Updated at: 1100 PST, Saturday, March 19, 2011
COLOMBO: Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes the World Cup effectively starts for his four-time champions on Saturday in their Group A clash with Pakistan.Today's match would decide the champion of the Group A. Australia currently at second after Sri Lanka have 9 points after playing five matches and if win today would surpass the Lankans. And if Pakistan beat Australia they would top the group."As a team, we really do feel the tournament is kicking off now," Ponting told reporters in a pre-match news conference on Friday for a game which may well decide who wins the group.Australia, the only unbeaten team in this World Cup, have beaten Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Kenya and Canada by big margins.Their game against co-hosts Sri Lanka was washed away due to heavy rains, ending the much-anticipated game in a 'no result'.The skipper said his team were in good shape to play Pakistan who pulled off a surprise win over Sri Lanka before falling to New Zealand."We have trained exceptionally hard and very, very well," Ponting said.It is still not clear whether Ponting's men will face Pakistan's fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who announced his retirement following the World Cup on Thursday, after he was dropped for their last match against Zimbabwe on Monday."I have always said that he is the fastest bowler I have ever faced in international cricket," Ponting said of the 'Rawalpindi Express'. "With the new ball he still has good pace."Facts and figures relating to the Group A World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan (0900 GMT) at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Saturday.Head-to-head record:Australia lead 52-29 (Tied: 1; NR: 3)In the World Cups: Australia lead 4-3In the sub-continent: Australia lead 7-5* The last time they played in the World Cup was in Johannesburg in 2003 when Australia cruised home by 82 runs.* Whoever wins Saturday's match will finish top of Group A.* Australia (WW, NR, WW) will look to extend their 34-match unbeaten run in the World Cup.* While Australia are the only undefeated side left in the World Cup, they have looked far from invincible. They notched up a 91-run win against Zimbabwe, allowed second-tier side Kenya to rack up 264-6 before beating them by 60 runs and struggled to tame the inexperienced Canadian batting line-up before securing a seven-wicket triumph. * Pakistan (WLWWW) supporters are perennially unsure of which side will turn up. They have been brilliant against Kenya (205 run win), Sri Lanka (11 run win) and Zimbabwe (seven-wicket win) but they were quite shoddy against Canada (46 run win) and were humiliated by New Zealand in a 110-run loss.* The tie is likely to be a clash between the Australian batting -- Shane Watson (256 runs), Brad Haddin (237 runs) and Michael Clarke (191 runs) -- and the sharp bowling of the tournament's leading wicket-taker Shahid Afridi (16 wickets) and Umar Gul (10 wickets).* The Australian bowling led by the pace trio of Shaun Tait (10 wickets), Mitchell Johnson (nine wickets) and Brett Lee (eight wickets) might be considered somewhat one dimensional in the context of spinning sub-continental conditions. However, the Pakistani batting has not been very convincing either, with only Misbah-ul-haq (192 runs), Umar Akmal (167 runs) and Younus Khan (141 runs) among the runs. (Reuters)
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