New Delhi: After Afghanistan stunned Australia on Saturday, a lot more spice has been added to the India vs Australia Super 8 fixture scheduled at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St. Lucia on Monday. The local curators feel that including three spinners would be a bit too much on what has proven to be the best batting track in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
Team India has been playing an extra spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav since the start of the Super 8s and boy he has delivered with five wickets in three games, therefore chances are bleak that Rohit Sharma would bench him. The other Indian spin options are all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. The match is important for Australia to win even if they want to stake a claim in the semis as a loss can potentially knock them out of the tournament.
The members of the ground staff at the Darren Sammy Stadium wanted to see Mohammed Siraj back in the side to support Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh at the expense of a spinner. It has been revealed that out of the six black soil pitches at the ground, number three would be in use for the day game on Monday.
“The pitch is nice and hard, should stay the same throughout in a day game. Whichever team bats should score 180 to 200. I prefer to bat and put runs on the board. England batted poorly. The pitch got a bit tricky and the ball was not coming on,” a curator said.
At the venue, co-hosts West Indies scored 218 which is the highest total of the tournament so far, in a day-night game with light dew that made batting easier. In the only day game held before, South Africa narrowly defended 163 against England.
“It gets drier in a day game when the sun is out, it would be a good game tomorrow. Here we don’t get much spin. We get nice bounce but not a lot of spin on this black soil pitch. I would play an extra pacer. The surface is more suited to the pacers and has consistent pace and bounce. Bowlers will need to bowl well else they get punished,” said another member of the ground staff.
Could spinners shine during IND vs AUS game?
While it can be said as a one-off incident, it is noteworthy that during the England-South Africa Super 8 day game, the spinners played their part well with Keshav Maharaj taking a couple of wickets for the Proteas. For England, Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali picked one apiece. The top dressing of the main square was done months ago in the preparations for the build-up to the World Cup. Sri Lanka had also managed to amass 201 against the Netherlands at the venue which will also see the win factor coming into the play just like it was in Barbados and Antigua.
The excitement builds up for the India vs Australia Super 8 clash and the curator at the ground has a bit of advice for both teams over their team combination ahead of the epic battle. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
