A sizzling start to India's summer sojourn

Taking an early lead can always stand a team in very good stead and India have done well in going to the top of the table in the NatWest tri-series after the first round of matches. There is still a long way to go - each country plays each other three times before the final at Lord's on July 13 - but it must be said the performance of this team has been heartwarming. I, for one, cannot see India being the team knocked out before the title clash.

The strengths and weaknesses of the three teams were all palpable on the eve of the competition and none of the sides had a really smooth build-up in the warm-up games. But India have been the first to shrug off the dubious qualities and play to their strengths. This, as well as the fact that the team management has done a bit of tactical thinking, has seen them make a dream start.

True, they still have to maintain the momentum, and to this extent the path ahead will be that much more difficult as England and Sri Lanka try to fathom their frailties and then exploit it. But with the kind of start they have made, India can afford to even falter a bit and yet make the final. The only fear is that they will, as they have done so often, do the early running, peak a little too early and then crumble at the final hurdle.

As I said in my preview, this is a contest between three fairly evenly-matched sides. Despite India having won both their matches and Sri Lanka losing two out of two, the competition still does not have a clear-cut favourite. With two sets of matches - six more league games - still to be played, there is still time for Sri Lanka to regroup and show that they can win tournaments without the services of Muthiah Muralitharan. There were glimpses of the old Sri Lankan magic in both the games and their best could still lie ahead.

England with one win and one loss, have a lot going for them. They are a good all-round side and while their victory over Sri Lanka was convincing, their loss to India was narrow. It was a match in which they were in a winning position more than once, but full marks to India for their gritty fightback, first with the ball and then with the bat.

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England certainly have looked more impressive than Sri Lanka and at the moment the odds must be on them making the final. But it must be admitted that neither Sri Lanka nor England have caught the eye as India have.

Their performance has been a revelation. The batting has clicked, the bowling has risen to the occasion and the fielding standards have improved. What is most heartening, however, is the team management's readiness to go in for strategic changes. Two spinners against England but only one against Sri Lanka shows that John Wright, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are in a mood to ring in the changes if necessary and not go in with a fixed attack of three seamers and one spinner or two seamers and two spinners, come what may.

They have also stuck to their gameplan of having Sachin Tendulkar at No 4 with Ganguly and Sehwag available to open. It certainly was an encouraging sight to see Tendulkar walk in on Sunday with the Indians tottering at 26 for two. The modest target of 203 had seemed far away at that stage but Tendulkar's brilliance saw India snatch back the initiative. It was the great man who led the fight back before Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh built upon it to seal the victory.

The young one-day specialists Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Mongia and Agarkar have already proved that they can deliver and have done so in the NatWest series again with Yuvraj's success with the ball being a bonus.

As for Agarkar, whatever his dismal record in Test cricket, when it comes to picking the limited-overs squad, he should be among the early choices. I have never ceased to wonder why and how such an immensely gifted youth has not really done justice to his ability and potential.

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With the experienced trio of Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar quickly into their stride, the batting has bloomed. Ashish Nehra did reasonably well in the one game he played against Sri Lanka while the bowling of Zaheer Khan and Agarkar against England was an object lesson in how to bowl at the death. It is also good to see Ganguly bowl a lot more than usual. In English conditions, he could have a major role to play.

The one question mark hangs over the spin bowling. Anil Kumble in 20 overs has conceded 89 runs without taking a wicket or bowling a maiden. Harbhajan Singh in ten overs against England conceded 50 runs without taking a wicket or bowling a maiden. The figures by themselves are enough to cause major concern. What's more, they have rarely troubled the batsmen, and the cavalier and obviously pre-meditated manner in which Nasser Hussain treated Harbhajan does not bode well for the off-spinner. But then he has always been a fighter, loves a challenge and one would not be surprised if he bounces back before the tournament is over.