Story Australia's World Cup Battle

[timchrist984]

Australia to face India in Semi Final

It's been a long, tough road. Everyone's given their all plus a bit more. But it is far from over. It has been a grueling tournament. Every competing team has has lost at least 2 matches. The cricket has been tough. The very highest quality. Exactly what you would expect from a world cup.

Today we turn our attention to Kolkata. Where the first semi final is to be played. Ricky Ponting's Australians will take on the Indians, led by MS Dhoni. The home side will be oozing with confidence after they defeated a high class Pakistan side last week. The Aussies however come off a disappointing loss against the West Indies. Today's contest will be fierce. The winner will take on either the Proteas or the Sri Lankans in the final. This is the most important game of the tournament so far.

130,000 fans will scream their lungs out, 22 men will do battle, 2 teams will tussle for victory, 1 will emerge victorious. This is the World Cup Semi Final.​

 

[timchrist984]

1st Semi Final: Australia v India

Today?s game between Australia and India is set to be one of the all time great one-day matches. Ricky Ponting has been out of touch lately and is under huge pressure to perform both as a captain and a batsman. By their high standards, Australia has not had particularly successful tournament. They have lost to both Pakistan and the West Indies and will be raring to go against this Indian outfit.

India has a huge home crowd advantage, but this could also be a disadvantage. The Indian public expects nothing less than success. Sachin Tendulkar is gunning for his one hundredth international ton. MS Dhoni?s side will be under unbelievable to pressure as well.

A very flat, dusty, traditional Indian pitch was revealed when the covers were taken off this morning. The wicket looked to be full of runs, a perfect batsman?s paradise. It was literally a brown slab of concrete. For the bowlers, it favoured the spinners. There weren?t any cracks but that could definitely change over the course of an innings.

A short time a go the captains were out in the middle for the toss of the coin. The Indian captain, MS Dhoni, won the toss and decided to send Australia in to bat. This seemed like a very strange decision given the condition of the pitch. When asked what he would have done Ricky Ponting said, ?We?re licking our lips, this will be an awesome strip to bat on. I?ve got no idea what Dhoni was thinking?

The 2 teams were also announced at the toss. For Australia it was:
Ricky Ponting (captain), Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.

And for India: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Anish Nehra

Both teams look fairly strong on paper. Australia may struggle for wickets though as they haven?t selected a specialist spinner. Their pace trio of Tait, Lee and Johnson may not be very effective on this flat, Kolkata pitch.

It is all up to the players now. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin will be making their way out in to the middle shortly. As will the Indian team. Who will win this World Cup Semi Final in Kolkata?
​

 

[dajesmac]

Love everything but the Steve Smith inclusion . Great start, looking forward to this.

 

[timchrist984]

Australia: 0/68, 10 Overs

Scorecards: Summary, Batting, Batting (Advanced), Bowling,
Stats & Graphs: Manhattan, Run Rate, Worm, Partnerships, Over Block,

 

[Prithvi]

Watto is smelling bad, should get him as early as possible. Nehera and Sreesanth are clearly looking crap. Introduce the Yuvi factor.

 

[Umair7]

Nice Update Good Start By The Aussies

 

[timchrist984]

Australia: 1/159, 20 Overs

Scorecards: Summary, Batting, Batting (Advanced), Bowling,
Stats & Graphs: Manhattan, Run Rate, Worm, Partnerships, Over Block,

 

[Prithvi]

Australia will win!

 

[Umair7]

Australia Will Win Very Easily

 

[miggo97]

good start, cant wait for the next update

 

[timchrist984]

Australia: 4/204, 30 Overs

Scorecards: Summary, Batting, Batting (Advanced), Bowling,
Stats & Graphs: Manhattan, Run Rate, Worm, Partnerships, Over Block,

 

[Umair7]

Good Job Aussies

 

[timchrist984]

Australia: 8/267, 40 Overs

Scorecards: Summary, Batting, Batting (Advanced), Bowling,
Stats & Graphs: Manhattan, Run Rate, Worm, Partnerships, Over Block,

 

[Dipak]

Oh damn..Aussies've squandered such an awesome start.

 

[Umair7]

A Collapse Well Go Aussie Kill The Indians