English
Kolkata, May 13: Former Australia captain has picked India and Australia as two teams who will be playing in the finals of the Champions Trophy.
Clarke has also predicted that it will be Australia who will win the title by one run.
“I am backing India and Australia to play the final and hope Australia win by one run,” Clarke told on the sidelines of an event here.
The 2015 World Cup winning captain feels the Aussie pacers will play a key role in England, where conditions favours fast bowling.
“The actual conditions in the UK are going to play a big part. So I think about the Australian team for example, if there is swing and seam in the pitch I think the Australian fast bowlers are going to be really tough to face.
“That will hold Australia in good stead. (Mitchell) Starc, (James) Pattinson, (Josh) Hazlewood, (Pat) Cummins those four fast bowlers bowl 140-150kmh so if there is any swing or seam they will be tough to face.
“As will the likes of South Africa who have got good fast bowlers,” Clarke said.
However, in contitions favourable for spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will create lot of problems for the batsmen.
“If it’s hot and the pitch spins, you think of no better exponents of that then Ashwin and Jadeja. So I think that will play into India’s favour.
“He (Jadeja) is as good a spinner as anybody in the world. India have got two very very good frontline spinners and if conditions turn in the UK those two spinners can do a lot of damage to all the teams,” Clarke who has played 115 Tests and 245 ODIs for Australia, said.
When asked, if the Indian batsmen struggling in the ongoing IPL bounce back to form. Clarke said the format is different for any struggling batsman to find form after spending time at the crease.
“It’s a different format One day cricket to T20. There are similarities but with regards to batting you got to give yourself a chance to get into your innings. I don’t think the Indian batsmen will be too concerned whether they have performed during the IPL or not.
“They will have enough time to be ready for the tournament. They will be confident. They won the Champions Trophy last time and have had success in the shorter format in the UK. So they will be confident they can give their best,” he said.
The former Australia captain thinks the Indian squad is a balanced one and more importantly a good belend of youth and experience.
“They have got a good mix of youth and experience. I think that’s really important in major tournaments.”
The defending champions India start their campaign in Champions Trophy on June 4 against arch-rivals Pakistan in Group B.
(With IANS inputs)
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