ICC T20 World Cup 2016: James Faulkner reveals key weapon ahead of India clash
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner delivered a match-winning performance against Pakistan in the super 10 encounter between the two sides at the ICC T20 World Cup 2016. He picked up a five-wicket haul and deservedly won the man-of-match award.
"I got lucky in the end. More importantly, we won and got back on track. I'm just happy we won again and played some decent cricket as a group as we have done back home. We didn't start well, but there's lot of strength and depth in the squad and there was no reason we couldn't bounce back. India are a strong team in these conditions, and we'll start afresh in a couple of days time," said Faulkner, after the match.
According to Faulkner, the secret of success for a bowler in the shortest format of the game lies in having a good variation, the execution of which can make life difficult for the batsmen. Faulkner, who possesses numerous variations in his armoury, has been a successful bowler in the shortest format of the game. He displayed some of his clever variations to dismantle the Pakistan batting line up in their recent encounter.
The win against Pakistan kept Australia's hopes alive in the tournament and it was largely due to the efforts of Faulkner that Australia managed to restrict Pakistan in a high-scoring encounter.
Australia, batting first, put up a huge total of 193 for 4 on the board. Pakistan started well but soon lost the plot as Faulkner picked up key wickets at important junctures of the game to peg Pakistan back.
Virtual quarterfinal against India
Australia will play their next game against the hosts India, which is a virtual quarterfinal. Whichever team wins will go through to the semifinal. Australia after a patchy start to the tournament got back on track after an impressive performance against Pakistan both with the bat and ball.
Their skipper Steve Smith came back to form and hit an unbeaten 61 off just 43 deliveries. Faulkner was undoubtedly the star with the ball as he used his variations quite effectively to bamboozle the Pakistan batsmen.
“It’s pretty basic for all bowlers these days in T20 cricket. These days you got to have variation, change of pace, good yorkers and bouncer and if you can execute that you can make it hard for the batsman,” Faulkner said at the post-match press conference.
Ahead of the clash against India, Faulkner said that India is “a very good team” and they will have to be at the top of their game to beat India. When quizzed about his on-field rivalry with India’s star batsman Virat Kohli, Faulkner squashed the topic by dubbing it as “friendly banter”.
Both teams will be desperate for a win. In a format like T20, the onus will be on executing the plans well. Whichever team does that will surely come out on top. Faulkner's form will be a key factor for the Ausssies as he can deceive the Indian batsmen with his guile and variation.