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| Time for India to shine | | | MOHALI (PUNJAB), OCT 28
With the spectre of an early exit from the Champions Trophy looming large, India's under-performing cricketers will need a huge spark of inspiration when they take on world champions Australia in a do-or-die clash here tomorrow.
Plagued by a collective batting slump, the Indians have been a pale shadow of themselves in the high-profile tournament and have no option but to set their house in order to be able to conquer the mighty Australians and secure a place in the semi-finals.
The three-time world champions clearly have a distinct edge over the struggling hosts and captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell will literally be burning the midnight oil to think of a strategy to keep themselves afloat in the tournament which has largely been a nightmare for the batsmen.
With most matches turning out to be low-scoring affairs, the team which shows better batting skill and application could hold the key in what promises to be a high-voltage tussle under lights.
Batting had been India's strength for long but the repeated failures of the established batsmen has now taken alarming proportions. The star-studded batting line-up has not really fired which has put enormous pressure on the bowlers who have also not looked too menacing.
Dravid and Chappell must have done some tough talking after their heart-breaking defeat to the West Indies on Thursday but whether it would inspire the players to put up a better display remains to be seen.
The composition of the team and the batting order, most notably the promotion of Irfan Pathan to the number three slot, has drawn flak from some former cricketers and it would be interesting to see whether the Indians adopt a different gameplan on the morrow.
Pathan, whose bowling form has been woeful for quite some time, has played in both the matches so far after being dropped from the team for the DLF Cup games in Kuala Kumpur.
The young Baroda speedster did a good job in the opening match against England but was erratic against the Caribbeans which will be another cause of worry for the hosts.
Dravid has always backed the left-arm paceman who undoubtedly has a lot of potential but needs to regain his confidence.
"Irfan was doing a good job (against West Indies), though in patches. We have to be a bit patient with him and we need to give him some more time", Dravid said.
Dravid is fully aware that his team cannot afford to make mistakes.
"We have no choice but to win the game. We need to get runs, specially on slow wickets where we need to adapt quickly and deliver," Dravid said.
"As a batting unit, we could have done better in the previous matches. We have to learn from our mistakes and keep improving", he said.
The Indian think tank may toy with the idea of strengthening the batting as the Mohali track was expected to help the seamers quite a bit.
In that case, Dinesh Mongia could get a look-in since his left-arm spin could come handy as well.
India will miss the services of Ajit Agarkar who has been ruled out of the tournament because of an injury. S Sreesanth has been called in as a substitute but whether the Kerala speedster gets a chance to play remains to be seen.
The woeful form of Virender Sehwag has become a major problem for India as a good start is essential. Since a couple of wickets fall early, the home team has never been able to take advantage of the powerplays.
Sachin Tendulkar is the only batsman who has been in fine nick but has not been able to capitalise on the starts in the two games. Much will depend on the batting genius tomorrow.
In the bowling department, Harbhajan Singh has been the most impressive while Munaf Patel has shown sparks of brilliance but lacks the desired consistency.
The Australians, who have never won the tournament, also have their share of problems with the batting department failing to live upto expectations.
Captain Ricky Ponting has not troubled t he scorers much and will be keen to get a big knock against the Indians who have been at the receiving end of his assaults on a number of ocassions.
Michael Hussey has been in good form of late while the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke are capable of tearing any bowling attack to shreds on their day.
Among their bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee will be the two who could prove to be a handful for the Indians who are not very comfortable with the short pitched stuff.
The dew could also play a big role in deciding the outcome of the match as the team fielding second may not relish the prospect of bowling with a wet ball.
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