After a day’s break from the Delhi game, India and Australia clash again this afternoon for the fourth ODI at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. India goes into this match with a lead of 2-1 but at the same time might play a weakened team given the uncertainity of the availability of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Both teams will be wary of the fact that the dew is going to be a bigger nuisance here at Mohali than the previous venues of Nagpur and Delhi. Australia had already tasted failure because of the dew at Delhi when its key bowler Nathan Hauritz failed to grip the ball properly. The Aussies though will like the Mohali pitch which has traditionally generated good bounce and pace. The Australian batsmen too can play their free flowing horizontal shots here.

For India, Sachin Tendulkar is due to score a big one especially due to the possible absence of Sehwag and Gambhir. Tendulkar has looked good so far, striking the ball pretty well and showing good footwork. Its only matter of time  before he gets his customary one century in a series to stamp his authority.

Both teams may not have practiced that well for today’s day night affair. But as the Indian Skipper MS Dhoni said one day’s practice will not make any difference. Well Cricket is like that, if its your day, then you are just unstoppable and that applies not only to an individual but also to a team.

If India has to make two changes then obviously it could be Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli in to replace the two injured Delhi players. Karthik once again floats into the team because of injury to another player. To his credit, he has done superbly well to even find a place in the team when there is a solid wicket keeper batsman in the Captain himself in MS Dhoni. And that’s only because Dinesh Karthik has been able to prove his mettle as a batsman alone.

Australia will have to watch out for the wides and noballs they have been conceding in this series. For Mohali, the pace bowlers have got to lift their game up and probably look to bounce out the Indian batsmen. The guy to watch out in the bowling department is Doug Bollinger. The left arm quick did make Yuvraj dance in the last game at Delhi. Bollinger was unlucky not to get a single wicket though he conceded not more than a mean 26 runs off his 10 overs.

Batting wise, Australia seem to be a touch negative which certainly is not their nature. Looks like Ricky Ponting is feeling a lot of pressure on his shoulders with the likes of Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin not available to win games. All in all, two things to say, one is that the pressure is on Australia to win this match and two the momentum is certainly with India despite the twin injuries.

Tags: Australian Cricket, Dinesh Karthik, India Vs Australia, Indian Cricket, Mohali, MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting