T20 World Cup | Australia eager for semi-final spot, West Indies seek farewell for finest generation
The buildup The T20 World Cup has thrown up a lot of anti-climax in this edition and it’s because of those unexpected results that when Australia and West Indies will take on each other on possibly the final day that matters for Group 1 of the tournament, it’s only the Australians, who are still the race to advance to the next stage. At the start of the T20 World Cup, there was widespread consensus that the quad of England, West Indies, India and Pakistan were the firm favourites to qualify for the semi-finals. 26 games deeper into the tournament, the tables have been turned, and how? West Indies have been feeble and have allowed the other two sides such as South Africa and Australia to knock on the qualifying door. It’s quite fitting that the two opponents who started the Super 12 round of the battle on October 23 are the two sides to fight a desperate battle for one final spot from the group. England are through to the semi-finals and while South Africa have to go past England challenge to become the frontrunner in the race, the Australians have to give the defending champions a resounding exit from the tournament to seal their place in the final four. They have not been a consistent side in bilateral series over the last many years, but have found firepower in old horses and new edge in the experienced bowling department. Their seam bowlers are bowling hard lengths that make life tough for batsmen while the swing bowler is finding appreciable swing in the air along with the leg spinner Adam Zampa fiding enough rip off the surface to keep Australia going in the middle phase. Their form has not been consistent in the tournament and have suffered hammering by their arch-rivals England, but they can be forgiven for not losing the plot completely and coming back with a bang after each setback. On the other side of the fence, West Indies have been found it extremely tough to stay relevant in the tournament. They started off their defence of the title with the same old tactic of trying to hit many sixes off the park but soon adapted to trying to score enough runs to give bowlers chance. However, none of those worked so far and they are on their way back home before making it to the semi-finals and their exit will mark an unceremonious end of an era of West Indies when they rued the format and show across the world. There can not be any argument on what West Indies have been for the development and flourishing of the T20 format across the format and it shows in their two-time championship. But, as the format has suggested so many times, it asks teams to adapt on time to time basis and it’s that point where Windies have found wanting and exposed at the world stage. Match details Australia vs West Indies, Match no.: 38, Super 12 Group 1 Date & Time: November 06, 02:00 PM LOCAL, 03:30 IST Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Pitch details South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada had bowled with fire and extracted pace and bounce out of the surface at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in the last day game at the venue against Bangladesh. Australia have a hit-the-deck bowler in Josh Hazlewood and in-form Mitchell Starc to unleash on an underconfident and tentative Windies batting lineup. Windies have only Oshane Thomas in their lineup to play fire with fire in the pace bowling department but unlikely they will go that route against the Australians. The pitch should offer plenty of carry for the pacers and Australians will be confident of their chances against the Windies. Team News Australia The success of Adam Zampa has given Australia an unprecedented edge in the bowling department and they are looking like a bowling attack that covers all the base. They finally did not heed attention to reputation and brought Mitchell Marsh to number three in place of Steve Smith. The former captain is unlikely to get his position back unless Australia suffer an early wicket and having Marsh early on against the new ball give them the opportunity to attack from the word go. They dropped Ashton Agar from the team and banked on the trio of Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell to share four overs between them and the move is likely to continue in the final Super 12 game as well. Probable XI David Warner, Aaron Finch (C), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (WK), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood West Indies Chris Gayle has had a terrible tournament with the bat and won’t find too much support if the Windies axe him from the playing XI except on emotional grounds as the game could well be his final game in Windies colours. While the experienced pros such as Dwayne Bravo, Gayle, and Kieron Pollard have been off their mark with the bat, the young duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, whom the current skipper Pollard has projected as the future of West Indies cricket have not boosted their cases either. Windies have nothing to lose in this game and they are most likely to play with tier signature approach and if they come good, Australia might be chasing the ball for longer than they would like to. Probable XI Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Kieron Pollard (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul CE Fantasy XI Nicholas Pooran, David Warner, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Glenn Maxwell, Akeal Hosein, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa Captain: Aaron Finch Vice-captain: Glenn Maxwell