Ind vs Aus 4th ODI - India Eyeing Victory in Mohali to Stretch Lead

Mohali: Cloaked in an aura of formidability acquired from their back-to-back wins in Nagpur and Delhi, the Indian team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be gunning for a treble of triumphs to stretch their lead against Australia in the fourth one-dayer here on Monday.

The first three matches of the series have been sort of a statement by Dhoni's men -- that they are ready to take over as the top ODI side of the world and incumbent Australia, laid low by spate of injuries, does not look in a position to halt their rampaging hosts.

So far, India have displayed the consistency that is the hallmark of every great team and bouncing back after losing the series opener speaks volume of their resilience.
 
And in the last two matches, the manner -- and not merely the margin -- of their victories suggest here is a team which can win from all positions.

In the Vadodara run-feast, India nearly completed a fairytale chase. The gap between the cup and lip was eventually bridged in Nagpur where they buried their opponents under a run-mountain and the Australians have not recovered from the shellacking yet.

The comprehensive win in Nagpur was followed by a clinical victory in Delhi and the six-wicket win on a low Ferozeshah Kotla track would do a world of good to India's booming confidence.

Back in the side after a while, Yuvraj Singh proved he is not just another mindless slogger who looks vulnerable against quality spinners on turning tracks. Dhoni, on his part, once again underlined his maturity and also his growing stature as a finisher.

Suddenly it's a pleasant picture-perfect scenario in the pace department with Ashish Nehra continuing to impress, Ishant Sharma returning to rhythm and Praveen Kumar among the wickets.

"Harbhajan is bowling well even though he has not picked that many wickets. But I think he bowled well today and gained lot of confidence. Hopefully he will deliver in the next few matches," Yuvraj said of his teammate.

Fielding is the other area where India have made rapid improvements after their slipshod show in Vadodara. Both ground fielding and catching have been impeccable so far.

The hosts have pulled up their socks in this department so much that the Australians, with a reputation for being a tidy fielding unit, have looked a lousy lot.

The improvement in these two departments notwithstanding, batting remains India's forte. Sachin Tendulkar is just 47 runs away from his 17,000th ODI runs and the batting great would like to finish the formalities here itself when he walks out to bat on Monday.

His opening partner Virender Sehwag is also in good nick even though he has not been able to convert the cameos into match-winning scores. "Viru has given us good starts in the last two games and I'm looking forward to a big century from him," Yuvraj said.

Yuvraj himself is in pristine form, pacing his innings in Delhi with amazing maturity that showed his batting is far from being one-dimensional.

In contrast, the mood in the Australian camp is of exasperation and the outfit looked jaded in absence of a number of front-line players. The visitors had already flown in two last-minute replacements to shore up the side but the absence of Brett Lee has been felt in the last two matches.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting had no qualms admitting that injuries have made life difficult for him and he himself had to open the innings in the absence of regular openers.

Teams

India: They will decide on Sehwag and Gambhir's participation only on Monday morning and have brought in wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik as cover. Virat Kohli, who played in Vadodara but was dropped thereafter, is the other batsman in the squad.

Squad (likely): Virender Sehwag/Dinesh Karthik, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir/Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra.

Australia: Ponting said that Australia fielded the XI they did in Delhi in order to maintain team balance - playing Marsh would mean one less bowler - and they could be unchanged, with the captain opening the innings again.

Squad (likely): Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Adam Voges, Moises Henriques, Graham Manou (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger.

Pitch and conditions
The pitch at the PCA Stadium, like most of those in India, would ordinarily be a win-toss-and-bat surface. However, with the onset of winter, the significant difference between day and night temperatures will result in heavy dew in the evenings. Nathan Hauritz struggled during his spell in Delhi, and Adam Voges bowled only one over because he couldn't grip the ball.

Stats and trivia

• India have won five out of eight ODIs they've played at the PCA Stadium. However, they lost their last two matches there, against Pakistan in 2007, and against Australia in the 2006 Champions Trophy. Australia have played four ODIs in Mohali and won three.
• No Indian batsman has scored a hundred in an ODI in Mohali. Sachin Tendulkar's 99 against Pakistan in 2007 is the highest. Tendulkar is the highest scorer at the venue, with 241 runs at an average of 60.25.
• Harbhajan Singh, another local lad, has taken seven wickets at 24.71 apiece in four matches in Mohali. He has an economy-rate of 4.91 there.

Match facts
Monday, November 2, 2009 (day/night)
Start time: 14:30 local, 09:00 GMT

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