St Lucia pitch curator has an advice about team selection for India and Australia ahead of high-voltage Super 8 encounter

Afghanistan's win over Australia has spiced up the last day of Group 1 Super 8 encounters in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. After playing on a surface where Australian batters struggled, the Mitchell Marsh-led side returns to St Lucia where they had chased down the target of 181 against Scotland. Ahead of the must-win game for Australia, St Lucia pitch curator has an advice for team management of both sides. The curator feels that having an extra pacer in the lineup is the right call to make. 
 

"It gets drier in a day game when the sun is out, it would be a good game tomorrow. Here we don't get much spin. We get nice bounce but not a lot of spin on this black soil pitch. I would play an extra pacer. The surface is more suited to the pacers and has consistent pace and bounce. Bowlers will need to bowl well else they get punished," a member of the groundstaff told PTI.
 

Possible changes in playing XI

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma replaced Mohammed Siraj with left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav for group stages. On the other hand, Marsh included left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in place of Mitchell Starc for the match against Afghanistan. Starc is likely to walk back into the playing XI. It will be interesting to see if Rohit makes the change or sticks with Kuldeep. 

ALSO READ: How can Australia, Afghanistan eliminate India from T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final race?
 

High-scoring clash in St Lucia

It is expected to be a high-scoring encounter between the two sides. The curator feels that England batted poorly when they failed to chase down the 164-run target set by South Africa. 
 

"The pitch is nice and hard, should stay the same throughout in a day game. Whichever team bats should score 180 to 200. I prefer to bat and put runs on the board. England batted poorly. The pitch got a bit tricky and the ball was not coming on," said another member of the groundstaff at the Daren Sammy Stadium.
 

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