Ahmedabad spirit aids Aussies in new chapter of India rivalry

From heaving Ahmedabad to laidback St Lucia. The two have little in common – Narendra Modi Stadium could fit over half the eastern Caribbean island's population into its vast bowl – but Australia must channel the spirit of their implausible triumph seven months ago.

In November, the ability of Pat Cummins' Aussies to shut out, and eventually silence, a baying crowd of blue fiercely anticipating their country's coronation was the clincher for a 50-over title few thought to be plausible. So too was their read on conditions tailor-made for their opponents, with Cummins' surprise call to bowl first and selectors' inclusion of Marnus Labuschagne both proving tactical masterstrokes.

Ahead of the rivals' first meaningful encounter since that World Cup boilover, Australia find themselves facing questions rather than receiving praise over their latest strategic decisions. In their defeat to Afghanistan, Mitch Marsh, now at the captaincy helm, channelled close friend Cummins by choosing to bowl when conventional wisdom dictated they should bat. Mitchell Starc, the greatest World Cup wicket-taker ever and Australia's most prolific new-ball threat, was not picked.

"When you're hopping around the islands the conditions change dramatically … I was comfortable with that decision," coach Andrew McDonald said when pressed on why Starc was left out for spinner Ashton Agar instead of Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood.

"Now we've got to turn our focus to India. Totally different line-up, a totally different surface and we've got to make good decisions at the selection table.

"That's part of the art of navigating through a World Cup is to get those decisions right and you can't play the same game twice. You can't put Mitchell Starc in there or Nathan Ellis and work out what the game would have looked like.

"We went to Ash and backed him in and we've got full trust in whoever we call on in that 15 to get a job done."

There is little time to stew. The Aussies arrived in St Lucia on Sunday afternoon and will need to fight weariness to front up for a morning game that marks their third match on as many islands in less than 90 hours. India too have bounced around during the Super Eight phase but have had the advantage of a settled run of morning games. Rohit Sharma's men are as ever well-supported, with blue Indian jerseys dotting the bars along Rodney Bay on match eve.

"We knew from the start what we were in for," said McDonald. "We've planned around that and scheduling is always going to be a debate. It's a debate outside of World Cups.

"The tournament has definitely sped up, short turnarounds, it becomes a little bit attritional there's no doubt about that and we've just got to make good decisions around how our players pull up. It's no different to any other team.

"We'd like to think we've planned and prepared the players who are physically prepared for the demands of it."

The defeat to Afghanistan has complicated Australia's group – a win over India might not be enough to qualify for the semis, yet they could still scrape through if they lose – but their immediate focus will be on factors within their control.

St Lucia's northeasterly winds, funnelled through Daren Sammy Stadium by the island's UNESCO-heritage listed volcanic spires, the Pitons, have been a key consideration for teams sizing up the World Cup's premier batting venue.

"You've got to use that wind as much as you can – don't fight it, just try and use it," Quinton de Kock advised after South Africa's narrow win over England at the Gros Islet ground two days ago. "I don't think the TV does it justice. There was a massive left-to-right wind from my direction – maybe like 40-50kph."

Pace bowlers have gone at nearly nine-and-a-half runs per over at the venue, complicating the possibility of a Starc recall. The left-armer may be able to trump one of the other quicks given he can generate an angle across India's right-hander heavy top-order the others cannot.

Agar too has a strong case to be retained given his miserly effort against Afghanistan. His use of arm balls mixed with slower spinners proved particularly effective in the Powerplay and could be a weapon against India's two right-handed openers, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

On the flipside, Australia's top order face arguably their biggest challenge of the tournament against the Jasprit Bumrah-led attack. They must balance their innate aggression that served them well in wins over England, Namibia and Bangladesh, but left them scrambling against Afghanistan when they were 3-32 inside the Powerplay.

Their wins over Oman and Scotland may provide the blueprint for still reaching big totals when early wickets are lost; David Warner and Travis Head respectively posted anchoring half-centuries in those two matches, as the middle-order enjoyed the benefits of one of those openers (the only lefties in the top six) staying the course.

Head and Marcus Stoinis underlined the value of an alternating-handed partnership when they steered Australia home after their early wobble against Scotland, despite the required rate spiralling above 13 runs per over.

In context then, McDonald's desire to park the mistakes made against Afghanistan appears prudent given the strength of the Australian campaign otherwise.

"It'll be recovery mode tonight and tomorrow, give the boys a bit of space and we won't drill into it too much tonight. It's pretty early in the morning," said the coach, who was speaking after 1am on Sunday local time.

"So getting that information into them will happen the morning of the Indian game. So there's space. The boys know where we went wrong (against Afghanistan). They're an experienced group.

"But there's no doubt when we come back together the morning of the Indian game we need to be at our best."

Just as they were in Ahmedabad.

2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Australia's squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's Group B fixtures

June 6: Beat Oman by 39 runs

June 9: Beat England by 36 runs

June 12: Beat Namibia by nine wickets

June 16: Beat Scotland by five wickets

Australia's Super Eight fixtures

21 June: Beat Bangladesh by 28 runs (DLS)

23 June: Lost to Afghanistan by 21 runs

25 June: v India, Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, St Lucia, 12.30am AEST

Semi-finals to follow if Australia qualify

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