India Vs. Australia – a preview

After Sri Lanka's resounding win over Australia to go with the bonus points, now this particular match between India and Australia that is being played at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, assumes a lot of importance. Sri Lanka has kept the series wide open and neither India nor Australia finds themselves secure in the series.

The Net Run Rate (NRR) could come into play in case the points for any of the sides are tied at the end of the round-robin phase. Sri Lanka will largely benefit from their tremendous showing at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). India and Australia are no longer in the comfort zone anymore. A win is what both teams are desperately eyeing.

The weather could be another important factor in the remaining matches. So it will be never easy for any team to take anything for granted. A couple of more matches into the series, and it should be clear who is going to advance to the finals on the Commonwealth Bank Series.

Both India and Australia have their prominent players playing in the game today – Sachin Tendulkar for India and Ricky Ponting for Australia. The poor run of Ricky Ponting is a matter of concern for the hosts and also for the player himself. On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar will be looking to get to his elusive 100th century this time around.

A win for any team will put them in the driver’s seat putting more pressure on the losing side. India has lost only one match in the series so far – and that too to Australia. Australia on the other hand is the only team that has lost two games – more than India and Sri Lanka. This rarely happens with Australia and even rarely when they are the hosts.

If only India can exploit these conditions, we are in for India Sri Lanka finals very soon.