/ Editor / 06 March 2007 /

India are quite rightly among the favourites to win their second World Cup title this spring in the West Indies, and with a balanced line-up that features excitement as well as doggedness, they would seem to have every chance of repeating the feat last managed by Kapil Dev's side in England in 1983.

Rahul Dravid and his men have been in good form in the run-up to the tournament, and their one-day series win (albeit at home) against a talented Sri Lankan side was enough to see former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga hail them as his tournament favourites.

The level of talent in their squad is undoubted, but the fact remains that most of their best cricket in recent years has been played on home soil, apart from a fine tour of Australia in 2003/4, and that results on tour have not been as positive.

One needs only to look over the last year or so to see that India will need to improve to challenge the likes of Australia and South Africa unless they find a quick cure for the home sickness that has seen them lose away series against the Proteas and West Indies.

Their ICC Champions Trophy campaign on home soil was also a disappointment as they managed only to beat a poor England side in their group before losses to the West Indies and Australia saw them fail to reach the semi-finals.

But the fact remains that at their best India can give any side present in the Caribbean a run for their money. The depth they possess in their batting line-up should give them the chance to consistently post big totals if they get the opportunity to bat first on the friendlier pitches being used in the World Cup.

The clear star of the team is vice-captain and national hero Sachin Tendulkar, whose 14,783 runs in one-day cricket make him the world leader - the average of 44.12 is also among the best in the world and should he hit form in the West Indies he has to be a threat in the leading run scorer markets, both overall and match-by-match.

Tendulkar has also had a measure of success on Caribbean pitches, although only six of his 381 ODI matches have been played there - he has averaged 54.50, although two unbeaten knocks have deflated that somewhat with his top score of 65 reached twice.

He and Brian Lara will both probably make this World Cup their swansong, certainly in this competition, and they are the leading competitors for the best batsman of this generation - if either could end their career with the legacy of a major trophy like this it would tip the balance in his respective favour.

But, unlike Lara, who probably boasts only two support acts, there are five more top batsmen India and Tendulkar can rely on if he fails to trouble the scorers with a big innings - his recent form is encouraging with a century and two half-centuries in his last four ODI innings.

Captain Dravid is a much more patient player who has made Test cricket his priority - an amazing average of 57.33 in the longer game bears that out - but he should not be underestimated in one-dayers especially when he comes in to rescue the side from early troubles.

Dravid's patience should be a big advantage in the pressure-packed atmosphere of tournament cricket and it should not be forgotten that he has recently passed the 10,000 run level and boasts an average of a shade over 40.

'The Wall' has also had success in the Caribbean before, guiding India to a Test series victory in 2006 before the one-day disappointments and his mix of belligerence and stroke-play should ensure plenty of runs to be scored in what is also likely to be his last chance at World Cup glory.

The new golden boy at the top of the India order is Robin Uthappa, a far more attacking batsman who is seen as a potential match-winner if he can overcome the rushes of blood to his head and keep off the challenge of the more-experienced Virender Sehwag for a place in the side.

But he has only played eight international matches so far, and it may be asking a lot of him to perform at such a high level on what amounts to his first real tour of duty outside of India - he did tour the West Indies with them last spring but made a duck in his only outing in Port Of Spain when the series had already been lost.

Based on the Sri Lanka series, India appear likely to offer Sehwag one final chance to prove that his fantastic early career can be prolonged in one-day cricket as well as in Tests, where most of his recent success has come - most likely there will only be three places for Uthappa, Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Dinesh Karthik, with the latter most likely to miss out.

Sehwag's ODI average of 31 does not match well against the 49 he averages in Test cricket, and he has regularly been dropped from the one-day side recently not only for a lack of form but a lack of fitness as well - any such trouble in the Caribbean would see him sent to the sidelines again.

But he did twice hit scores in the 90's in their last one-day series in the West Indies and it is likely to be that experience of unique conditions that keeps him in the side ahead of Karthik - his place in the squad was only confirmed when Dravid told selectors that he wanted Sehwag alongside him, so with the captain on side, a starting place is not impossible as well.

Ganguly, meanwhile, will be on his final World Cup tour of duty after capping an amazing recall to the international side with four 50's on the tour of South Africa last year - he seems likely to open the batting, most likely with Uthappa or Sehwag depending on pitch conditions and whether they are setting or chasing a target.

If the top five was not enough for India, they also boast a fine option at six where the destructive Yuvraj Singh has a penchant for mixing sloppy mistakes with demolishing attacks just when they are starting to get tired. To have a player with seven ODI centuries and 26 half-centuries coming in at six just shows the depth India have.

Wicket-keeper is also not a problem for them as they can use Dravid and Karthik as well as regular starter Mahendra Singh Dhoni, another exciting player who has had some spectacular innings in his brief one-day career so far.

The swash-buckling Dhoni averages over 46 in his 58 innings so far, but it his scoring rate that marks him out as a special talent as he has scored his 1,958 runs at nearly a run a ball and his 183 not out against Sri Lanka in Jaipur in 2005 (off 145 balls) is the highest ever ODI score by a wicket-keeper. He could also be used in a pinch-hitting role if required and is worth keeping an eye on in individual match markets.

The bowling options are maybe not as spectacular for the Indians but they should not be seen as a weakness, even though two of their main options are spinners playing on pitches not always known to aid slow bowling a lot.

Indeed it seems unlikely that India will be able to find places for both Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble now, with the latter most likely to make way after only recently returning to one-day cricket having previously been written off as only a Test player.

Fortunately for India they are currently blessed with some very solid pace bowling options, headlined by left-armer Irfan Pathan if he is over the control problems that saw him sent home from the tour of South Africa to play some domestic cricket and get his game back in order.

Pathan has taken his wickets at a fine average of under 26 runs and is also a good enough batsman to be considered a true all-rounder who could prove to be one of the better No 8's playing in the Caribbean if the selectors have complete faith in him. Before his troubles in 2006 he had been one of their most reliable pace options.

If he does not play, or more likely is not preferred, Zaheer Khan provides another left-arm option to open the bowling and his seven wickets in the final two games against Sri Lanka could well prove the difference in his battle for selection.

Ajit Agarkar seems likely to keep his place in the side as the right-arm opening bowler and his consistency will come in handy when the pressure is on - he may look fairly innocuous running in to bowl, but he has more wickets (272 at 27.55 runs per) than any of the other options on offer.

If Pathan is completely over-looked chances are that Sri Sreesanth and Munaf Patel will come in for consideration, with preference for the former despite some less than sparkling figures when he played in three of the four ODIs against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

As mentioned spin is well covered in the squad by Harbhajan and Kumble, but pundits are less than certain how important slow bowling is going to be in the Caribbean - at least India know they have two excellent options if spin is served well despite some poor recent form from both of them.

Harbhajan has had success in the West Indies before, although his two five-wicket hauls came in Test matches, and his haul of only 11 wickets in his last 14 one-day international innings has to be of some concern - enough for Kumble to return anyway to press him for a place in the side.

The 36-year-old has more wickets than any other bowler in the Indian squad (334 at 31 runs) but he has taken only five wickets in six games since returning from the one-day wilderness in South Africa and India have to be worried that one area they look upon as a strength still has the potential to turn sour.

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