Ind vs Aus: India on the edge as Men in Blue face Australia

AHMEDABAD: This is it. Hold your breath when India take on Australia on Thursday, for there will be no second chances. The biggest stage, and the crucial moment, has arrived.

Where India and Australia stand in ODIs/World Cup

Reputations are at stake for MS Dhoni and his beleaguered counterpart Ricky Ponting. India lost to Australia in the 2003 World Cup final and endured an awful campaign in 2007, but the scales have tilted since. This isn't the invincible Australia of old. Rather than a sublime and uplifting battle between two powerhouses of the international game, current form indicates this second quarterfinal might be more of a scrap.

Neither side has been awe-inspiring in the build-up to this moment. Both have obvious chinks in the armour just waiting to be exploited, and both need to shed the blow-hot, blow-cold approach which has characterized their campaign so far.

Then there's the enormous pressure breathing down their necks, especially Dhoni's men. India are playing at home and millions expect nothing less than victory. The backlash, in case of defeat, will be painful. Australia have dominated this stage for so long that this bunch of players wouldn't like to be remembered as children of a lesser god. Whichever team can raise its game now will go through to meet Pakistan.

As many as six players in Dhoni's current squad were losing finalists in 2003 and will be looking to make amends. It's a great opportunity to settle an old score. Yet, making a statement of intent might not be easy, even though the Motera is expected to be dry and spin-friendly. India's bowling, apart from Zaheer Khan, has been ordinary. Time and again, they have faltered in the Batting Powerplay. Even the middle-order has collapsed twice. Australia's pacers can be a handful. Can the sight of a familiar opponent get the competitive juices flowing?

The issue of Virender Sehwag's fitness is another complication the team could have done without. The opener is struggling with a troublesome knee and Dhoni said a call on his availability would be taken in the morning. Sehwag, however, spent a lot of time at the nets fielding and batting, and seems more likely to play than not.

The Australians too have been anything but impressive. Ponting's time seems to be running out. His form and confidence is under the scanner and his fierce temper has shown through. Controversy and bad blood seems to be hounding the Aussies and they've been forced to maintain a quieter profile. The loss to Pakistan meant drawing the curtains on a 34-game unbeaten streak in this tournament and this loss of aura is a boost for opponents.

Will this be India's turn to deliver a knockout blow?

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Ind vs Aus: Tendulkar, Ponting get ready for final World Cup duel

AHMEDABAD: The quarterfinal clash between Australia and India, on Thursday, is not only about who stays in the hunt for the title but also about two of game's modern day greats Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting squaring off in a World Cup game for what appears to be one last time.

The two ageing warriors would like to stamp their superiority and propel their side to the last four stage on March 24 at Motera's Sardar Patel Stadium.

Neither of the two is expected to be around in 2015 when the next edition is scheduled to be held Down Under.

In the previous meeting between the two sides in the World Cup, that took place in the summit clash of the 2003 edition in Johannesburg, Ponting came out trumps with his unbeaten century took the game away from India even before the Men In Blue came out to bat.

Ponting's blistering 140 not out, in only 121 balls with a staggering eight sixes and 4 fours, had propelled Australia to an imposing 359 for two.

Chasing the huge Australian total, Tendulkar could score only 4 and despite Virender Sehwag's run-a-ball 82, India fell well short of the target and Australia walked away with cricket's most coveted prize for the second edition running.

On Thursday, in front of a vociferous 50,000-strong crowd, the Indian master has the chance to make ample amends for what happened eight years ago and also step into the record books as the first batsman to have scored 100 centuries combined in both forms of cricket - Tests and ODIs.

Tendulkar has had a very good tournament individually, with superbly crafted tons against England and South Africa at the league stage, though both efforts could not power India to victories, with the first match tied and the second ending in a narrow defeat.

Ponting, on the other hand, has had a horrendous run with the bat. In six matches, he has mustered a miserly 102 runs with 36 being his best effort at a poor average of 20.40, less than half his 358-match career average.

Ponting's ODI average in India against the hosts is also an impressive 44.86 from 24 games, but the second and last of his two hundreds in this country was notched eight years ago in Bangalore.

The Tasmanian has looked a pale shadow of his domineering style and is under tremendous pressure to keep his captaincy though teammate Michael Hussey felt otherwise.

Hussey brushed aside reports in Australia that Ponting's captaincy was at stake, at a media conference here today and said the entire team was backing the struggling skipper.

"No worries at all. He has been fantastic, best man for the job and has been for a long time. He's certainly got the full support of all team members," Hussey said.

Ponting has also been lambasted in the media for losing temper on the field of play and off it too, as well as for not walking after clearly edging behind the stumps while Tendulkar did the exact opposite a day later and was hailed for his sportsmanship.

"He's been criticized over minor things. They have been blown out of proportions. He's been playing well and just like a champion rises to the occasion at the right time, on Thursday we will see the best of Ricky Ponting," Hussey said in his skipper's defence.

In five duels against Australia in World Cups, Tendulkar's best effort thus far has been a splendid innings of 90 in a league game at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium in 1996, and his average against them is a modest 28.20 spread over four World Cups.

Thursday's match provides both these stalwarts, among the all-time great batsmen in the game, a last chance to impose their stature in head-to-head battles in the premier ODI tournament.


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