By Glenn McGrath
The Indians will be disappointed that they did not make it to the last four on their home turf. I guess their elimination was because the wickets we have been playing on have negated the home advantage enjoyed by them as well as the other subcontinent teams, and in fact have suited teams like Australia and South Africa more.
It was great to take India on in front of a packed house at Mohali on Sunday. A contest with Sachin Tendulkar is something I always look forward to, and that was one of the reasons I opened the bowling in this game. Also, the bounce and carry we had seen during the Pakistan-South Africa game seemed suited to my kind of bowling.
Sachin looked a little subdued, and he seemed further bogged down by the way Virender Sehwag was scoring freely at the other end. At one point, he even started stepping out against me - his attempt, as he explained, at trying to put me off my line. It did not quite work out for him that afternoon, and I was really happy with my opening spell since I gave away only 12 runs, and also got the wicket I was targeting.
Seeing the pitch in the morning we knew that it would be easier to bat on than the other tracks that had been used in Mohali. The grass was shaved and the wicket looked drier. It was a good batting wicket, and one that we knew would not deteriorate as the game progressed.
India had their chances and could have put up a bigger total. A score of around 275 was a possibility when Rahul Dravid and Sehwag were at the crease. Fortunately, Brett Lee came back to land two crucial blows, and even though Mahendra Singh Dhoni did get them to 250, there were no major fireworks or big hitting at the end, thanks to some really fine bowling. When I returned to play for Australia after a fairly long break, my aim was to improve with every game. I am really pleased to see that that is exactly what is happening. It was a difficult wicket to contain the free-hitting Indian batsmen, and I am proud of my effort in this virtual quarterfinal.
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We are now just two games away from the trophy that has always eluded our grasp, and the good news is that we are improving with every game. However, we know that New Zealand always play well when they come up against us, and they are in great form too. They have an attacking lower order, and the team has been building their innings around Stephen Fleming in this tournament. I have always enjoyed bowling to Stephen in the past, and we know that he will be a crucial wicket in this game.
I can understand that the Indian fans will be disappointed that their team is not part of the semi-final line-up. However, I also know that the Indians really love their cricket, and hopefully we will see large, enthusiastic crowds for the three most important games of this tournament.
Gameplan
