Bangalore, November 1 Fans of cricket are hoping for an advance Diwali gift by way of India clinching the One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia by winning the seventh and concluding fixture here Saturday.
The seven-match series between the top two ODI teams is evenly poised at 2-2 with two games at Ranchi and Cuttack washed out.
It is assuming that the last match could be another high-scoring affair with India, enjoying the advantages of playing at home and with a clutch of talented young batsmen, starting favourites.
The remaining 4 cricket matches saw totals in excess of 300 that accurately reflect the dominance of bat over ball with the bowlers, courtesy the new fielding restrictions and flat pitches, being taken to the cleaners.
The reason behind this is that bowlers have taken only 52 wickets in nine completed innings shows the pasting they have received with a total of 2,889 runs being scored.
so bowling has been a big chink in the Indian armour, so has been the middle-order where neither Suresh Raina nor Yuvraj Singh has fired, scoring just 72 and seven, respectively from five visits to the crease.
The Aussie batting is not far behind with Dhoni’s counterpart George Bailey whose roots can be traced to Sri Lanka, and in his debut series as the captain, enjoying a great series with knocks of 85, 92 not out, 43, 98 and 156 while the likes of openers Aaron Finch and Phil Hughes and all-rounder Shane Watson have chipped in at various times.
The Aussies too have suffered as much, though Mitchell Johnson, with seven wickets in the bag, has always threatened with his pace in excess of 150kmph and bounce.
It is hoping that Both teams would give the pitch a closer look than usual, for the bowling combination could well hold the key to the outcome.
