Indian team will face Australia in their first Super Eight match, the Indian team in the last two editions of ICC T20 World Cup in England and then in the West Indies did not win a single match in the Super Eight stage, says a report in the Deccan Herald.
The report says that Dhoni has more or less decided to play with five specialist bowlers in which case he will have to leave out Virender Sehwag, short on runs at the moment but a match-winner on his day. India played five bowlers against England and it worked out pretty well for the men in blue.
The sight of Aussies has often brought the best out of Harbhajan Singh and his pairing with fellow off-spinner R Ashwin, set to replace Piyush Chawla, may just put George Bailey’s men on the back foot to begin with. On the pace front, Zaheer Khan will take the place of Ashok Dinda to form a three-pronged pace attack along with Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathi Balaji.
Meanwhile, The Hindustan Times reports that Indian skipper MS Dhoni is in a tricky position regarding what team combination he opts for against Australia.
"We most probably will play with five bowlers, but what combination, it all depends on conditions and the wicket, which will be a fresh one. It also depends on how the wicket will be before the match tomorrow," said Dhoni.
Dhoni also admitted the fact that dropping a batsman is always a gamble, he said, “Definitely it's one of the toughest decisions I've taken so far but we have to see what fits the combination the best. We will have to wait and watch but it will have to be a good decision. Ultimately, that's what matters."