Ponting’s form would be crucial

Australian skipper's form could have a huge bearing on today's quarter-final encounter vs India

Ponting's form would be crucial

Australian skipper's form could have a huge bearing on today's quarter-final encounter vs India

Will he fire? Australia skipper Ricky Ponting during a training session at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera yesterday. pic/atul kamble

Of these four most-asked queries on the eve of the quarter-final between India and Australia at the Motera, I reckon the answer to the last could have the most bearing on the match. The Australians have not fared too badly in the tournament yet, but the fragility of their captain ufffd in the middle and outside it ufffd has made the team vulnerable nonetheless.

Ponting has run into all kinds of problems during this World Cup. His footwork has looked sluggish and awry ufffd except when he is putting foot in mouth with ill-conceived statements or throwing a tantrum on the field ufffd and his poor form has become a drag on the entire team: if not in terms of runs, psychologically certainly.

This will not have been lost on MS Dhoni and I expect some drama involving Ponting in the game tomorrow.

Recent history between the Indian team and the Australian captain has been turbulent to say the least, and I would be very surprised if no attempt is made to needle Ponting into indiscretion.

The Australians have been past masters at what is euphemistically called 'mental disintegration' of the opponent ufffd except now the shoe appears to be on the other foot. Within limits, such tactics are fair dinkum. Any team looks to exploit weaknesses in the opposition, and currently Ponting appears to be the soft spot of his team.

In fact Ponting's slump in form and fortune began with the contentious series in 2007-08 played Down Under, memories of which should inspire and energise the Indian players. Since then, India have enjoyed the better of the contests between the two teams in Tests and limited overs cricket both. The trend, therefore, indicates that India hold the upper hand in this match.

But it would be foolish in the extreme to believe that the Australians have no fight left in them and can be tossed aside easily. The gap between the top three ODI teams is narrow ufffd and it is pertinent to remember that Australia still occupy the No 1 position. Their track record in ODIs following the tour to India late last year is also impressive.

Despite losing the Ashes, Australia struck back with a vengeance to win the one-day series by a whopping 6-1 margin when even their most ardent fans were beginning to give up on them. In this tournament, they've got four wins out of six games (the match against Sri Lanka was rained off), which makes it 10 wins out of 13. Not a bad record for a team on the wane! With the World cup offering scope for redemption ufffd to the captain and the team ufffd it hardly needs telling that Australia would be going full throttle at Dhoni and Co.

How well-prepared is India to quell the Aussie challenge? In batting and bowling, I think India have revealed more class if not depth. Australia's batting ufffd especially because of Ponting's meagre contributions ufffd has looked wobbly despite Watson, Clarke, White, Hussey and Smith, and the bowling one-dimensional with neither Jason Krejza nor Smith reaping the rewards that other spinners in the tournament have.

The sheer pace of Tait and Johnson ufffd if ill-directed ufffd could be fodder for the likes of Sehwag and Tendulkar. Brett Lee's been magnificent, but he'll need major support. True, India's batsmen have thrice muffed things up during the batting Power Play, but hopefully some lessons have been learnt. Barring that, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Kohli and Yuvraj have been in such splendid nick that India have looked consistently good for 330-340 runs.

The much-maligned bowling has looked capable enough to defend such totals. The success of R Ashwin in the previous match has also given Dhoni his best possible bowling combination. In fielding, however, India remain below par. This imposes greater onus on the batting to deliver a 30-40 run buffer, and has often made the bowling look poorer than it actually has been.

India may hold the advantage, yet the margin for error is wafer thin. How they exploit this margin will tell us whether Ponting has got a lifeline or been sunk.

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