Good news from Colombo, but Cape Town is far away

India now have a series against the West Indies to experiment further with the Mongia/Sehwag partnership. On the evidence of the two finals, where India didn’t get a chance to establish a new top-order identity, the idea to use Sachin Tendulkar at three as a counter to Muttiah Muralitharan’s spin is an interesting ploy.

It would be interesting to hear just whose idea it is, as Saurav Ganguly’s readjusted role at four and Rahul Dravid coming in at five does create the depth. The problem here is that while such changes may suit the side in sub-continental conditions, South Africa’s bouncier surfaces prompt a rethink. Not the sort that has Ganguly and Tendulkar opening the innings.

One of Ganguly’s complaints at the post-match media briefing was the penchant of some writers to give some players star treatment and not look at the Indian side as a whole. Well, the way Tendulkar fielded and bowled on Sunday indicates that that cutting aphorism which suggests he cannot do either particularly well is not too wide of the mark.

No wonder he celebrated exuberantly the caught and bowled effort to dismiss Mahela Jayawardene for 13: two bungled catches probably didn’t sit too well on his mind. All this won’t go down too well with those fans of his in Mumbai, but that’s the margin levels in limited-overs games for you; there isn’t much between success and failure.

Sehwag was not so much the ‘find’ of the tournament but as a player establishing yet again his ODI credentials. In South Africa he should win more games as a batsman than as a bowler, where he might not get too much work.

A check of the World Cup inventory for 2003 shows that while India play five of their preliminary round games in South Africa, three of the matches are at venues where the bouncy surface could provide a problem. And two of the games — against Australia and Pakistan — are at Centurion, normally a ground where the ball comes on to the bat and steady line and length bowling, as well as inducing the ball to swing, are so important.

While the two Centurion games are crucial to India’s path to the Super Six, the match against England in Durban is equally hard. And, to reach the semi-finals needs a carefully balanced unit.

An examination of Sri Lanka’s Pool B matches does create concern over their handling of conditions as varied as Bloemfontein, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town and Durban. Though Sanath Jayasuriya suggests there is no need for a all-rounder at seven in the order, this is seen as the weak link in the chain of batting command. And, if not addressed before the World Cup, all the preparation will have gone to waste.