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Blame the mathematicians for not allowing the use of the 'official' word, but in all likelihood, India are through to the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Only an extraordinarily unlikely catastrophe – or miracle, depending on your perspective – stands between them and their fixture on 27 June in Guyana.
Considering the contextual setting, when India step up for their last Super 8 match on 24 June, they could easily afford to have their tails up, not marching as aggressively as they have done over the last few weeks.
Following their defeat to Afghanistan, Australia are now staring at elimination, a fate that could be sealed if they lose this match, especially with Afghanistan expected to have the upper hand over Bangladesh. India, understandably, would not want to miss the opportunity to cut Australia's journey short.
Before they embark on that mission, we take a look at five key player battles you should keep an eye on:
Rohit Sharma’s enduring struggles against left-arm pacers – extensively documented since eternity – were highlighted once again in this competition. The Indian captain succumbed to Shaheen Shah Afridi against Pakistan, and to Saurabh Netravalkar against the United States of America.
But on St Lucia, which offers a sporting wicket, Starc’s presence in the Australian team is nearly inevitable. Intriguingly, the two veterans of the sport have seldom crossed paths. Starc has bowled to Sharma in only two T20I matches, and had dismissed him in one of those games. Barring that, he has got the better of Sharma thrice in ODI cricket.
Virat Kohli has faced a variety of challenges in this competition. Whilst he could not get going at all in the first three matches, the last couple of games – against Afghanistan and Bangladesh – saw him throwing his wicket away after finding his footing, in a rather un-Kohliesque fashion.
This particular duel, unlike the previous one we had mentioned, has had instalments aplenty. Kohli has faced Zampa in 12 T20Is, and has scored 74 runs off 90 deliveries across those matches. Having lost his wicket to the leg-spinner thrice, his strike rate against Zampa – merely 121.6 – highlights his cautious approach.
In this match, Australia will contend with one particular Indian batter they did not have to deal with at the 2023 ODI World Cup final – the fabled hero of the Gabbatoir breach, Rishabh Pant. To add to their concerns, Pant is currently India’s leading run-scorer in this competition, having scored 152 runs at a strike rate of 135.71.
Moreover, a closer inspection of the Indian Premier League numbers will highlight how Pant has, for some reason, always batted in an uncharacteristic manner against Cummins. Having faced 27 deliveries across five matches, he has scored 30 runs, at a strike rate of only 111.1. He also lost his wicket to Cummins in one of those five matches.
163 runs off 174 deliveries. 137 runs off 120 deliveries.
These are not two random centuries, but centuries which obliterated – in the most unceremonious of fashions – a billion hopes. Centuries which denied India victory at the ICC World Test Championship, and the ODI World Cup. Both were scored by the same batter – Travis Head.
Needless to say, India will be unrestrictedly desperate to see the back of Head early in this fixture, and for arguably the most daunting task, India’s best bet will be the most inexperienced member of their bowling unit – Arshdeep Singh.
But why Arshdeep?
Glenn Maxwell has a T20I strike rate of 151.8 against India. His last T20I score against India was a 48-ball 104. He scored a half-century in the previous fixture against Afghanistan.
Having bowled to Maxwell in 6 T20I matches, Bumrah has conceded merely 31 runs in 28 deliveries. Not only that, but he has also dismissed Maxwell twice in this format, in addition to two dismissals in ODI cricket and five in IPL.
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