India, England set for Test of Cup ambitions

WORLD CUP CRICKET: BANGALORE, India, Feb 26 (AFP) - India and England will both have a better idea of their World Cup credentials when they meet in one of the stand-out matches of the tournament so far in Bangalore on Sunday. India, strongly fancied to add a second World Cup trophy to their 1983 success, were in commanding form while seeing off co-hosts Bangladesh by 87 runs in the tournament opener in Dhaka.

Hundreds from Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli indicated it will be a bold captain who follows Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan's example by asking India to bat after winning the toss.

Sachin Tendulkar, who looked in excellent touch, may well have got to three figures as well but for a dreadful run out mix-up with Sehwag.

Star batsman Tendulkar has been causing millions of Indian hearts to miss a beat with a scan of his left knee barely two days after the start of the tournament but initial indications are that the 'Little Master' will face England.

Of arguably greater concern to India was the performance of fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, whose five wicketless overs against Bangladesh cost an expensive 53 runs.

He may be the quickest member of India's attack but pace, especially in one-day cricket, is usually meaningless against top-class batsmen if it's lacking in control.

By contrast, Munaf Patel provided a textbook example of how seamers should bowl on subcontinental pitches in maintaining a full length and good line on his way to four for 48 against the Tigers.

The question facing India is whether, with left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra nursing an injury that kept him out of the Bangladesh game, they drop Sreesanth and bring in a second spinner in leg-break bowler Piyush Chawla to supplement the undoubted threat of Harbhajan Singh.

Chawla, on the same pitch that will be used for the England game, took an impressive four for 31 in a 38-run warm-up win over champions Australia just a fortnight ago.

England are not renowned for the way they play spin and former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri believes a win this weekend will have much more significance than just the raw result.

"Victory against England will make it two-out-of-two and we would be almost certain to make it to the quarter-finals," Shastri said.

"You can play freely. So the next match is very important to get a win on the board," he added.

England have a similar selection poser after a lacklustre six-wicket win over the Netherlands saw lead quick James Anderson's 10 wicketless overs cost 72 runs. Now they must decide whether to recall left-arm slow bowler Michael Yardy in support of off-break specialist Graeme Swann, whose return of two for 35 was a rare highlight during an appalling display in the field against the Dutch featuring several dropped catches and repeatedly wayward seam bowling.

"Hopefully India will take us lightly after this performance," said England captain Andrew Strauss, who made 88 against the Netherlands in Nagpur.

"We generally raise our games against better sides."

Clearly they will have to against India and IPL all-rounder Ravi Bopara, a late replacement for injured England batsman Eoin Morgan, bristled at suggestions a turning pitch would favour the hosts.

"If it is a spinning deck we have got our own spinners who can cause problems," Bopara insisted. "It is going to cause problems for India as well."

This match has endured a troubled build-up after it was switched from Kolkata's Eden Gardens because of unfinished renovation work.

And there was the disturbing sight of police using bamboo sticks to beat back fans as thousands queued for tickets outside Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the most visible example yet of the mounting ticket chaos that has led World Cup chiefs to criticise Indian officials.