DUBAI // Yuvraj Singh believes India's spinners will hold the trump cards when the defending champions meet co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Thursday.
The match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), which is traditionally a spin-friendly venue, and Yuvraj, who was the star of India’s triumph at the 2011 World Cup, says that will give MS Dhoni’s men an advantage.
“I think Australia has been playing very well, but the match is at the SCG,” said Singh, who turned out for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) team at the Emirates Twenty20 tournament yesterday. “I feel a bit of turn can be a huge advantage for India. So let’s see how the wicket plays.
“India have played really well in the conditions out there. They have got better with every game, and the best part is that everybody is performing. If they can do it for two more games, I’m sure they can go all the way.”
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has 12 wickets in seven matches, while Ravindra Jadeja has chipped in with nine wickets.
The revelation, though, has been the pace bowlers, especially Mohammed Shami, who is second on the wicket-taker’s list with 17 from six matches.
He has been supported by Umesh Yadav (14 wickets) and Mohit Sharma (11), and their collective effort has allowed India to bowl out their opponents in all their seven matches.
“Shami has been bowling really well,” Yuvraj said. “I’m really impressed with the way he has been bowling. Hopefully, these guys can do the job in the semi-finals as well.”
Yuvraj and the MCC, however, could not get the job done in their semi-final against the three-time defending champions Sussex, losing by 18 runs.
Yorkshire, the county champions, beat Lancashire in the other semi-final before later dethroning Sussex with an emphatic all-round performance.
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