India, will have to fire on all cylinders to get the better of Australia. Rated by experts before the tournament got under way as a strong contender to take home the Cup, the Aussies have not played up to their potential. A lot, therefore, will depend of their top order to put up a far better show than they have thus far in the contest. Mark Waugh, for instance, is spoken of as one of the best batsmen in the world, but he has done little of note and is struggling to find form. In fact, like the New Zealanders, most of Australia's scoring has been done by the lower order.

In comparison, with three top order batsmen of match-winning abilities, the Indian bating has doneexceedingly well. As a matter of fact, all the centuries recorded in this World Cup have come from Indians, and if I mention that Indian boasts of the best batting line-up in the competition, I don't suppose I'll be off target. They batted brilliantly throughout, but for that game against Zimbabwe. Even their campaign opener against South Africa could well have gone either way had India scored around 275 which they looked like doing at one stage.

India will do well to first beat the Australians in the mental game. That they can achieve by sending in Sachin Tendulkar to open the innings. If he gets cracking at the start of the innings it can thoroughly demoralise the Aussies. Besides, it would mean that the best batsman in the side has the opportunity to bat 50 overs.

When Sachin opened the innings against the South Africans at Hove, save for a blemish, he looked absolutely at ease. It is thus a criminal waste of exceptional talent if he comes in down the order and gets to bat just the last 20 overs or so.Moreover, if that be the case and McGrath & Co pick up a couple of early wickets, the Aussies will play the rest of the match with their tails up. But with Sachin around from the start, things could well be different. Think positive: that's what the Indians will have to do, if they are to overcome the Aussie challenge.

I have, however, a gut feeling that the Indians, as in the past, may not like to go against the age-old theory of not changing a winning combination. Call it superstition if you may, or just playing safe, but old habits die hard.

Be that as it may, in this game I would rather have Robin Singh coming in to bat in the lower middle-order, than being confined to the reserves. His utility cannot be questioned, and he's also not only one of our best fielders but a bloke you can rely on to send down seven to eight economical overs. India just cannot afford to ignore him for crunch games.

I mentioned positive thinking, but that apart, India will have to be innovative too, if they are to beat theAussies. If they can, there couldn't be a more ideal tonic for them.