Monkey off their back, Men in Blue will look to scale ODI summit

Rohit and Shami are delighted to see the back of Smith.
| Photo Credit: ANI

One thing that unites fans worldwide, regardless of the sport, is the tendency to look for patterns from the past before a crucial game for one’s team in a mega event.

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal between India and Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, cricket nerds, especially Indian fans, on social media pointed out a few similarities between the ongoing Champions Trophy and the 2015 World Cup.

The last-four line-up was the same: India versus Australia and South Africa against New Zealand.

When the Aussies opted to bat and Steve Smith (73) started to turn up the heat, the memories of his century in the 2015 clash in Sydney, which set up a big total and ended India’s campaign, would have triggered painful memories for the team’s supporters.

Fortunately, Mohammed Shami stopped the Australian skipper’s march to another three-figure mark by rearranging his stumps. The dismissal, followed by Glenn Maxwell’s brain fade in the next over, allowed India to swing the momentum back. Rohit Sharma’s men never took the foot off the pedal after that.

The Men in Blue have been clinical over the last two weeks across the four games, living up to their billing as the pre-tournament favourites.

Though India breezed past group stage opponents (Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand), the performance against Australia will give it utmost confidence.

Though the current Australian side is missing its main bowlers, one of the challenging tasks in world cricket is to beat the Men in Yellow in the knockout stage of a major tournament.

The Aussies have earned a reputation of big-match performers by going all the way even after stuttering starts. In the 2023 World Cup, Pat Cummins’ men lost the first two games before turning it around and clinching the crown for a record sixth time, overwhelming a till-then dominant India in the summit clash.

This time, the Indian bowlers did well on a good batting surface, consistently pegging away and never letting the opponent to tee off.

Once the chase began, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer chipped away at the target, showing calm and composure as they did against Pakistan.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir was pleased with the way the team went about its task. “It was a very professional (chase), and I say that because we had wickets in hand. That was the plan because we know pitches in the second half can get a little slower.

“We planned the chase well. Even after 40 overs, we were only four down. We had two set batters in. So, we knew that given the kind of quality and depth we had, we were always in control,” said Gambhir.

India’s previous win over Australia in a knockout stage match of an ICC event was in 2011, when the M.S. Dhoni-led team ended Australia’s 12-year reign as World champions.

Gambhir was an integral part of that victory against the mighty Aussies 14 years ago, scoring a vital half-century in a chase of 261 and putting India on the path to glory.

Come Sunday, Rohit and Co. will hope that getting past the Aussie hurdle will augur well in their quest for a first global ODI title since 2013.