3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Australia, Match 51 of 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Glenn Maxwell vs Jasprit Bumrah
India and Australia are set to lock horns in arguably the biggest game of the T20 World Cup Super Eight phase in St. Lucia on Monday, June 24. The two teams were among the title contenders at the start of the tournament, and this game has a huge bearing on the same.
After a shock loss at the hands of Afghanistan by 21 runs, the Aussies will probably have to beat India to stay in the race for the semifinal. If they lose, they will have to hope that Bangladesh beat Afghanistan in St. Vincent, a game in which the Afghans go in as favorites.
The Men in Blue, on the other hand, will know that if they avoid a massive defeat, they are likely to be through to the semifinal where they will likely face England. However, Rohit Sharma and his men would want to be ruthless and also have a chance to potentially knock Australia out of the tournament.
On that note, let's take a look at three match-ups between the star-studded players on both sides that could decide which way the game will pan out:
#3 Rohit Sharma vs Mitchell Starc
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was delighted with the way the Men in Blue batted against Bangladesh and wants them to continue their ultra-aggressive brand of cricket without focusing on personal milestones. The veteran opener is likely to lead by example once again as he will come hard at the Australian bowling attack.
However, Rohit's woes against left-arm pacers, especially early on with the ball swinging into his pads, is an area Australia would like to exploit by bringing Mitchell Starc back into the team. Starc has bowled just five deliveries to Rohit in T20Is, conceding four runs, and has already dismissed the opener once.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav vs Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa bowling well is key for the Aussies in the middle overs, but the leg-spinner will have to deal with some explosive Indian batters in that phase. One of those batters is ranked No.1 in the world in the format, and that is none other than Suyakumar Yadav.
Suryakumar has a lopsided match-up against Zampa, scoring 54 runs in 27 balls faced against the leggie in T20Is. Zampa has dismissed the star batter once but with the pitch in St. Lucia one of the best in the tournament for batters, SKY will fancy his chances to do well once again.
#1 Glenn Maxwell vs Jasprit Bumrah
Despite Australia losing their match against Afghanistan, the biggest positive for them was Glenn Maxwell finally coming back to form with a brilliant half-century. While Maxwell was at the crease, it seemed certain that the Aussies would win the game and that's how crucial he is to their middle-order.
However, Maxwell has a poor match-up against Jasprit Bumrah and skipper Rohit Sharma, who is known to rely on data, will probably want to unleash the star speedster as soon as the Aussie comes to the crease. Maxwell has scored just 31 runs in 28 balls faced off Bumrah in T20Is and has been dismissed twice.
Apart from that, the all-rounder has been dismissed five times in the IPL by the Indian pacer. It will be interesting to see how India use Bumrah's four overs to counter Maxwell and the other explosive batters.