It’s 20-20 champs versus 50-50 champions

Oct 20: It will be a battle between equals, when formidable Australians will fight it out in vengeance against newly crowned Twenty20 World champions India, at the Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Brabourne stadium later in the evening in Mumbai.

The Aussies will come out all cylinders firing after their semifinal loss at the hands of Indians in the Twenty20 World championship. They have been in tremendous form during the recently concluded One-day series and their batting and bowling department is already going great guns.

They have surely an upper hand in terms of psychological edge but it’s a different format and ball game as everyone says that it’s a new day and a new game. The match will be a whole night affair as it has a 7 p.m. start, so there will be no benefit or disadvantage whatsoever for sides playing first or last. It’s just the application and the determination of both the sides to pull out a victory.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting says his players are eager to test themselves with no revenge in mind against the World Twenty20 champions but his team certainly want to end the tour of India on a winning note in Mumbai on Saturday.

"We are pretty excited actually and looking forward to the match against a team which won the World Cup a few weeks ago," Ponting said.

Is it difficult to adjust into the new format of the game Ponting said: "I am not sure what is more difficult, going into a longer-format of the game from Twenty20 or the other way round. But we do prepare slightly differently for this form of the game.

The chances of Matthew Hayden playing the game is still fifty-fifty but Ponting assured his return. He also acknowledged Brad Hogg's impact in the series, but said his selection in the side is not sure.

On the other hand the Indians are keen to prove that their world triumph was not a fluke. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting did not play the Twenty20 World Cup semi-final, which they lost to India.

In-form left-arm spinner Murali Kartik has been was rewarded for his good showing and brought into the Indian side in place of injured leg-spinner Piyush Chawla’s. Kartik.

Opener Virender Sehwag missed the practice, as he was in Delhi with his newly born son and wife Aarti. Sehwag reached Mumbai late on Friday evening and will be available for the match. Sehwag is also celebrating his 29 th birthday on Saturday and will come out hard on the opponents to stage his comeback in the national side.

The excitement is slowly building up. The stadium has been given a fresh coat of paint, and it will be a full house show as all the tickets have already been sold out.

“Sixteen professional dancers have been roped in as cheerleaders to provide entertainment. The dancers will be seen all round the ground at six different platforms. DJ Sanjeev Vyas will be in charge of the music,” said a spokesman.

“Twenty20 format is an entertainment package. It gives the cricket fans a choice — either go for a movie or enjoy a three-hour game,” he added.

TEAMS

India (from): MS Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Ajit Agarkar, Joginder Sharma, Yousuf Pathan and Murali Kartik.

Australia (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden, Brad Haddin, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds.

Umpires: Suresh Shastri and Amish Saheba, TV: GA Pratapkumar

Match Referee: Chris Broad

TIME: 7 P.M.