Indians battle for survival

India is now routinely humiliated by a Pakistani side that thrives on some India-specific elixir.

Yet, in purely cricketing terms this is India8217;s best bet to stick one in into the familiar rival. Every one of their top order batsmen, save Azharuddin, is in form. None of the Pakistanis, save perhaps Inzamam, are.

The pressure is also greater on Pakistan to win. For India, it is a straightforward equation 8212; win and they stay here. Lose and theygo home. If they go home, they will be boos and catcalls, but at least no will kidnap their kith and kin and hold them to ransom. The Pakistanis, if they lose, may not have a home to go back to.

But Pakistan has both the spirit and the temper to yet again flame India. They may have lost to South Africa on Saturday, but you can put that down to a momentary lapse of concentration and composure. Make no mistake, they have not looked second best to anyone in this competition.

There is a very simple reason why Pakistan has progressed so handsomely and India has struggled. All round strength. The Pakistani top order has been a figment of imagination. So too the Indian bottom order. One facet of the World Cup which has stood out is that teams which have resilient bottom half 8212; like Pakistan and South Africa 8212; have survived to win games. Teams which haven8217;t 8212; Lanka, West Indies, England, and now India 8212; are being snuffed out.

This is because the ball jags about in the early part of the innings and 100-5 atthe halfway mark is par for the course. Then the wicket eases out and it is the bottom half which has to salvage the situation. If you compare the efforts of Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood and even Saqlain Mushtaq to that of Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, you get the idea. This was the same bunch which could not put together 20 runs needed to win the Madras Test. In two games, Pakistan walloped 100 plus in the last 10 overs. Even against South Africa they managed 56 in the last five.

India8217;s last five batsmen are an embarrassment. There is a notion perhaps that a bowler8217;s primary duty is take wickets and the batsmen have to score the runs. South Africa8217;s Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Shaun Pollock, not to speak of Cronje himself, defy such antiquated thinking.

Even if India went by that theory, it is instructive to note that while four Indians figure in the list of top ten runmakers in the World Cup, there isn8217;t a single bowler in the top ten. Bowlers havefailed not just as batsmen, but as bowlers too. Any side going into a game thinking Saurav Ganguly and Robin Singh are part time bowlers who are going to turn their arm over aren8217;t going to get very far. They should believe they are frontline bowlers on par with Azhar Mahmood and Abdul Razzaq and not just runs but also wickets are expected of them.

While on Ganguly, the southpaw has recovered sufficiently from an injury scare 8212; a twisted knee during warm-up yesterday 8212; to play tomorrow. But a constant drizzle today denied both teams a stint at the nets.

Pakistan have greater worries. Following the game against South Africa, Akram8217;s blood sugar dropped dramatically, compounded by a flu he was fighting the previous day. But Akram will play tomorrow. Even if he has to come out on a stretcher. How well he will perform is another matter.