What

The second quarter-final of the 2011 ICC World Cup will be played between India and Australia. The match is a Day/Night affair.

When

March 24, 2011. The game begins at 2:30 pm, IST.

Where

Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. The wicket at Motera is likely to take spin, something that could give India the edge. However, Australia have the advantage of having played a game at this venue earlier in the tournament. In that match, they thrashed Zimbabwe by 91 runs while putting up a score of 262 for six in 50 overs.

The Teams

Although India beat West Indies by a convincing margin of 80 runs in their last group game, they still have problems heading into the quarters. For starters, Virender Sehwag needs to be fit and available if India need a blitz at the head of the innings.

Besides Sehwag’s availability, India will be hoping their middle-order sticks it out till the end. In Nagpur, against South Africa, the last nine wickets fell for 29 runs, while against the West Indies, in Chennai, the last seven wickets fell for 50. R Ashwin impressed against the West Indies and is likely to play instead of the third pacer or spinner Piyush Chawla. If India win the toss, they will most likely bat first and put the Australians under pressure as the floodlights come on at the Sardar Patel Stadium.

Before their final group game against Pakistan, Australia looked the side to beat, having won four out of five matches in the tournament (the game against Sri Lanka was washed away). However, after the four-wicket loss to Pakistan, Australia’s weaknesses have come to the fore.

For starters, they do not have the spinners to threaten the Indians. Of the 79.5 overs that Jason Krezja and Steven Smith have bowled at the 2011 ICC World Cup, they have only six wickets to show between them. Australia’s bigger worry, though, is the form of batsmen Ricky Ponting and Cameron White who are averaging just 20.40 and 19.33 in their five innings at this World Cup.

Australia’s trump cards against India are openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin and if the pitch supports them, pacers Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Joshnson.

The History

India have not beaten Australia in a World Cup game since 1987. In that edition of the World Cup, India first lost to Australia by one run in their first group game but then thumped the Australians by 56 runs in a subsequent group outing. However, since that victory, Australia have bettered India on no less than five instances. At the 1992 cricket World Cup, they edged India out in a thriller by one run. In 1996 and in 1999 they beat India by 16 and 77 runs respectively. In 2003, they repeated their winning run against India by subjecting them to a nine-wicket drubbing at Centurion. However, the most hurtful defeat against Australia was by 125 runs in the 2003 World Cup final at Johannesburg, South Africa.

What’s at stake?

A place in the 2011 ICC World Cup semi-finals. India, playing at home, are without a doubt the team under more pressure. Besides, they will be desperate to get break the Australian jinx at the World Cup.

If Australia lose, it would bring an end to their glorious reign as cricketing champions (they have won three consecutive World Cup editions). Additionally, there is the possibility of Ricky Ponting, who has been having a disappointing run with the bat at the tournament (102 runs in five innings at an average of 20.40), may bow out of ODI cricket after the tournament.

The squads

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, S Sreesanth and Ashish Nehra

Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krezja, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson, John Hastings, David Hussey and Tim Paine