India have everything to gain against Australia

Any game against the current world champions Australia is bound to be a difficult one. Despite this, India would look forward to upsetting the mighty Aussies at SuperSport Park on Saturday and impart fresh momentum to their World Cup campaign.

I, for one, am quite confident that even despite the depressing Indian batting display against the Netherlands on Wednesday, we can succeed in the mission if we get our act together.

That said, Australia are definitely the opponents that you would like to avoid when your morale is not too high. Yes, their batting looks a bit suspect - at least when it comes to the middle order. As for their bowling, it could be put in a spot of bother if the Indian batsmen were to go after Brad Hogg and Neil Harvey. But what needs to be remembered is how despite all those chinks in their armour, the Australians turned it around against Pakistan. It goes without saying that if you give the Australians an inch, they will take more than a mile from you.

With this being the case, I would like to see a much more disciplined effort from our bowlers; Zaheer Khan and Co gave away too many wides in the game against the Netherlands. Sticking to a stump-to-stump line is the mantra that the Indian bowlers should then always keep close to their heart. They would well know that if you give guys like Matt Hayden and Adam Gilchrist any width they would make you pay dearly for it.

India have their best chance if they snare a couple of early wickets. Given the nature of tracks in South Africa this time around, I think Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh will have a huge role to play in the game. The brittle Australian middle order could well be exposed to the guiles of Harbhajan Singh, who must have a huge psychological advantage over the Australians after his exploits against them in the memorable Test and ODI series of 2001.

Moving on, India's main worry will be their batting. Even against the likes of the Netherlands, they failed to bat through the full compliment of 50 overs. Someone like Mohammad Kaif has been going through a run of wretched form lately, and it is important that him and the other boys pull up their socks and measure up to the task at hand. A win against Australia will definitely give India a lot of confidence for their upcoming games, including the one against the arch-rivals Pakistan.

All said, whoever wins on Saturday would have put themselves in a very good position to reach the Super Sixes, and even the semi-finals. Complicated it might sound but the playing conditions for this World Cup says: 'The six teams that qualify for the Super Six phase will carry forward the points that they have gained in the group matches - four points for a win against a Super Six qualifier and one point for a win against the non-qualifier.'

One must not forget then that the points carried forward by each team are added to those they gain in the Super Six matches to form the Super Six points table. Hence a win against a Super Six certainty like Australia is very important, for we stand to gain four valuable points to add to the Super Six table.