The 51st match will be played between the two great sides – Australia and India at Gros Islet.
Team overview:
The highly-anticipated clash between Australia and India holds the possibility of being washed-out or ruined by the rain. Nevertheless, the game is going to be a classic one and one of the reasons will be the 19th of November 2023 when Australia beat India in the World Cup final.
India will look to take revenge and their fans will love this mindset too.
After Afghanistan created history in this World Cup on June 22, the scenarios in Group A are now open.
This isn’t a must win game for either team, but Australia’s chance will get slim if they lose. While India’s net run rate gives them a sigh of relief they still can be knocked out if they lose.
So, in this game stakes will be high and it will become a match to watch out for because when Australia and India square off; one expects an entertaining and thumping game of cricket, it’s just rain that must not spoil the show.
A washout will set fit for India but for Australia it can cause a bit of trouble.
Talking about the team combination, Australia played Ashton Agar in place of Mitchell Starc against Afghanistan. Agar also featured in a game against Scotland. With both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not too fond of facing left-arm spin, Australia can continue with the same combination, but the question is can Australia miss out on their most tried-and-test match winner in this high-octane clash?
And one of the positive things that Australia will take into India’s game is Maxwell’s return to form. Although his knock wasn’t enough to win his side the game, he shows some signs of excellence and class. While the team has shown classical performances thus far the captain Mitchell Marsh has yet to shine in this World Cup so far.
For India, the batting department has not shown clinical performances so far apart from the game against Bangladesh where Shivam Dube also found himself among some runs.
Hardik Pandya was clinical with the bat and he has bowled nicely in this World Cup so far. It seems unlikely that India will fiddle with their 3-3 bowling combination (with Pandya as the third seam option). But there is a chance that Rohit’s two left-arm orthodox spinners come under pressure if either Travis Head or David Warner want to bat in the middle overs.
Pitch and weather report:
While rain threatens to interrupt this clash the pitch at Gros Islet has produced a high-scoring game as the scoring rate has been 8.92 on this venue. So, this venue has been proven difficult for fast bowlers as the economy rate is 9.42, while spinners have done comparatively better on this pitch returning with the economy of 7.91.
Head-to-head record:
A total of 31 T20 internationals have been played between the two sides with India winning 19 and Australia won 11 encounters. However, in the T20 World Cup both of the sides were last met in 2016.
Predictions:
If it’s not a washout then Australia are favourites to win the game given their batting and bowling unit has clicked thus far in the tournament.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
