The clash of the Champions - Who will win...?
The entry to the Semi's:-
After Australia thumped India's arch rivals Pakistan, partly attributable to the costly drops, off the spirited Wahab Riaz and India, on other hand which overcame slight early jitters, the game now moves onto the mouth watering clash of the tournament, in which the Co-host team Australia battles it out with the Men in Blue.
While Australia were outstanding with their bowling in their Quarter-final, especially Hazlewood with his variations and the pace battery led by Mitchell Starc with his swinging bowling at the start and death, India too were right on the money, with the team hunting in packs.
The Australian and Indian Batting on the Adelaide and Melbourne pitch respectively were with some grass in it, both good for Batting, but the latter being a bigger ground. The 2 teams had 2 wonderful knocks each, the Australian team in the chasing, but not without reprieves of those 2 wonderful Batsmen.
Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell were dropped off the lion hearted Bowler Wahab Riaz who were then having a very little score to their credit, which could be the game turning point of the Semi's. On the other hand, the Indian team in the first innings were essayed with a Controversial wrong decision of the Rohit's waist high ball catch who was then on 90 and went onto score 137.
The Strength's and Weaknesses:-
The Indian bowling is hunting in packs with Shami leading from the front with his well directed short deliveries who is ably supported by Umesh Yadav with his pace and snared 4 wickets in the Quarter's. The Australian on the flip side have their Starc with his swinging deliveries and pin-point bowling with Hazlewood.
The weakness might however be the Indian's in-experience line up & the death bowling, though it has not caused anything negative till now.
To sum it up the Indian pace bowling looks strong in terms of consistency and has an inherent weakness of death bowling and inexperience in it. Ashwin is a positive in Spin department with his experience adding teeth to the attack in the slog overs. The inexperience can be set off by the presence of ever calm leadership of Dhoni The Australian pace bowling has got speed, precision and experience to its kitty, spin looks fairly well too but not as much experience as Ashwin.
The Batting department looks to have an edge with the Australians. The Australian team has a firepower allrounder in Maxwell and the batting has been a contribution from each one of them in the team and has crossed 300+ twice. The Indian team too has contributions from each and every one whenever it needed but it lacks the Maxwell destructive touch. If Dhoni and/or Raina mimic their old glory then both the teams are on an even footing with the former team having David Warner in another destructive player.
The sum up:-
The ever cool Dhoni is in pursuit of another feather in his already filled cap of his Captaincy career. This would most probably be his last chance for a win in a major tournament. His calm headedness and faith in his players brings in a lot of power and poise to the team's prospects. If the Indian team batsmen step up a gear and bowls well in tandem without a hiccup it can be a good win for the side.
The Australian's on the other hand will be playing on their home soil which is their greatest advantage and also have the added cushioning of having experiencing the pitch in the league stage. The Australian's killing spirit and their past record also aids well to their advantage.
Will it be Australia strong willed spirit or will it be the ever calming influence of Dhoni that will come trumps. An interesting and high octane clash is on the cards. Don't miss it. In one caption it is
"Calmness vs Killing giants"
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