Tough, but not impossible

by cricinfo.com

After Bangladesh beat India, the road to the next phase is not merely uphill, it's winding, narrow, has a few landmines buried on the way and without luck progress might be impossible. Going into what the team - and certain individuals - need to do, is best left to Rahul Dravid, the captain, and Greg Chappell, the coach, but the equations are fairly simple.

If India are to have any chance of making it to the Super 8s, the first thing they need to do is beat Bermuda - black and blue - on March 19. Sri Lanka have already handed Bermuda a cricketing lesson they're unlikely to forget that ended in a 243-run walloping that gives them a massive leg up when it comes to net run rates. India need to perform a similar feat, and then wake up fresh and cheery for what was touted as their only tough game of the first phase. On March 23, India will need to beat Sri Lanka to stay alive in the competition. If they do manage the feat - and a defeat to Bangladesh notwithstanding, there is no reason why they can't do so - the job will still not be done. The problem with losing to a team like Bangladesh is that it puts your destiny in the hands of others.

If India lose to Sri Lanka, they can pack their bags and head home. If they cross that hurdle, then they will have to either turn up at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on March 25 and cheer for Bermuda, or sit with fingers crossed in their hotel rooms. The advantage Bangladesh have is that they are playing the last match of Group B, against Bermuda. At that stage, if all has gone according to plan for India - and nothing has so far - then it will be down to net run rates. And Bangladesh will go into that game knowing exactly what the score is. They will know precisely what they need to do push themselves ahead of India on the charts.