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India should be all charged up

Anil Kumble

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

GEARING UP: Suresh Raina may play against Australia in the quarterfinal in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

When this World Cup is done, history might view this as the event that ended the career of one of the world's great players, also one of its finest captains.

No one would know this better than Ricky Ponting, as he goes into the match-that-might-change-it-all against India at Motera on Thursday. If there's been one underlying topic of discussion at this Cup, it's been about how Ponting seems to have lost focus on both his captaincy and his batting.

Ponting's future

People have already started talking about what's going to happen to him post World Cup and there is no way that Ponting, an intelligent man, is unaware of all the talk around him. I think he'd be under tremendous pressure, the kind he's never been under through a long and exceptionally successful career, which is probably why he'd also be finding it a difficult situation to cope with.

Yet, despite the statistics and records in that career, he now has no choice but to prove his captaincy and himself as a batsman yet again. This is where India's great advantage lies. If it gets him out cheaply in case Australia bats first, it'd have him under even more pressure for the rest of the game.

It's absolutely vital to keep reminding the opposition about the chinks in its armour through your body language. India has done really well against Australia in the recent past and it needs to reinforce that view in this all-important quarterfinal.

It has to be buzzing from the first ball. India, in the field so far, has gone through some steep highs and lows. There have been times when it looked focused and attacked every ball (like after a wicket has fallen) but more often than not, it looked lethargic and lacked intensity. It will have to be up and about every ball.

Although Australia hasn't looked particularly impressive, it is in the quarterfinals. It has won the last three World Cups and it came into the tournament as the World No. 1 team.

Redemption song

It has players such as Shane Watson who are capable of turning a game on its head and as a team it can never be underestimated. And yes, Ponting will be looking for redemption — how better to get it than against India, the favourite of both the crowds and the bookmakers.

But Australia will be heavily dependent on its fast bowlers. Logically, it'll be looking at sending down a barrage of short-pitched deliveries into the Indian batsmen's ribs. If the Indian openers can ward off that threat and get off to a good start then Australia is in trouble.

If you're 60 for no loss against Australia, it doesn't have a second line of defence. If you are 30 for three, then it'll be all over you.

As for India, I think if the wicket takes a bit of spin, it has a great advantage and I'd go with a 2-2 combine and play Zaheer, Munaf, Harbhajan and Ashwin.

With Sehwag back, Pathan or Raina should go out and while I'd stick with Pathan and avoid experimentation, it's a possibility that Dhoni goes with Raina.

Whatever the final XI, India should be all charged up. If all the world's a stage this is where the arc-lights shine brightest. The Cup awaits. — Hawkeye Communications

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