won even a single match. Only the top two teams will advance to the semi-finals.

Against Pakistan, only Indian left arm seamer Ashish Nehra impressed finishing with 4/55. And Dhoni said, “We didn’t bowl well. I tried whatever we had, but the captain can’t really go and bowl. At the end of the day, the bowlers have to go and bowl. It’s all about adapting to conditions. We should have adapted to the conditions. We could have done a lot better. Frankly speaking, I thought I was short of three bowlers. I didn’t know who to turn to.”

The Indian bowlers cannot afford to have another off-day as defending champions Australia have a strong batting line-up.

Australia’s depth in batting was on view in their opening match against the West Indies on a difficult track in Johannesburg on Saturday, where they managed to reach 275/8 after being 171/7 at one stage.

The pitch at Centurion is expected to favour batsmen more than fast bowlers as Pakistan showed against India on Saturday, with Shoaib Malik scoring a brisk century and Mohammad Yousuf making an 88-ball 87.

Australia are likely to field the same side that beat the West Indies by 50 runs, with batsman Michael Clarke still doubtful due to a back pain.

India, already without key batsman Yuvraj Singh due to a finger injury, will also need to bat better against Australia having excellent fast bowlers in Brett Lee and Johnson.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Virat Kohli.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

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