Daijiworld Media Network

Perth, Feb 28 : With Shami ruled out, either Bhuvneshwar Kumar will get a game at Perth. Going by India's training session before the game, it looks like that Binny will get the nod as he was involved in a rigorous practice session. That should be the only forced change that India may make despite playing against UAE.

United Arab Emirates have won the toss and have opted to bat

Tauqir: 'I think we were a bit unlucky in the last game. We need to bowl well and field well in this game. We are ready for this game. We will bat first. We would like to put up a total and then defend it. We are playing the same side.'

Dhoni: 'I think we have been putting a lot of effort and it's starting to reflect on our performances. Not disappointed, we have batted first before and this gives us an opportunity to chase. Bhuvi comes in for Shami. He is coming back from injury and he's waiting for this opportunity to come and play.'

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav

United Arab Emirates (Playing XI): Amjad Ali, Andri Berenger, Krishnachandran Karate, Khurram Khan, Swapnil Patil(w), Shaiman Anwar, Rohan Mustafa, Amjad Javed, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Tauqir(c), Manjula Guruge

Pitch Report: 'This is one of the fastest pitches in the world. It's very hard and the fast bowlers will have a big smile on their faces. The ball comes on to the bat, because of its true bounce, so it is good for batting as well. As a batsman, the key word here is if you get through the first 20 balls, you can score runs. India are just starting to show some form. I would be certainly selecting a pure bowler, I wouldn't go for an all-rounder in Stuart Binny. Bat first and get runs on the board.' reckon Sanjay Manjrekar and Tom Moody.

My colleague, Pradeep has this on Krishna Chandran Karate - 'Classmate with Robin Uthappa at school. Classmate with Binny at college and also represented Bangalore University at cricket.'

'For people who saw me playing in my shorts, with a tennis ball, on the streets of my home village of Kollengode, it's going to be a big thing to watch me on TV, playing against India, in a World Cup match, at a ground like the WACA.'

Here he tells Sportskeeda's Dipankar Lahiri about his younger days. 'It's going to be a big moment for people back home,' said the 30-year-old all-rounder, who moved to the Gulf in 2010.

One more Indian connection in the UAE camp. Krishna Chandran Karate hails from a village in Kerala and once was part of a Bangalore club side featuring Stuart Binny. He also is a former team-mate of S Sreesanth as the duo had played together for Kerala.

Here is Swapnil talking to the Indian Express' Sandeep Dwivedi. 'As juniors we have spent much time together. Because of distances in Mumbai, we couldn't hang out together after games but Ajinkya is like a brother. Once I moved out of India, we lost contact. But that day at the Dubai airport, he was returning from India's A tour to South Africa, it was like old times again,' says Patil, eagerly awaiting the moment when he'll gets off the flight at Perth airport. 'I haven't got in touch with Ajinkya yet since landing here but will meet him there and if possible take him out for dinner. Actually, not just him, I also have also been in Mumbai sides that had Rohit Sharma and Dhawal Kulkarni.'

An Indian connection in the UAE camp! UAE's Swapnil Patil was born in Vasai in Mumbai. Swapnil and Ajinkya Rahane were team-mates and were part of the Mumbai Under-14, 16, 19 and 22 middle order. Bigger things were destined for Swapnil but unfortunately the going got tough. He gave up and headed to the Gulf to join a business group that had a cricket team. Job security was there and Swapnil could concentrate on his cricket. Also playing in the UAE league was a far easier proposition.

Mohammad Tauqir - 'Zimbabwe won the game in the 48th over and the Ireland game went up to the last over. We need to cross the line now and we are getting closer to a victory.'
Some quotes for your perusal: Dhawan - 'Just staying calm, working hard and keeping my work ethic strong.'

Weather update: It never rains at Perth! Or does so rarely. No problems with the weather for Saturday's clash. A high of 31 degrees is expected on match day.

Pre-match team news, UAE: UAE will in all probability play the same team that played against Ireland.

Pre-match team news, India: Mohammed Shami was ruled out of Saturday's clash against UAE with a minor knee injury. Shami had an ultrasound guided injection on his problematic knee yesterday. 'Mohammed Shami got mild left-knee problem and had ultrasound guided injection yesterday,' India's media manager, RN Baba told at the pre-match press conference in Perth. 'For his long term management perspective he won't be available for tomorrow match against UAE.'

'If you look at the Zimbabwe game and the following one against Ireland, there was a definite improvement in our overall performance,' he said. 'Zimbabwe won the game in the 48th over and the Ireland game went up to the last over. We need to cross the line now and we are getting closer to a victory.'