Chawla turns it around

Let's give Piyush Chawla his due: he spun the ball with control, stuck to a disciplined line, and firmly wrenched the match out of Australia's grasp. It was a match-winning performance in his first-ever one-dayer in India, when anything less would've have probably hurt his ambitions, especially given the raging debate that had erupted in the wake of his selection to the Indian World Cup squad. 

Though a performance like today's in a warm-up is not enough justification for his inclusion, Chawla at least showed visible signs that he has been working hard on getting his legbreak right. In the past he has struggled to spin the delivery Shane Warne built his legend on, and being just 22 then, Chawla was reluctant to admit his limitation. Having recently returned to the national team after a three-year hiatus, he appears to be steadily regaining lost ground. 

Chawla had watched Jason Krejza turn the ball big in the afternoon and when his turn came to bowl, Australia were a comfortable 72 for 1. Shane Watson and Tim Paine had taken advantage of the hard ball and the absence of swing in the first ten overs to give Australia a confident start. Chawla's first ball slipped down the leg side for five wides. The dew, perhaps. He rubbed his palms dry and started afresh. The legbreak came out nicely, but Paine safely left it alone. He worked on that delivery for the next four overs, keeping Ricky Ponting busy without ever giving him width. 

With a small target to defend, Dhoni knew he had no option but to attack, and that pressure could only be built through the various spinners at his disposal. Along with Chawla, the trio of R Aswhin, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh tied down the Australians with smart variations. The batsmen were kept hungry with barely a bad ball on offer. 

Chawla found his voice immediately in his second spell. The reputation of Michael Clarke as one of the better players of spin had already taken a beating when the Australian vice-captain failed badly during the Test series in India last year. Chawla was aware of Clarke's tendency to charge to kill the spin. So he pushed in a couple of sliders, then followed it with a fast-ish leg break. Clarke tried cutting with hard hands, only to play on.

Chawla's biggest victory though was to keep Ponting silent. "That is probably the best I've seen him bowl," Ponting said in praise of Chawla. "He spun the ball a bit more tonight. His control was pretty good. He along with the other spinners did a good job and some of our new batsmen found it difficult. You can see that from the low scores in the middle order as it was hard to start against that spin bowling tonight." 

The handsome crowd, who had started to fill in an hour before the match started, played the supporting act. Their roars enlivened the atmosphere. Chawla kept his emotions in check. Two perfect legbreaks with successive deliveries got the better of Cameron White and David Hussey. Desperate, Callum Fergusson tried to take on the lethal legbreak and was bitten. 

As Ponting admitted, it was a lesson for his batsmen to understand the conditions today. "It was an unusual one-day wicket. I don't remember the last wicket that spun that much. But you have to find a way sometimes to combat good spin bowling in tough conditions like today." 

In contrast, Dhoni was a happy man, saying he was confident Chawla would perform even if he had gone wicketless on his return to international cricket in the final match of the ODI series in South Africa in January. "His first game after returning to play for the country was under pressure, which is quite acceptable," Dhoni said. "[Today], it was a wicket which was turning a bit and he made the batsmen really think hard about the variations that he has got." 

Dhoni agreed it was a tough wicket to bat on, but felt the Australians succumbed to pressure and that was the turning point. "Initially, when the fast bowlers were on the ball was coming on nicely but once we got couple of wickets in the middle, the ball was spinning. And once you are under pressure and you want to win the game desperately the pressure keeps mounting . It may have happened with the Australian side."

At the same time he pointed out that such a turner would be hard to find during the World Cup. "This is a sort wicket to be provided in Test matches, where the ball took spin after two hours," Dhoni said. Yet, Chawla, for one, would not mind such a pitch.

'Sri Lanka will play seven batsmen' - Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, has given some insight into the XI his side will field during the World Cup, saying they would stick to a combination of seven batsmen and four bowlers, since it has served them well in home games. Sri Lanka experimented with playing six batsmen and five bowlers on their 2010 tour of Australia, with allrounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera batting at Nos. 6 and 7, but reverted to a seven-four formula for the home series against West Indies. 

"We've got eight batters [in the 15-man squad] and in the last two or three years we've played a seven-four combination with (Angelo) Mathews in the top six being a bowler as well," Bayliss, who will quit the Sri Lanka job after the World Cup, said. "I can't see it changing just at the moment. In Australia we played six-five but seven-four seems to be the way we play our best cricket in Sri Lanka." 

That means Thisara Perera may not find a place in the XI, since he has been a bit inconsistent with the bat, and may not make the cut as a seamer ahead of Nuwan Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Bayliss, however, said Perera would play some part in the campaign. "Thisara Perera's been very impressive through the Asia Cup and the tri-series we played before Christmas, up in Dambulla, against India and New Zealand. Ever since then he is taking wickets. 

"He is a big fellow, very athletic in the field, got strong arms and as you know he can whack the ball out of the stadium. He is an important part of our squad and I am sure that at some stage during this World Cup he will find form." 

The other decision Sri Lanka have to make is which four bowlers to play. Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan are the two sure starters, if they are fit, while Fernando and Kulasekara are the two other fast-bowling options with Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis the other two spinners in the fifteen.

Fernando took four wickets in Sri Lanka's 158-run win in the warm-up match against Netherlands, and while Bayliss was satisfied with his performance, he suggested he may only be used in a three-seamer attack. "Dilhara is a guy who cops a little bit of criticism but if he can bowl more like the way he did [in the warm-up match] more often I am sure that criticism will disappear. That's the type of bowling we want to see from him in this World Cup and if he does that and backs up Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara then we'll be putting in very good bowling performances." 

In the home series against West Indies, Sri Lanka opted for two spinners, and Bayliss said Mendis and Herath would have to battle it out for the second spot. He explained Muralitharan's absence from the warm-up game by saying, "Murali is getting towards the end of his career and we want to make sure that he is mentally and physically fresh to play the game we want him to play." 

Sri Lanka are being touted as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, with their one possible weakness being the inexperience in the middle order, but Bayliss was quick to defend his batsmen. "The middle-order guys get a bit of a raw deal. They are asked to perform when the top order don't. You've got seven batters in the team and it is up to every one of those seven to do their job in the line-up and that includes the openers, the top order and the middle order."

South Africa face old rivals in warm up

There are only two survivors from that semi-final between South Africa and Australia at Edgbaston in 1999 in this World Cup. Only Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting have experienced the heartache and exhilaration that laid the foundation for an intense rivalry between the two countries in the 21st century. Most of the men in the present squads only had a small taste of the tough contest that plays out when these two teams meet, in the 2008-09 season. They'll be served another morsel in the warm-up match in Bangalore, and even though it's only for practice, the winners will take confidence out of beating their old foes. 

South Africa have more painful memories and will be particularly gleeful if they walk away with a victory, although coach Corrie van Zyl warned against reading too much into the match. "It's important for us to win in terms of getting ready for the 24th, which is when the real thing starts," he said. South Africa have another ten days before their World Cup campaign gets underway against West Indies in Delhi and are being careful not to get distracted before then. 

The outcome of tomorrow's match could be one such distraction, perhaps more so if South Africa win. Australia are by no means the invincible side they once were, and they don't have the same hold over South Africa that they once did, but the contest is still talked up. van Zyl is trying to get his team to think beyond that. "To think about those things in the past is unnecessary," he said. "This is a different side now." 

The biggest change for South Africa is that they have a more varied bowling attack than ever before, headlined by three frontline and two part-time spinners. Collectively, they took six wickets in the warm-up game against Zimbabwe, and after seeing the amount of turn the Bangalore pitch offered, they must be drooling at the sight of it. Australia lost 9 for 58 against India on Sunday, and their batsmen have plenty to ponder over before facing South Africa's spinners, all of whom are likely to play. 

"We want to give everyone an opportunity," van Zyl said, indicating South Africa may field all 15 players. It will be a helpful exercise for Dale Steyn, who got nothing out of the Chennai pitch and saw some Australian seamers succeed in Bangalore. Steyn bowled much slower than normal against Zimbabwe but there were no doubts over his fitness. "Dale brings a uniqueness to the bowling attack with his pace and swing and is obviously a very important player for us. We are looking to have a complete bowling attack and he is part of that." 

There was a fear that one of the prongs of that attack, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, may be out of action for a while after spraining his knee against Zimbabwe but he was running during training with no problems. "He has done work with the physio and practiced under guidance and we hope he will be ready for tomorrow," van Zyl said. 

The emphasis is on getting every member of the squad as prepared as possible and not on the overall outcome. With that in mind, the middle order is a concern because it did not have much time at the crease on Saturday. Although van Zyl would like to see the likes of JP Duminy, Colin Ingram and Johan Botha batting, he doesn't want it to come "because the top order did a bad job." Ideally he would like them to "get an opportunity at a later stage in the innings." 

The only other player whose preparation is under scrutiny is Jacques Kallis. He batted with sublime confidence on Saturday but did not bowl and is unlikely to do so on Tuesday. van Zyl hoped the step-by-step reintroduction will pay off and Kallis will peak during the tournament. "When he has had periods of rest, he always comes back so strongly, so we hope that will happen again. It's important that he is ready for the business end." 

That end of the tournament is not for another five weeks, and even though many will see Tuesday's match as a possible semi-final or final, it will be crucial for South Africa to remember that it isn't and concentrate on their method, not the result. A victory over Australia later in the tournament will be much sweeter.

Chigumbura ton lifts Zimbabwe to 244

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura led by example, rescuing his side from a precarious position before propelling them to a competitive one during an attacking century. He struck eight fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 103, which included an onslaught at the death following a measured initial approach that lent stability to Zimbabwe's wobbly innings. For Ireland, Trent Johnston was the pick of the bowlers, nipping out two early wickets in a phase that his side dominated before Chigumbura seized the initiative.

Johnson backs Australia's pace battery

Beware everyone: Mitchell Johnson believes the Australian pace battery, comprising Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and himself, have the potential to destroy opponents if the defending champions can couple their "aggression" with "smart" game-plans. "We just have to be smart about our bowling but I think we're still going to be aggressive," Johnson said on the eve Australia's first warm-up match against India on Sunday.

Johnson felt the ability of all the three tearaways to consistently cross the 90 mph-mark left the batsman with not much room for escape. "That's sort of the plan, isn't it?", Johnson quipped, asked if he liked the fact that batsmen did not get any respite with him coming in as first-change after the new ball pair of Lee and Tait. "We can all bowl at between 140 and 150 [kph]. Shaun and Brett can even bowl over that. No one really is too keen on facing anything like that. We'd be one of the only teams going around like that. So it'd be a bonus for us," Johnson said. 

As for a workable strategy, Johnson believes he and his fellow quicks would put to use the short ball consistently. "We look at trying to get the ball to reverse, trying to use our change-ups. We're still going to try and bowl short balls over here. We know that especially a lot of the Indian batsmen aren't too keen on it," Johnson said with a smile. 

Incidentally, the trio has played together only twice so far: in the 2007 CB Series against New Zealand and recently in the sixth match of the ODI series against England, in which the England made a record 334. Though Australia escaped to victory with four balls to spare (Johnson played his part with the bat after being promoted to No.4), a view was formed that the fast men were vulnerable to leaking runs if their aggression went wrong. 

Johnson did not buy that opinion at all. "We work pretty well together," he said. "Obviously there was a lot of talk about us leaking too many runs. [But] Brett Lee did an exceptional job through that one-day series as you saw. With that experience, I think it's going to help myself and Shaun through this tournament. It probably showed towards the end of the one-day series," Johnson said. 

On Thursday Ricky Ponting had said that Lee, who was the top wicket-taker against England, was better suited to play a defensive role while he wanted both Johnson and Tait to bowl as quick as possible. "Brett has been able to turn himself into a bit more of a defensive-minded bowler. He has changed his approach a bit more, probably a bit more nous. I've been really impressed with Brett since he's come back into the Australian team. In the six games he played back in Australia [against England] I think he was the pick of our bowlers in maybe all but one," Ponting said. 

But he wanted Tait to just go for the maximum clicks. "Shaun Tait, I just want to let him go, let him run in and bowl fast and take wickets," he said. "Johnson, at his best, he is a guy who doesn't go for a lot of runs and he takes wickets," Ponting said about Johnson before following with a rider: "'if he's not at his best, we know he can leak a few runs.'' 

Johnson had a miserable summer during the Ashes barring at Perth where he snared six first-innings wickets with unplayable swing bowling to help level the series. But then one swallow doesn't make the summer and Johnson was ineffective for the remainder of the Test series. He found some late form at the back-end of the seven-match ODI series with a tally of 6 wickets at 23 from four matches. 

Today Johnson partially acknowledged that he had endured more bad days than good, which was hurting him. "I've never felt too far away from being at my best but for me it just gets highlighted a lot more if I'm having a bad performance. I probably need to bring my performances closer together - have that sort of middle ground. At the moment it's either really good or not as good," he said. 

Yet there is some positive news for him. Though he is yet to play in Sri Lanka, in India and Bangladesh Johnson has 31 wickets at 23.97 in 18 matches. Lee's 24 wickets across the three World Cup hosting countries has come at 31.54 from 21 matches. So even if Lee remains the leader of the pack, Johnson can take confidence from those numbers and hope to find the middle ground.

Broad '100% fit' ahead of World Cup

On the eve of England's departure for the World Cup fast bowler Stuart Broad has declared himself 100% fit after recovering from an abdominal injury that has kept him out of action since the Adelaide Ashes Test in December. 

England's ODI fortunes have suffered in Broad's absence, as they slumped to a 6-1 defeat in a gruelling series against Australia. England are still feeling the affects of a lengthy winter's work with Eoin Morgan ruled out with a broken finger and Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Ajmal Shahzad and Paul Collingwood all nursing injuries. 

Chris Tremlett will travel with the squad as a back-up seamer but news of Broad's recovery is a major boost for a side that hasn't passed the quarter-final stage of the World Cup since 1992.

"I'm 100% fit now and excited about the chances of playing in a World Cup," Broad told ESPNCricinfo. "It's been a while since I've been on a field. I've been in the gym and in the nets but I'm excited about that competitive edge you get on the pitch and excited about our chances as well." 

Until the side were derailed in Australia by series of lacklustre batting efforts England have had a good run in limited-overs cricket. They won the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean last year and have won five ODI series in a row - beating South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in an undefeated run that stretches back to a 6-1 loss to Australia, again, after the 2009 Ashes win. 

"We've been in really good ODI form over the past two years, this was our first series defeat since Australia 2009 so we know we're a talented ODI team it's important we get four or five injured players back on the park and we'll be almost at full strength." 

The key to England's limited-overs success has been Eoin Morgan, whose inventive and nerveless batting has underpinned a strong batting line-up. In games England have won he's averaged 59.66 compared to 24.90 when they lose. Broad admits that his absence is "a huge loss" but remains upbeat about their chances.

England's first task will be their warm-up match against Canada in Bangladesh on February 16 and Broad insists they will be ready for it. 

"We take every game seriously, we prepare properly and make sure there's no stone left unturned it's important for the group and even our warm-up games to make sure we hit the ground running because you can't just turn on a good performance you have to be good throughout."

Batting long is Sehwag's aim

As if Virender Sehwag's batting strike-rate of 102 over a decade in one-day cricket wasn't enough to frighten bowlers, he has now set his sights on batting long during the World Cup. During his astonishing double-century against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan in the Galle Test in 2008, Sehwag carried his bat but he is yet to bat out the full quota of overs in one-dayers, something he hopes to achieve. 

"I think I never played 50 overs in one-day cricket, maximum I faced is 42-44 overs," a relaxed Sehwag said in Bangalore. "This time I'll try to bat 50 overs if I can. I have been trying for 10 years, I'm still trying." Emulating Sachin Tendulkar, who made the first and only double-century so far in the format when he played out 50 overs against South Africa last year, wasn't a target for Sehwag though. "Sachin has played 50 overs many times, not just once, but he could make 200 only once because it is not easy to make 200 in a one-dayer." 

Nearly a third of Sehwag's innings have been single-digit efforts, a proportion he aims to reduce with a more measured approach early in the innings. "I have Yuvraj [Singh], MS Dhoni, [Suresh] Raina, [Virat] Kohli and Yusuf [Pathan] in the middle order, so I can go after the bowling straight from the first ball, but nowadays I'm a giving a little bit of respect for first 4-5 overs," he said. "Then I can take on the bowlers to make sure I give a good start so even if I get out the middle order can take their time and then go after the bowling."

This will be the first World Cup since Twenty20 become a big-money phenomenon, and Sehwag says the rise of cricket's newest format will mean teams batting first will have to set bigger targets to feel safe. "If you get a good batting track, 320 or 300 will be a par score in the World Cup," he said. "IPL changed a lot of batsmen's mindsets, because batsmen now think we can chase 10 run an over anytime. Before teams thought you have lost the game if they needed to chase 10 an over, but now with the power-hitters in the team, they will chase it and that will be very exciting to see in the World Cup" 

Injuries and the team management's decision to rest him from some recent series has meant Sehwag goes into the World Cup not having played a one-dayer in more than five months. He missed the recent series against South Africa due to a shoulder problem, and though he is satisfied with his recovery, he is yet to start bowling. "I'm taking regular treatment, so hopefully it will be fine when the match comes," he said. "I don't want to bowl in the nets and get injured again, so when I feel my shoulder is better I can start bowling." 

Shoulder trouble ruled Sehwag out of the past three global ICC tournaments - the Champions Trophy in 2009, and the previous two World Twenty20s - and India have had early exits in each of those, despite entering as title contenders. This World Cup, too, India are one of the front-runners. What lessons has the team learnt from past failures? "The only thing we learnt is that we are not favourites."