COLOMBO, AUG 27: What are India's chances of making the final of the triangular one-day tournament, which enters its last phase tomorrow? India play Australia first and in the last league match the next day, they take on Sri Lanka. Both games will be played at the SSC ground and in day light. The two teams to finish on top play the day ight final on August 31 at the Premadasa Stadium.Going by the performance of India in the two matches they have played and lost, their chances look bleak. Bleak not because they have lost but bleak because the team does not look like having the will to win. The top three - Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly - have not made runs. It's not that they seem out of touch. Far from it. They seem to have lost the powers of concentration required to play long innings.Worse have been the bowlers. Pathetic would be the right word. The medium-pacers have bowled too short and Anil Kumble looks woefully out of form. It is very likely that after the World Cup, the first time these players bowled at the nets was in the four-day camp held at Chennai. And since the opportunities here at the nets, due to frequent rains, have been very little, the bowlers have had little time to get back into rhythm. The fielding has been equally terrible. And the combined effect of this has resulted in the team looking rusty, jaded and disinterested. This may be a natural result of having played non-stop cricket for a year almost and the moment the players got a break the last thing they wanted to think about was cricket. Now they are finding it difficult to get back their motivation levels.If this is the state now, one shudders to imagine what lies in store for them in the immediate future. Just imagine the amount of cricket the team has to play. From here straight to Singapore, from there straight to Toronto and then Kenya. Back home they play New Zealand and immediately after that for a tough outing in Australia and then back home to play South Africa! Within these couple of months, it is very much possible that India may require to raise a new team, given the fitness levels of the players. But then the question will arise, where are the new players?Even a small island like Sri Lanka has managed to raise a new, young talented team, which has impressed everyone with their desire to fight and win. Can't India do the same? No wonder Tendulkar was not keen to lead the side.As things stand in this tournament, India is the only team not to have won a match. Sri Lanka is ahead of them, having beaten India once. The equation is pretty straight forward. India needs to win both its matches to qualify for the final. If they can't do that, then beating Sri Lanka is a must to become equal on points with them. Then their fate will be decided on net run-rate. India's net run-rate is the lowest so far. All said and done a tough job ahead.TEAMSINDIA (FROM): Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Amay Khurasia, MSK Prasad (wicket-keeper), Robin Singh, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Nikhil Chopra, Venkatesh Prasad, Vinod Kambli, Sadagopan Ramesh, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Debashish Mohanty.AUSTRALIA (FROM): Steve Waugh (captain), Adam Gilchrist (wicket-keeper), Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Adam Dale, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, Shane Lee, Simon Katich.Umpires: BC Cooray, TH Wijewardena. Third umpire: Gamini Silva. Match Referee: Cammie Smith (West Indies).
