After his heroics against West Indies, Mitchell Starc sets eyes on India clash

Come June 9 and former champions India will take on holders Australia at The Oval in the ongoing ICC World Cup. These two teams are known for their age-old rivalry and have played each other till recently. While India beat the Kangaroos in a Test and ODI series in their den, Aaron Finch’s men avenged the losses in a T20I and ODI series in India in February-March. The ODI series was fiercely fought as Australia came back to win the series 3-2 after trailing 0-2.

Both teams have so far remained unbeaten in the World Cup and will look to continue with the momentum. Australia have beaten Afghanistan and the West Indies in their two outings while Virat Kohli’s men thrashed South Africa in their opener. However, the Aussies will be bolstered after their hard-earned win over the Caribbeans and Mitchell Starc who picked the tournament’s first fifer in the game, has already set his eyes on the India clash.

Starc, who came under criticism during the Test series versus India in December-January, is suddenly their key man but he is not ready to take India lightly. He said the Kangaroos first need to access the conditions before coming up with plans for Kohli’s men.

“They’ve got depth in their batting, they’re strong throughout. Virat is obviously one of their key batsmen. Rohit scored a hundred, as well, so we’ll have a chat about them as a bowling group, but at the same time we’ve got to remember what we can control, and that’s – I guess that’s our strengths and where we want to bowl to the conditions, as well,” Starc was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“Look, it’s different conditions again. We’re playing at The Oval. I guess taking a little bit out of how they played against South Africa yesterday; they played pretty well. I didn’t see too much of their batting. I watched their bowling.”

Starc will hope to do a McGrath of 1999

The last two meetings between India and Australia have taken place in the knock-outs. While Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men sent Ricky Ponting’s side crashing out of the tournament in the quarter-final of 2011, Michael Clarke’s Australia crushed Dhoni’s men by 95 runs in the semi-final of the 2015 edition. On either occasion, the two teams lost their crowns to the other.

The last time India played Australia in a World Cup game in England was in 1999 when Mohammad Azharuddin’s side lost to Steve Waugh’s men by 77 runs after Glenn McGrath’s devastating opening spell at the same Oval. Starc will be hoping to produce something similar.