Who: Australia vs India
What: ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights Group 1
When: Monday, June 24, 10:30am local time (2:30pm GMT)
Where: Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live coverage starts at 10:30 GMT
Seven months after the ICC Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad on November 19, India have a chance to mend some broken hearts and eliminate their then-conquering Australia from the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
The Super Eights clash in Saint Lucia on Monday will give India the chance to remain top of Group 1, relegate Australia to third place and potentially expel them from the tournament.
A victory for Rohit Sharma’s side will leave Mitchell Marsh’s men on the brink as the subsequent game between Afghanistan and Bangladesh will decide their fate.
Marsh and company will have to overcome one of only two undefeated teams in the tournament.
Despite finding themselves in difficult situations with both bat and ball, India managed to get through the tournament unscathed. Rohit’s men will not give up that record against the team that handed them their only home Cricket World Cup defeat by 50 goals – in the final in front of more than 140,000 home fans.
India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey believes his team will be focused on their own game and not the opponent’s, but fans can expect a tight contest when the two teams take the field.
“The focus must be on execution [of our own plans] and if we’re close to our plans, we can cross to the other side [of the tournament],” Mhambrey said on Saturday.
𝘼 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 #𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖!
A 5⃣0⃣ run victory over Bangladesh by @ImRo45 & Co as they sealed their 2nd Super Eight comeback win.
Scorecard #T20WorldCup | #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/GJ4eZzDUaA
-BCCI (@BCCI) June 22, 2024
Meanwhile, Australia will know exactly what they need to achieve to reach the semi-finals and will look to go in with the right “planning and execution” to get the desired result, according to their bowling coach, Andrew McDonald.
“There is no doubt that we need to be at our best [against India],” McDonald told reporters Saturday night.
The former Australian fast bowler said the latter stages of the tournament could create tricky situations for teams and that his experienced squad would know how to deal with the pressure.
“[We] know how tight it is when you get to the end of the tournament – there will be a lot of discussion about net run rate as we play the penultimate game and Bangladesh face Afghanistan in the last game.
“Ultimately, we will look after what is in our control and that is India, undoubtedly one of the favorites of the tournament.”
How can India qualify for the semi-finals?
India will sail away with a victory. In case of a narrow win for Australia, India will still be favorites to qualify due to their high net run rate.
Unless India have a horrible day and lose by a huge margin, they will not be in danger of being eliminated based on net run rate.
How can Australia qualify for the semi-finals?
A defeat is likely to knock out Australia if Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh later. This means Australia need a win to have any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
In the event of a loss to Australia and Afghanistan (against Bangladesh), the net run rate will come into play and that is where Mitchell Marsh’s team has an advantage.
What happens if it is washed?
A match abandoned in case of defeat will award a point to both sides. Thus, India will top the table with five points and move on.
For Australia, a total of three points will not be enough and they will need Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan to qualify.
Field condition and launch
The Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium has produced high-scoring encounters and a day game will give both teams a potentially even playing field.
The launch is unlikely to play a crucial role unless weather has a significant role to play.
Weather forecast
There is a high chance of rain in the hours leading up to the 10:30am (2:30pm GMT) start time and this could delay the start of proceedings.
Rain and thunderstorms can also interrupt play if and when the action begins.
Head to head
The familiar foes have faced each other in 31 T20 international matches, the most recent being a home series to India.
India have won on 19 occasions, including the last series (4-1), while Australia have won 11 matches. A match ended without a result.
Of the five meetings in the history of the T20 World Cup, India has won three and Australia two.
Form guide
India are one of the in-form teams in the tournament, having won all their matches so far. They have come out of sticky situations with the help of their lower-order batsmen and the ever-reliable pacer Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia haven’t had a bad tournament either, but they suffered defeat to Afghanistan in their second Super Eights game and will be desperate to get back to winning ways.
Australia: LWWWW
India: WWWWW
Australian national team news
The 2021 champions could choose a bowling-heavy lineup. The continued inclusion of Ashton Agar, along with Adam Zampa, will pose the question of whether to leave Mitchell Starc out once again or swap him for fellow pacer Josh Hazelwood.
Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), David Warner, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green and Nathan Ellis
Indian team news
India are unlikely to change the XI that has brought them so much success in this tournament.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
