WC 2015 IND vs AUS: Pitch, weather, key players and all you need to know about World Cup semifinal
Sydney: With a tense World Cup semifinal between India and Australia around the corner, here is a look at how pitch and weather will behave and what may turn out to a be trump card at Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Road to World Cup semifinal:
India:
February 15, Adelaide
India 300-7 (Virat Kohli 107, Suresh Raina 74, Shikhar Dhawan 73; Sohail Khan 5-55) v Pakistan 224 all out (Misbah-ul-Haq 76)
India won by 76 runs
February 22, Melbourne
India 307-7 (Shikhar Dhawan 137, Ajinkya Rahane 79) v South Africa 177 all out (Faf du Plessis 55)
India won by 130 runs
February 28, Perth
UAE 102 all out v India 104-1 (Rohit Sharma 57 not out)
India won by nine wickets
March 6, Perth
West Indies 182 all out (Jason Holder 57) v India 185-6
India won by four wickets
March 10, Hamilton
Ireland 259 all out (Niall O'Brien 75, William Porterfield 67) v India 260-2 (Shikhar Dhawan 100, Rohit Sharma 64)
India won by eight wickets
March 14, Auckland
Zimbabwe 287 all out (Brendan Taylor 138, Sean Williams 50) v India 288-4 (Suresh Raina 110 not out, MS Dhoni 85 not out)
India won by six wickets
Quarterfinal:
March 19, Melbourne
India 302-6 (Rohit Sharma 137, Suresh Raina 65; Taskin Ahmed 3-69) v Bangladesh 193 all out (Nasir Hossain 35; Umesh Yadav 4-31)
India won by 109 runs
Australia:
February 14, Melbourne
Australia 342-9 (Aaron Finch 135, Glenn Maxwell 66, George Bailey 55; Steven Finn 5-71) v England 231 all out (James Taylor 98 not out; Mitchell Marsh 5-53)
Australia won by 111 runs
February 21, Brisbane
Australia v Bangladesh - no result, rain
February 28, Auckland
Australia 151 (Trent Boult 5-27) v New Zealand 152-9 (Brendon McCullum 50; Mitchell Starc 6-28)
Australia lost by one wicket
March 4, Perth
Australia 417-6 (David Warner 178, Steve Smith 95, Glenn Maxwell 88) v Afghanistan 142 all out
Australia won by 275 runs
March 8, Sydney
Australia 376-9 (Glenn Maxwell 102, Steve Smith 72, Michael Clarke 68, Shane Watson 67) v Sri Lanka 312-9 (Kumar Sangakkara 104, Tillakaratne Dilshan 62, Dinesh Chandimal 52 retired hurt)
Australia won by 64 runs
March 14, Hobart
Scotland 130 all out v Australia 133-3
Australia won by seven wickets
Quarterfinal:
March 20, Adelaide
Pakistan 213 all out in 49.5 overs (Haris Sohail 41; Josh Hazlewood 4-35) v Australia 216-4 (Steven Smith 65, Shane Watson 64 not out, Glenn Maxwell 44 not out)
Australia won by six wickets
Pitch, weather and key players:
Pitch:
The Australian cricket team was reportedly not too impressed with a spinner friendly wicket at SCG, thinking it may help Indian tweakers. However, with heavy rain on Tuesday, a traditionally spinner friendly wicket may offer some assistance to pace bowlers.
(Photo: AFP)
Weather:
The heavy downpour on Tuesday in Sydney must have made quite a few Australian supporters a bit nervous, as no game meant India directly entering the finals. However, there are hardly any chances of rain playing spoilsport on Thursday during India vs Australia semifinal. The maximum temperature is expected to be 26 °C while the minimum temperature will be approximately 15 °C.
Key players:
India:
Ravichandran Ashwin
If the SCG pitch assists spin, as feared by the Australians, Ashwin is the man India will turn to for a match-winning performance. The game is being played on the same pitch where South African spinners Imran Tahir and JP Duminy shared seven wickets in a quarter-final win against Sri Lanka, a team reputed to be comfortable against the turning ball.
Ashwin has been one of India's star performers in the tournament, especially with his ability to slow down the run-rate with his accurate off-spin. He claimed four for 25 against the United Arab Emirates in Perth but a more impressive performance was his return of three for 41 against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground that caught the Proteas on the hop.
The only time Ashwin proved expensive at this World Cup was when he conceded 75 runs in 10 overs against Zimbabwe at Auckland.
Australia:
Glenn Maxwell
Unconventional shot-maker and part-time off-spinner known as the 'Big Show' who has bolstered Australia's innings with some spectacular late hitting in the tournament.
Maxwell has hit three half-centuries in five knocks, including the second-fastest World Cup century with 102 off 53 balls against Sri Lanka in the pool stages at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
His spin might come in handy on a generally turning SCG pitch, but it is his quirky batting -- replete with reverse-sweeps, flicks and powerful hitting -- that may prove hard for India to contain if he gets off to a start.
