Australia elect to bat first against India in quarter-final - ICC World Cup 2011
Australia have won the toss and elected to bat first in their quarter-final match of the ICC World Cup 2011 against India at Ahmedabad. The winner of today’s match will face Pakistan, who defeated West Indies, in the semi-final of the tournament on 30th
April.
The wicket at Ahmedabad had a reddish colour, which suggests that the ball will turn and batting will become harder as the game progresses.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said after winning the toss, “This pitch will slow up as the game goes on. 250 looks like a reasonable score. Our bowling against Pakistan was probably the best we did in the tournament.”
On the other hand, Indian captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 said his team was not under any pressure. He said, “Unless you don't think about pressure, there is no pressure. We are thinking about how we need to perform.”
Both teams have made a change each. Australia have rested all-rounder Steve Smith and given a chance to David Hussey. This move will strengthen the batting of the defending champions, who didn’t have a good outing in the match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755.
India have also made one change to their team, as they opted for Suresh Raina instead of Yusuf Pathan. The all-rounder had a tough time in the mega event until now, and wasn’t able to live up to his reputation in the group matches.
Raina was given one chance against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, but the promising left-hander failed to score too many runs in that game. However, he will be looking to make an impact in this match against the number one ODI team.
In order to do well in this match, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 of late. If they fail to get going in today’s match, the Kangaroos will
find it hard to score a big total.
However, the Indian team has found it hard to take wickets in the tournament so far. The hosts don’t have a quality bowling line-up, which is a major drawback for them. They will need a special effort from bowlers like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harbhajan-Singh-c61454 today.
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