Cardiff: Coming from comprehensive wins in their
previous warm-up outings, India and Australia lock horns for their
second practice game in Cardiff on Tuesday. Recent encounters between
Australia and India have produced some riveting performances from both
ends, and the teams would like to test each other thoroughly before the
event unfolds on June 6.
India, who had a rather poor outing with ball in their first warm
up, would like their bowlers to find form ahead of Thursday’s opener
against South Africa. An inspired performance against the Aussies should
give India the right fillip ahead of the big game. We get you the SWOT analysis of both the sides:
Strengths
India: Though devoid of experienced pros like Sachin
Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir, batting remains India’s
strength. With 8 specialist batsmen in their ranks (excluding Irfan
Pathan), India bat long and deep. Coming from a decent IPL season, MS
Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli will form the
batting core, while Murali Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja will be expected to
come up with solid performances as well.
Australia: A balanced, well rounded pace attack that might
prove lethal in dour English conditions. While James Faulkner gave a
pretty decent account of him in the IPL, the two Mitchells-Johnson and
Starc- have troubled the Indian line-up in past. Indians will be wary of
extra bounce and pace, besides lateral movement the Aussie battery is
prone to generate, and would require solid technique and application to
feel comfortable.
Weakness
India: Bowling. On the face of it, Indian bowling looks okay
to do reasonably well in English conditions. However, if India’s
previous warm up game is anything to go by, over reliance on conditions
might prove suicidal. While Kumars (Bhuvneshwar and Vinay) and Irfan
Pathan have been drafted to exploit the swing in the English air, Ishant
Sharma and Umesh Yadav are expected to rattle batsmen with extra pace.
With almost all teams coming loaded with power hitters, the Indians need
to find the right length soon enough.
Australia: Lack of experience. Other than captain Michael
Clarke, David Warner, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, there’s not
much experience in the side. Indians would do well to bring the
inexperienced (though talented) batting line-up under pressure. Besides,
other than Clarke, all Aussie batsmen struggle against spin. Ravindra
Jadeja and R Ashwin have their task cut out here.
Opportunities:
India: For long, ground fielding has remained a nemesis for
India, however, with the infusion of fresh legs in the side, it might
just change a bit. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and
Ravindra Jadeja are livewires in the field, while Irfan Pathan, Rohit
Sharma and Murali Vijay are safe fielders too. Dhoni would do well to
depute his key men in key positions, especially with new rules making
lives further difficult for bowlers.
Australia: Australian line up, with due assistance from
Indian bowling, is capable of batting India out of contest. Both Michael
Clarke and Shane Watson have shown tremendous liking for Indian
bowling, and if allowed to settle down, they can provide ideal launch
pad for the likes of Glenn Maxwell.
Threats
India: Besides the unpredictable English rains, India would
do well to get captain Michael Clarke and opener David Warner early.
Besides, Shane Watson always remains a threat with his all-round talent.
Australia: With Shikhar Dhawan’s assault still fresh in
their minds, Australia will be wary of R Ashwin, given their anathema to
spin. English pitches are not really known to turn square, but deft use
of angles and unpredictable bounce, if exploited by Ashwin, can be
quite a handful for the Aussies
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