Australian pace versus India spin

Just over nine months ago, the Indian cricket team was in England, high on confidence with a visible swagger in their collective stride.

They had breezed through the group stage of the World Twenty20, dispatching both Bangladesh and Ireland with minimum fuss, and went into the Super Eights as one of the favourites to defend the title they had won in South Africa in 2007.

That dream fell apart on a lively Lord’s track where the West Indies and hosts England bounced the fresh-off-the-IPL T20 specialists out of the tournament.

The campaign ended with a rather humbling 12-run loss to South Africa on a slow turner in Nottingham.

As MS Dhoni’s side prepares to take on Australia on a Barbados track that has given glimpses of just the kind of bounce that has historically troubled Indian batsmen, they will be wary of slipping up again.

The first couple of matches played at this venue have given enough indications that pace will play a part in proceedings.

Bangladesh managed to keep Australia down to 141, while South Africa, too, managed just 139/7 against Afghanistan.

Under the circumstances, there are two things that should occupy Dhoni’s mindspace. First, Australia’s pace-heavy attack — one so competent that IPL star Doug Bollinger doesn’t find a place in it — that will prefer the conditions here to that in either St Lucia or Guyana.

Secondly, this is an Australian side that is determined to make an impression having failed to get out of the group stages in two previous attempts.

In 2007, a shock defeat to Zimbabwe saw them make an early exit, before they failed to make it out of a tough group — which included eventual semifinalists Sri Lanka and the West Indies — in the England edition.

Skipper Michael Clarke agreed that his quick bowlers would have a role to play. “I think these conditions are really going to help our fast bowlers,” he said after his bowlers had snuffed out Bangladesh’s hopes in a hurry. “There was a lot of pace and bounce in that wicket… (but) there was a little bit of spin as well.”

What it does promise to be is a tight clash. While Dhoni has preferred to bank on spin in both the second half of the IPL as well as the first two games in the Caribbean, he will go into this crucial leg of matches knowing, at least, that he has at his disposal an attack that can give the best in the business a run for their money, irrespective of the conditions.

Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra have hit the right lines and lengths over the last month-and-a-half, and even the absence of Praveen Kumar — ruled out of the tournament — shouldn’t hurt much considering Dhoni’s penchant for playing his tweakers.

Importantly, Harbhajan Singh, for all the criticism he has copped over the last few months (for shifting focus from cricket to darts), does back himself on this bouncy track.

“Harbhajan is one of the best in the world, so we’re going to have to work out a plan against him and back ourselves. Every player in our team plays spin differently, you need to be confident with your plan and stick to that.”

Mitchell Johnson, back after missing the last game due to injury, will bolster the attack, and how India’s batsmen deal with Australia’s quicks could well have a big bearing on the outcome.