World T20: India Shootout is Elementary for Australia, Says Shane Watson
Shane Watson said Australia will have to be at their best during the crucial World T20 clash against India in Mohali. The winner of the game will join New Zealand in the semi-finals.
Highlights
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Both India and Australia have won two games and lost one.
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Shane Watson will retire after the World T20.
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The winner of the match will make the cut to semis.
It will be a virtual quarterfinal when his team take on hosts India in a potential World Twenty20 humdinger on Sunday and retiring Australian all-rounder Shane Watson likes the simplicity of the situation. (World T20: Virat Kohli Says He Can Perform Even Without Provocations Against Australia)
A red-hot New Zealand have stormed into the last four with four wins from four matches, leaving India and Australia vying for the second semi-final slot from Group Two.
Both suffered their only defeats against the rampaging Kiwis and are level on points which means it would be a straight-forward situation with the winners of Sunday's match advancing to the business end of the tournament.
"I've played in games where the game is really based on the run rate and I've had some bad experiences with that," Watson, who will quit international cricket after the tournament, told reporters. (India vs Australia, World T20: Momentum With Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Men in Blue)
"It's good that it's basically come down to us winning. It's a simple equation. We know we are going to have to be at our absolute best against India." (World T20: India Face Fierce Rivals Australia in Battle For Semi-final Spot)
Every do-or-die match brings its own tension and the 34-year-old has seen enough in his 14-year-old international career to learn the virtue of calmness.
"It certainly gets you up for the game. Knockout games certainly you've got to be just as calm as you possibly can. I suppose that's what I've learnt over my whole career," Watson said.  (World T20: Beating India Will be the Ultimate Challenge, Says Shane Watson)
"If you can stay calm and hold your nerve as long as you possibly can -- normally there is a little bit of chaos in a knockout game -- you've just got to try and not build it up any more than it is even though it's a big game."
Sunday's contest could well be his last in an Australian shirt.
"From my personal perspective to have the opportunity to play in what is hopefully not but what could be my last game...this is I suppose as big a dream as you could imagine, playing India at home," Watson said.
"It's certainly going to be a huge game and I'm going to be really excited for it."