As weather warms, India8217;s deeds will improve

India, who have problems about a fifth bowler, will not carry any points forward as they have lost both to Zimbabwe and South Africa. The bright spot is that, as the weather warms, their performance will improve.

Their batting is as good as any side, and Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly are in particularly good form. Dravid has a superb technique ideally suited for English conditions. Tendulkar is still to fire but you can sense that a good performance is just around the corner againstthe better sides. He may be saving himself for the finals, or at least let8217;s hope so. The balance of the Indian team is cause for concern with the captain and coach trying to squeeze all six batsmen in a juggling act. They don8217;t need to, it8217;s a waste as their first five are in good touch.

Who should be dropped then, well, on current form it would have to be skipper Azharuddin.

In the Super Six, if India were to select five batsmen it would give them an extra option on the slow bowling front, something that South Africa in particular are not good at facing, Cronje apart. Nikhil Chopra is that option but one feels that India are reluctant to make any major changes so the problem will continue. Robin Singh is effective against lesser opposition, but against the best, he has proved ineffective and expensive.

Group B has been Pakistan all the way. They seem to be in control and apart from a couple of errors, have also improved on the field. If you were to pick two areas of concern for Pakistan, they areage-old, running between the wickets and fielding. Inzamam has been run out 29 times in one-dayers, amazing for a player of that quality and experience. He has got to be careful since those errors will prove fatal against Jonty Rhodes.

Pakistan8217;s ground fielding standards are much improved, but catches under pressure is something that ususally lets them down. The Pakistan attack is pure quality, they have been impressive in all the matches and their batting is improving too. My only query is how the batting will hold up in a run chase under pressure 8212; a scenario not yet enacted.

Zimbabwe have been a breath of fresh air with a passion8217; approach to their cricket. They work tremendously hard with limited playing resources, but have a committed team who make the most of all their opportunities. Against South Africa, they were just too good in all departments. Luck does play a part and Zimbabwe had their share, but you have to admire their discipline and commitment. They will always be hard to beat and loomas the dark horse for the semis.

Wides have been a bugbear, but the adrenalin will be flowing, and once a team is on a roll, they are hard to stop. The South Afria victory will be a real boost to their confidence.

Australia must be somewhat worried, though they have managed to qualify as the second team from Group B. But Steve Waugh has yet to stamp his authority, both as a batsman and as a captain, on the tournament. I have a hunch that qualification might just be the catalyst for a better performance from them. They will be hard to beat once they get a sniff of victory. But, at present, one senses that the strong team ethic and leadership under Taylor has, for the moment gone awry.

Success in the Super Sixes will need these qualities since so much is at stake and it will be time for the teams to deliver under real pressure.