JOIN USIt’s perhaps in sync with the trend that the one-day series between India and Australia will reach its culmination at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
This series, now tied at 2-2, has seen batsmen battering bowlers into submission without a trace of mercy. The pattern is likely to extend to the seventh ODI here, when the two teams face each other, seeking a series victory.
The Chinnaswamy has a much smaller playing area than in Nagpur, where India overhauled 350 with great ease. The outfield here is one of the quickest in the country, and the pitch has largely favoured batsmen. In short, the spectators may be able to witness some fireworks on the field as well on the Deepavali day.
To add to the joy of Indian batsmen, Mitchell Johnson, the standout fast bowler from either side, has returned to Australia to concentrate on his preparation for the Ashes series, commencing the last week of November.
Both India and Australia have been reluctant to cede an inch during this series, but the home side looked the better of the two during those exchanges. While Australia rode mainly on their skipper George Bailey and Shane Watson, who found his range with a hundred at Nagpur, India had multiple names like Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, skipper M S Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to fall back on, indicating the robustness of the entire batting unit.
Virat Kohli, India’s vice-captain and the man in form, echoed similar sentiments. “It has turned out to be a great series for our team in many ways; the way we’ve fought back from different situations has been quite pleasing. There’s one more game left for us, and hopefully we can finish off the job tomorrow,” said Kohli.
India definitely have the wherewithal to achieve that target, but a tough fight from the Aussies is as much a certainty.