Pakistan vs Australia Champions Trophy
A Pakistan win, on the other hand, would throw the race for the semis wide open. Monday's wash-out in Centurion may have allowed India to avoid a mountainous run-chase against Australia, but it also placed them in the precarious position of having to rely on other results to advance to the next round. A resounding Pakistan victory over Australia will keep alive the hopes of MS Dhoni's men, but only if India can inflict a heavy defeat on the West Indians at the Wanderers the same day.
Weighing heavily on the Indians' minds will be Australia's recent 3-2 victory over Pakistan in an attritional one-day series played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. On that occasion, the superior discipline of the Australians proved too much for an out-of-practice Pakistan side although, as punters the world over are aware, form guides are seldom of use when trying to assess Younis Khan's team. That logic is all the more applicable with Pakistan likely to rest a number of first-choice players ahead of the semi-finals, clearing the way for Mohammad Asif to make his return to international cricket after a 19-month absence.
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