India are through to the semifinals after three good games and will take on Australia on Sunday who have a very slim chance from here to qualify.
India have by far looked to be the best team in the competition so far and this has been largely due to the splendid bowling performance from the spinners. The conditions have suited them and they have not allowed any of the opposing teams to get away with the game. It has gone according to what Dhoni wanted.
He has won all the tosses and bowled first something which he wanted because of the dew factor and his batsmen in the second half have played responsibly to win all the three games so far.
But somewhere down the line there is a feeling that India needs a tough game before the semifinals and this could probably be one of them. Australia have batted splendidly in the competition but their bowling has not allowed them to win close games.
By saying their bowling, I also mean that their bowling combination is completely off-balance as to the conditions in Mirpur. They have played four seamers in spinner friendly conditions.
I was surprised not to see Brad Hogg play the game against West Indies. He did have a poor game against Pakistan but one must remember that the ability of teams from the sub-continent to play spin is completely different from the teams outside.
The Aussie batting will provide a challenge to the Indian bowling. They have James Faulkner coming at 7 along with Haddin at 8 and this is a serious batting line-up in any format. The likes of Finch and Maxwell are very dangerous and have such skills in this format that on their day they can take any one apart.
India, on the other hand, will have less issues to worry about. Rohit Sharma has struck form after two good knocks. He and Virat Kohli are looking solid at the start.
Shikhar Dhawan has been a bit off-colour in this competition but with his enormous ability it’s only a matter of time that he gets back to his best. It was also good to see M S Dhoni walk out to bat in the middle against Bangladesh.
