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Time for the knock-out punch: India play Oz today Áhmedabad, March 23
For former champions India and defending champions Australia, the contest will be a litmus test as they will have no escape route now, other than winning the contest. Both Dhoni and his counterpart Ricky Ponting have been under fire for various reasons - Dhoni for his team compositions and later order collapse and Ponting for his own lack of form, and the knives were out, particularly after Australia lost their last league match to Pakistan though the defeat neither affected their top slot in the group or their place in the quarterfinal. Ponting, whose big knock helped Australia beat India in the 2003 World Cup final, has promised to take inspiration from that knock to play an encore. Ponting said his team will once again look upto their pace battery, consisting of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, to do the trick as their spin duo of off-spinner Jason Krezja and leg-spinner Steve Smith have not been very effective at the league phase. If Sehwag is unfit, India are likely to retain the same eleven who played against West Indies in Chennai, as Dhoni recounted the possibility of playing three spinners - Harbhajan Singh, R.Ashwin and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is sure to keep his place after his inspirational bowling against the Windies. He bowled the first eight overs non-stop during the power play, and completed the remaining two overs also in power play, to make an impressive debut. So Chawla will have to sit out while Yusuf Pathan will retain his slot. The fate of Suresh Raina will depend on Sehwag’s fitness.History tilts the balance heavily in favour of Australia as they have won seven out of their nine World Cup clashes against India. But Dhoni is not worried about past records, nor about the pace battery of the visitors as he reminded the media that India have won Tests at Perth and Durban where the conditions were tailor-made for seamers. Dhoni said he had no particular opinion about the Motera pitch, as the hosts were determined to play to their strength. Dhoni admitted that India could not afford to show any laxity in their batting, bowling and fielding tomorrow. Áhmedabad, March 23
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As Dhoni said, Sehwag can lift the momentum with his swashbuckling knock in the first five overs to give India a blazing start, and that’s what India are looking for against the pace-packed attack of the Australians. “It’s really good to have Sehwag open the batting. He can play aggressively and change the course of a match in the first five overs”, Dhoni stated.