Saurav Ganguly and his team were made to sweat and had to call on all theirexperience to come out on top in their World Cup Super Six match against Kenya,and this without any meaningful contribution from Sachin Tendulkar.
That in itself is a positive outcome. The fact that Ganguly himself had tomake the bulk of the runs was the most positive result for him and the team.
It is not often that both sides can say they got something positive out of acricket match, but both India and Kenya will be happy with their match in CapeTown yesterday.
Kenya will have wanted to win the game after having India in early trouble,but Steve Tikolo and his band of merry men once again put on a brave show,though in the end the better team won.
Had some of the more fancied teams shown the same commitment and joy ofcompeting that this enthusiastic bunch has done they might still be in thecompetition.
Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh also got some useful time in the middle andhelped the captain ensure India avoided any embarrassment on their way to thesemi-finals.
As each game goes by, India look the most likely opponent for the Australians,who made reasonably short work of Sri Lanka in the other game played atCenturion. Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting did the heavy work as theymethodically destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack on a beautiful battingwicket.
Sangakkara made a difficult job even more difficult for his bowlers by makinga mess of a stumping and a run out. As if it isn't hard enough to beat theAustralians without offering two of their best an extra innings.
Once again, the depth of the Australian talent pool was on display as theteam effort crushed any hope of the Sri Lankans causing an upset. If anyonebeats the Australians it will seem like an upset because they seem so poised andassured.
Australia has a game plan which they stick to come what may and even if theyget under pressure the collective will is so strong they can extricatethemselves from nearly any situation.
No matter how many runs you might make, they believe they can get one more.No matter how few runs they make they expect to bowl you out for one less.
This was how it seemed against the great West Indian teams under Clive Lloyd.If it wasn't their fast bowlers battering you then their batters wouldintimidate your bowlers.
When asked how best to bowl to the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards,Lloyd, Kallicharan and Rowe, Gary Gilmour replied "with a helmet on".The current bowlers must feel the same about Gilchrist, Hayden and Co.
Add to this their often brilliant fielding and the Australians must seeminvincible to most teams who come up against them.
This aura which the Australians have built up around themselves is oftenenough to intimidate the opposition who tend to worry more about what theAustralian team is doing rather than focusing on what they need to do to putpressure on them.
It will take a tough team to put the Australians out of their mind and workon the process required to beat them rather than worry about the outcome.
A batsman who worries about the outcome cannot watch the ball with theintensity required to play well and the bowler who worries about going aroundthe park is sure to.
The coaching job of all who come up against the Australians is best to focusthe preparation on what their team needs to do rather than spend too much timeon the Australians.
A simple game plan is required. Too much finesse will only serve to confusehis players. This in turn will help the Australians.
Some 'old fashioned cricket' is what is required. Especially when bowling.The objective should be to bowl as 'tight' a line and length as possible withouttoo many frills. If you try to get too fancy you are bound to bowl some badballs. Any variation should be to the pace rather than to line and length.
If a bowling team can bowl with discipline to these simple rules they are morelikely to have success. At least if the Australians have to take risks to scoretheir boundaries the odds must be greater that wickets will be taken.
The other thing is to minimise the errors of extras such as wides and noballs. These are things that are in your control.
So is fielding. A commitment to a full effort for 50 overs is essential. Somegood saves and holding your catches will be a great assistance to the bowlers.
An equally simple batting plan is also required. This can vary slightlydepending on wicket conditions on the day.
Again, it is important to concentrate on the things you can control ratherthan worry about the outcomes.
Have a plan for each bowler and work the plan. Sometimes that meanscontrolled aggression. At other times it may be to take four or five runs anover with minimal risk.
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It is not 'rocket science' but it is necessary if you want to haveconsistent, rather than intermittent, success.
This is what New Zealand did against Australia in Australia last summer andis what is going to be required by anyone who hopes to beat them on, or before,March 23.
PTI
