India-England tie to determine fourth semi-finalist

Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain have an underlying edge to them that makes them seem startlingly similar at times. Both would publicly object if told that, but deep down one can be sure the skippers of the sides - clashing tomorrow to decide the fourth semi-finalist of this Champions Trophy - respect each other. In fact, perhaps this thought would never have occurred had India and England not faced each other so many times in the recent past.

In the last year, India and England have met for back-to-back Test and one-day series, first in India and then more recently in England, with India snatching a thrilling win in the NatWest trophy. In this calendar year alone, India and England have played each other in 10 limited-overs games, with India winning five, England four, and one match being rained out.

But in spite of this hectic schedule, neither team has been able to comprehensively dominate the other. "We have at times outplayed them, they've had the measure of us, and at times it's gone right down to the wire," said Hussain at the Taj Samudra on the eve of the high-profile clash. "The key for us is to work out their batting order, and also our new lads trying to play their spinners. Some of us have played a lot against Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. The likes of Ian Blackwell haven't had that experience to work out a technique against them."

Ganguly, several kilometres away, practicing at the Premadasa stadium, had his own thoughts on the game. "Ronnie Irani, Blackwell, Nasser, Marcus Trescothick, Alec Stewart, Andy Caddick...they're all good players," said Ganguly. "So I wouldn't say it is a much-depleted side or anything.

Wandering over to the shade of a marquee-tent after a net session and a fielding drill, a perspiring Ganguly drew attention to the conditions here at Colombo. "It depends how we play in these conditions - they're there to be exploited for both teams. In England, the NatWest trophy conditions suited England but we played well, and it might be the reverse here. We have to be careful and play to the best of our potential. It's a physical challenge for both sides. There's no point in saying it's to their advantage or our advantage. We'll find out tomorrow."

Speaking to the press is an exercise Ganguly clearly does not enjoy, especially in large groups at pre-match conferences, where the questions are seldom either original or intelligent. Hussain, on the other hand, seems to know how well these chats can be used, finding the right words to express a variety of thoughts. "The problem with their line-up is that you can't focus on just one particular area. When you work on Rahul Dravid and try to sort him out, you've got Virender Sehwag, Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar coming at you, and after that there's Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh, who won India the game in the NatWest Trophy. It looks like you need to focus on all batsmen from one to seven," said Hussain.

Interestingly enough, while Hussain spoke of India's batting, Ganguly dwelt a minute on the bowling attack at his disposal. "It is a challenge to bowl on these wickets, but Zaheer Khan bowled brilliantly in the last game. Ashish Nehra bowled well in the first seven overs. The spinners probably need to bowl better. As I said, they've all had a bit of rest and are geared up for the game tomorrow," said the Indian skipper.

Both teams are virtually injury-free, with only Jeremy Snape having some trouble with a niggling rib. In any event, it looks like Ashley Giles will come in for Snape, the former having enjoyed some success against the Indians. For India, Ganguly suggested that VVS Laxman would be in the running for a batting spot, and it is tough to see him replacing anyone but Dinesh Mongia.

With Australia and Sri Lanka all set to meet in one semi-final and South Africa waiting for their opponents, the India-England clash is virtually a quarter-final. Their draw has already been called quite a few names - "the pool of death" and "the group of interest" among others.

For Hussain and Ganguly though - and the two surely agree on this note - this is not a repeat of the NatWest final or a grudge match; fundamentally, it is just another one-day game. "It's not a grudge game. Everyone makes a big deal of it," said Hussain. "I know it's a cliché, but it's just a game of cricket really. It's a premier ICC tournament, but it's not the end of the world if you lose. There's no grudge at all. They're a very fine side, and we're a young inexperienced one. They're favourites, and if we play like we did against Zimbabwe we could beat them but if we don't, we'll lose."

Listening to the captains, it is clear that the teams, though both including professionals keen to put on a good show, are tired, coming off long seasons. It is also clear that both have benchmarked their respective performances against Zimbabwe and are looking forward to the face-off. And neither captain is taking this tournament as a direct precursor to - or a form-indicator of - the World Cup.

"We're just viewing it as a straight knock-out tournament. If we lose, we go home, and if we win, which no one expects us to, we look to see who we're playing next. It's a nice refreshing attitude to go into every match with. Because I've been watching the telly a bit in the last few days, I know that we play South Africa next if we beat India," summarised Hussain quite succinctly.

In a nut shell, then, the forthcoming game is one between two highly motivated, evenly matched and slightly less than desperate-to-win teams. That makes it unlike any other game we've had in this Champions Trophy. It might end up being less exciting than some matches these two teams have played, but it is still one the fans simply can not afford to miss.