Last Chance Saloon or O K Corral for battling New Zealand?

High Noon? For a Few Dollars More? Unforgiven? Hang 'em High?

Hollywood's western movie classics offer some interesting word play for the plight New Zealand find themselves in on the eve of their World Cup Super Six decider against India at Centurion tomorrow.

Judging by the amount of comment swamping the newswires out of South Africa, it is not a case of whether India beat New Zealand but by how much?

It is a High Noon for Stephen Fleming's men, several of them cannot expect to play in another World Cup. All the effort of some pretty tempestuous years in the game, years that have marked significant changes in New Zealand cricket and its administration goes on the line.

That is what it comes down to.

New Zealand go into their game in a situation that for them is life or death.

When they folded miserably in their batting against Australia, largely through their own fault in the supposedly solid top-order, and through an inability to contain the rampant fast man Brett Lee through the lower-order, New Zealand still had three hopes for making the semi-finals.

The first, and most obvious, was to beat India in tomorrow's game.

The second was to hope that Zimbabwe might beat Sri Lanka on Saturday and the third disappeared yesterday when Kenya beat Zimbabwe.

Hard as it might have been to believe, especially after the way they batted themselves out of a hole against New Zealand in their first Super Six match, Zimbabwe couldn't put together anything resembling a reasonable effort against the Kenyans.

What an indictment the Kenyans have been of the management of world cricket. The more the Kenyans have continued on their winning way, the greater the emphasis on the folly of Bangladesh's promotion to Test status. And, dare it be said, the greater the folly for not taking New Zealand's security concerns in Kenya more seriously.

Realistically, New Zealand have only one option. They must beat India.

Sri Lanka, if they are given the chance for a semi-finals berth as the result of New Zealand's failure to beat India, will not falter. The prize is too great for them to even contemplate a loss to Zimbabwe.

The India that New Zealand will face at Centurion is a different Indian team than that which lined up against it during the National Bank Series in New Zealand this summer.

It is a side flush with confidence, untroubled by movement off the pitch or troublesome bounce. A side with their batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar in full cry and already having broken the record for most runs in a World Cup tournament.

It is a side with left-arm medium-fast bowler Ashish Nehra having backed up some solid form in New Zealand with some potent displays, a great support to the most improved bowler on the tour in Zaheer Khan. And then there is the old master Javagal Srinath - the most persistent of India's bowlers in the one-day series and a key factor in the Indian attack.

Back that up with some batting form from Tendulkar's supporting cast of Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh and there is a much more complete look to this Indian side.

New Zealand know that India will probably use revenge for the series earlier this year as a motivation.

But that could be a wasted notion. If they could take the home series, or a win tomorrow over India, there would only be one winner.

Series come and series go, but there is much greater reward at the World Cup. New Zealand know that, just as they know they are at their last chance for a reasonable result in this campaign.

However, as long as they contribute to their own demise with reckless stroke making of the order seen against Australia, when there was no pressure to accelerate the run rate at any stage of their innings, then they are going to minimise their chances.

India don't have a Lee to fire in inswinging yorkers. They do have bowlers who are entitled to some respect. But if two Test matches and seven One-Day Internationals didn't alert them to what they can expect, nothing will.

Centurion being the smaller ground that it is should be the scene for a high-scoring game, and if it is New Zealand who are on the chasing end of a formidable Indian target, some significant batting support for Fleming and Scott Styris is going to be a must.

Greater discipline from Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns would be a start, more of the typical Lou Vincent working of the ball and speed between the wickets would be a help should he be named, while Craig McMillan, if he were to return to the side, or whoever is given the job of opening with Fleming, needs to hang around long enough to be a long-burning accelerant instead of the short-fused double happy variety that has been seen so far.

The greatest test of all for the New Zealanders will be picking themselves up from the disappointment of knowing that they were within an ace of ending Australia's winning run in their last match.

New Zealand does not have a great record of scoring centuries at World Cups. Going into this tournament only five had been scored, two of them in the first tournament in 1975 by Glenn Turner.

Already this time, Styris, Fleming and Astle have reached three figures and chances are it is going to require another player to do it tomorrow.

India start as raging hot favourites, but given the results that have happened in this tournament, can anything be taken for granted?

Will it be an epic result in the shape of The Magnificent '11' or farce in the form of Blazing Saddles?

Tomorrow will tell.