— Photo: S. Subramanium

EYEING THE CUP: While Lara's men are through to the final, Ponting and Dravid would be hoping that their respective sides would make it to Sunday's title clash.

Kuala Lumpur: Ricky Ponting almost upset the satin-topped table creaking under the weight of the DLF Cup during the trophy unveiling on Thursday morning. While it wasn't quite a you've-just-dropped-the-World-Cup-mate moment, there was perhaps a glint in Rahul Dravid's eye.

Friday's encounter between India and Australia is a virtual semifinal; Ponting's men hold a slight edge in that a tie or an abandonment will see them through.

``Every time you put on the green and gold, you should be able to give your best,'' said Ponting.

``I wasn't surprised by Wednesday's result, India had everything to play for and the West Indies had nothing to play for. Friday happens to be a really big game for both teams and the sides should have their skills at a better level than at the start of the tournament.''

Varied attack

India's skills in the bowling department look better than at the start of the tournament. The move to drop Irfan Pathan ensured the bowling attack had a certain menace to it. The attack also has variety: the accuracy and cut of Munaf Patel, the speed and swing of S. Sreesanth, the lefty angle of R.P. Singh, the skid of Ajit Agarkar, and the turn and bounce of Harbhajan Singh.

Will Dravid play five bowlers though? ``We'll have to judge it. We did get the result, but (we are) not very happy with the 160 score. We'll have to look at all variations and combinations depending on the wicket,'' said the Indian captain. ``Ideally I'd love to play five bowlers, but that's when your batsmen have had a lot of batting and are coming into the tournament in good form.''

Role of spinners

Last time around, Harbhajan and Virender Sehwag did a strangle job in the middle overs to restrict Australia to 244. That Michael Clarke, who plays spin better than any other in his side, will sit Friday's game out should help. Also missing out for Australia are Shane Watson, who's had success with both bat and ball here, Nathan Bracken, and Dan Cullen: the teams for the league matches were picked ahead of the tournament, and Australia isn't deviating from its stated objective of experimentation.

India's batsmen — barring Sachin Tendulkar — have struggled at the Kinrara Oval, and in Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, they will face their sternest examination of the tournament yet.

``I think it is hard work starting on that wicket, particularly with the new ball when it is up and down,'' said Ponting. ``But once you get set in you can accelerate as we have seen some batsmen get on and make big scores. It's about 15 or 20 balls you have to get through and make adjustments.''

Area of concern

``The Indians will worry about their batting but we could be worried about it as well. We know they are all good players, a lot of them exceptional one-day players. If we can put them under pressure for long periods of time, then I think everything should be coming our way,'' said Ponting.

In India's favour, however, is the fact that Australia has little to fall back on for the remaining 30 overs. Stuart `none for 87' Clark may stage the most dramatic comeback of all time, but he along with Brad Hogg and Andrew Symonds will traumatise few dreams.

Dravid struck a note of caution: ``You'll have to play all of them well, not concentrate on Lee or McGrath. It showed yesterday (on Wednesday) with (Dwayne) Smith, who you wouldn't have expected as someone to take top-order wickets.

"Anyone who bowls in the right areas will be tough to get off.''

Importance of toss

How crucial is the toss? ``We won the toss and batted first in every game,'' said Ponting. ``A lot of teams actually batting second have won, so we will look at those stats and work out if such results are because of the way power play situations are in the game now. We would look at different trends.''

For India, Yuvraj Singh and Agarkar were ``a little under the weather'' said Dravid, who added both were expected to be fit for Friday.

India's win on Wednesday — in its first full game of a rain-plagued season — showcased the resilience that marked a remarkable last season when it won 21 of 30 games. A win on Friday may just be a harbinger of another such.

The teams: India (from): Rahul Dravid (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, R.P. Singh, S.Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Irfan Pathan and Dinesh Mongia.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt.), Simon Katich, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark and Brad Hogg.

Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Mark Benson (England).

Third umpire: Tony Hill (New Zealand).

Match Referee: Chris Broad (England).

Hours of play (IST): 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., 3.15 p.m. till close.

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