Rodney Hogg: India to put Australia in a spin
It may seem like lunacy, given the rap I gave Australia’s one-day team last week, but I’m tipping India to beat us in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday at the SCG.
I think the Indian spinners will give Australia some major problems in this semi-final.
They’re playing on the same pitch that South Africa beat Sri Lanka on, and leg-spinner Imran Tahir had a day out on it last time.
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It’s a re-prepared wicket – the Aussies wanted a green-top.
An old pitch totally suits India, and that’s why I think they’ll win.
Australia aren’t cherry ripe at the moment.
Under the pump: Australian opener Aaron Finch. Photo: Getty
We’ve been good, but we haven’t dominated.
You wouldn’t say Michael Clarke’s in form, you wouldn’t say the two openers are in form.
You wouldn’t say Shane Watson’s totally in form, although I like where he is now – he gives the middle order stability.
As much as I like the look of this Australian line-up on paper, they just haven’t put it all together just yet.
James Faulkner is coming back from injury, he’s lacking game time. Clarke’s coming back from injury, he hasn’t got a lot of runs. You’ve got Watson being restructured back into the batting line-up and you’ve got Aaron Finch and Dave Warner not really firing at the minute.
Only Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell are in peak form.
Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson are the only Australian bowlers with more than six wickets.
Meanwhile, India have turned things around.
They’ve won seven on the trot, and if you said to India where would you want to play Australia, they’d say in Sydney on a re-prepared wicket.
The Indian bowlers were very inconsistent in the Tests this summer. They showed glimpses but couldn’t do it for long enough.
In this tournament, they’ve found that consistency.
Paceman Mohammed Shami (17 wickets) has been the standout – he’s performed above expectation.
Umesh Yadav (14 wickets) has found a bit of consistency.
Spin-wise they’ve got Ravindra Jadeja (nine wickets) who has come into the side and performed well and Ravichandran Ashwin has taken 12 wickets.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken 12 wickets for the tournament. Photo: Getty
Ashwin and Jadeja versus part-timer Maxwell – that’s the storyline of this game.
And we saw Tahir, with modest spin, take 4-26 for South Africa on this track that’s now been prepared again.
That’s why I think Australia are up against it in this game.
The toss is crucial. I think if Australia bat first they might be able to get a hold of the spinners, but if you bat second, the later the game goes sometimes you just can’t belt spinners on a wicket that’s suiting them.
And if Australia has an Achilles heel it’s that we don’t spin particularly well, and we lack a genuine spinner.
The fact this is a re-prepared Sydney wicket really throws this India’s way.
I thought that was a weakness when we came into the tournament, that we didn’t come in with Fawad Ahmed.
When the batsmen are really going you need to break the game up. With our attack we’re not able to do that.
That’s why I think India will be playing New Zealand on Sunday at the MCG.