India and Australia played a five-match T20I series after last year’s ODI World Cup. To give rookies and undrafted players a chance to impress the selectors, many of the more experienced players—especially those from India—had opted out of that series.
The memories of 19th November 2023 are fresh as India once again face Australia in an ICC tournament on Monday, 24 June. This might not be a semi-final or final of the ICC tournament, but India will look to avenge their ODI World Cup final loss against the Men in Yellow when they clash in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. Set to be played in St Lucia, this will be both team’s final match of the Super 8 stage.
India already have a foot in the semi-finals, having won two matches. Australia on the other hand have lost against Afghanistan and are just one game away from getting knocked out of the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup. Australia’s chances of qualification depend on them beating India, or on the hopes that Bangladesh will beat Afghanistan to clear their path to the semi-finals.
Australia are coming off a shock loss against Afghanistan, where they failed to chase down 149 runs. But the loss did not take the Australian arrogance away as captain Mitchell Marsh vowed to put up their best effort against one of the best teams in the world.
“We just need to win, there’s no better team to do it against,” Marsh said after the loss vs Afghanistan.
The focus will be on the spin prowess of both teams as they head into the final stages of the tournament. Kuldeep Yadav has been fantastic since his inclusion in the side and is definitely undroppable at this stage. With the new ball, Jasprit Bumrah has been unplayable and has been the difference-maker in most of the matches that India have played so far.
There was a slight concern about the Indian batting line-up, but that went away against Bangladesh as the side fired in unison. Only one batter – Hardik Pandya – scored a fifty against Bangladesh and yet India put in a total of 196 runs in their last game.
An elated Rohit Sharma came out to say that India had finally cracked the code of batting in the T20Is.
“I have been talking about this for a long time now. It’s about going there and putting that to work. Considering everything we played really well, and adapted to the conditions. There’s a little bit of wind factor here, overall we are very smart, overall we were good with bat and ball,” Sharma told the broadcasters after the match.
India would hope to continue their approach if they are to beat Australia and win the T20 World Cup – a trophy that has eluded them since their victory in 2007.
AUS vs IND: Head-to-Head
Australia and India have faced each other 31 times in the T20I format. India have dominated the contest, winning 19 matches, while Australia has 11 to their name.
India also have a slight advantage over Australia in the T20 World Cups. Out of the five times the two teams have faced each other, India have won 3 times.
The last time India and Australia faced each other was way back in 2016, where Virat Kohli pulled off a masterclass against the Aussies in Mohali.
AUS vs IND: Team News
India looked like a well-oiled machine in their match against Bangladesh. The batting unit fired in unison, and the bowling unit performed a clinical job led by Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. India have played the same XI throughout the tournament, and this is the last match they can potentially experiment in. Ravindra Jadeja has not done well in the T20 World Cup, and there is a scope to get an additional batter in the line-up. India might opt to bring in Sanju Samson as the extra batter, but that will deplete their bowling reserves.
Australia on the other hand are expected to return back to Mitchell Starc, given he can trouble the Indian right handers at the top. In a big match, putting India under pressure early is the way to go and the Mitchell Marsh side might opt to bench either Josh Hazlewood or Ashton Agar from their line-up.
It is definitely a tough call to choose from, given Agar bowled a sensational spell of 4-1-17-0. Hazlewood was expensive against Afghanistan, leaking runs at 10 RPO from his four overs, but his dependability in big matches is certainly unquestionable.
AUS vs IND: St Lucia Weather and Pitch Report
According to weather.com, there is a prediction of thunderstorms during the all-important fixture. However, the rain chances are slightly on the lower side to be at 15 per cent. There are light rain chances of around 5 per cent during the course of the game along with thunderstorms. Hence, Australia will hope for a full-fledged game as a washout and Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh will knock them out of the tournament.
AUS vs IND: Predicted Playing XIs
India Predicted XI
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
Australia Predicted XI
Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood/Ashton Agar
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Source: India Today
