Epic encounter ends in thrilling tie

On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore.Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England threatened the unthinkable, and set off in full pursuit of India's seemingly unobtainable total of 338 - a score that had been made possible by a brilliant 120 from Sachin Tendulkar.

Such was the clarity of Strauss's strokeplay and the passivity of India's attack, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, England were cruising towards an extraordinary triumph. However a late intervention, sparked by a reverse-swinging Zaheer Khan, left them clawing for breath as a silenced Chinnaswamy stadium rediscovered its roar, and when the requirement shot up beyond two runs a ball, there seemed no way back into the contest. However, a ballsy volley of sixes from England's lower order hauled them back from the brink, and with two runs needed from the final delivery of the match, Graeme Swann drilled Munaf Patel to cover to salvage a share of the spoils.

The breathless finale was entirely in keeping with a contest that twisted and turned like an insomniac in a mosquito-pit. From the first over of the match, in which Virender Sehwag might have been dismissed three times in five balls, through the sumptuous strokeplay of first Tendulkar and later Strauss, and on through a pair of batting collapses - one apiece for the lower order of both teams - there was scarcely a moment in which normal service was permitted. Tim Bresnan, with 5 for 48 in ten unrelentingly composed overs, was the unsung star of a day that deserves to be remembered as the finest World Cup contest sincethat semi-final in 1999.

For the first 39 overs of the match, and again for the last seven, the Bangalore crowd was as raucous as a monsoon wedding, as Tendulkar ignited India's first home fixture of the World Cup with his 47th ODI century, before Zaheer Khan hauled them back from the brink of ignominy with 2 for 11 in his final three-over spell. But in between whiles, the game belonged to England, as India shipped their last seven wickets in 25 balls to let their opponents regain a toe-hold in the contest, before turning the stage over to Strauss and his magnum opus.

A positive start was a pre-requisite as England embarked on their second daunting chase in as many matches, and just as Strauss had soothed his team's anxieties with 88 from 83 balls after their flirtation with humiliation against the Dutch, he was once again in the thick of things right from the start of the innings. Zaheer, who was as poor with the new ball as he was devastating with the old, bowled both sides of the wicket to gift two boundaries in six balls, and Strauss was up and running. He barely dipped below a run a ball at any subsequent stage of his innings.

He required some moments of luck, particularly on 17 when TV replays suggested he had nicked a drive against Zaheer that the Indian fielders were unable to hear against the din of the crowd, but for the most part he was rewarded for his intent and aggression, and a common-sense approach to the three key partnerships that propelled England's challenge. By the end of the batting Powerplay, England were 19 runs to the good, on 77 for 1 compared to India's 10-over total of 58 for 1, and with a stream of easy singles to offset the intermittent boundary balls, they never looked like blinking until the summit was within sight.

	Sachin Tendulkar launched his innings in ominous style© Getty Images Enlarge

At the top of the order, Kevin Pietersen's stay was short, sharp and effective. He pounded four fours in eight Zaheer deliveries to rush along to 31 from 22 balls, before dumping Munaf on his backside with a brutally struck drive, only for the ball he had parried from in front of his face to plop into his right hand as he glanced up to regain his bearings. Trott proved an able ally in a 43-run stand for the second wicket before Chawla hurried one through to strike his back pad, whereupon Bell arrived to embark on what should have been the game's decisive stand - a 170-run partnership that spanned 27 overs.

Bell, England's best player of spin, was beaten twice in his first two balls as Chawla ripped first his googly then his legspinner to perfection, but his hairiest moment came on 17, when Yuvraj Singh referred an appeal for lbw that Hawkeye suggested met all the criteria for an overturned decision. However, umpire Billy Bowden, applying the letter of the law even if it meant contravening the evidence on a billion TV screens, reprieved Bell on the grounds that he had advanced more than 2.5 metres down the pitch, and that the technology's prediction could not be deemed conclusive.

The despondency of the crowd was reflected in India's subsequent bowling, as Strauss motored through to his sixth ODI century, from 99 balls, and on towards his third in excess of 150. Liberated by the match situation, he launched Yuvraj for one of the biggest sixes of his career, straight down the ground, to bring up the hundred partnership, and Bell did likewise to Chawla to rush through to his fifty from 45 balls.

It was England's decision to take the batting Powerplay, at 280 for 2 in the 43rd over, that triggered the devastating late reversal of momentum. India's last chance appeared to have gone begging when Bell, on 68, was dropped by Virat Kohli at slip off Chawla, but Kohli made amends 10 balls later, when Bell miscued a tired slog off Zaheer to extra cover. With the crowd alive to the contest once again, Zaheer then put himself on a hat-trick with an unplayable late-swinging yorker that crushed Strauss's toe in front of leg stump.

With the pressure proving smothering and Chawla's variations now illegible to the new batsmen, Paul Collingwood missed a wipe across the line to be bowled for 1 from five balls, before Prior gave up all hope of threading the gaps and took a huge top-edged heave at Harbhajan to be caught for 4 from 8. Michael Yardy chipped and chivvied before dinking an attempted boundary shot straight to Sehwag at short backward square, but it was Swann's flat six off Chawla, with 29 needed from two overs, that reawakened England's challenge. Three balls later, Bresnan also put Chawla into the stands, and though he was bowled having a mow in the same over, Ajmal Shahzad sent his first ball, from Patel, in the same direction, to set up the grandstand finish.

If England felt that they'd let a golden opportunity go, then at least it could be said that they proved themselves equal to one of the best performances of a legendary career. Even by Tendulkar's matchless standards, his was a vintage performance, and a masterful example of how to pace an innings. He was a casual bystander in the day's opening exchanges, while Sehwag ran amok, before picking up his tempo throughout a second-wicket stand of 134 with Gautam Gambhir, without ever needing to take risks to make his mark. The high point of his innings came when he belted consecutive sixes at the start of Swann's second spell, a calculated show of class that undermined England's trump bowler, and left Strauss floundering for alternatives as his tactics were picked apart.

In all Tendulkar stroked 10 fours and five sixes in what was, somewhat curiously, his first one-day hundred against England for nine years. By the time he was dismissed with 11 overs of the innings remaining, caught off a leading edge at cover (to give James Anderson his first one-day wicket in India for 53 overs dating back to 2006, on a day in which he conceded the most expensive analysis in England's World Cup history), India's total stood at an imposing 236 for 3, and it was a measure both of Tendulkar's brilliance and of England's dogged refusal to give in, that Yuvraj and MS Dhoni were unable to cut loose to quite the extent they might have expected.

The omens for England had not been exactly positive going into the start of this match. Eleven defeats in their last 12 away matches against India underlined their status of underdogs, as did the two team's respective performances in their opening fixtures of the tournament - England's laboured victory over the Netherlands compared distinctly unfavourably to India's crunching win against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and when Stuart Broad, their best and most aggressive seamer, was ruled out with a stomach complaint before the start of the match, a vast swathe of England's gameplan went down with him. Nevertheless, they thought on their feet and showed precisely the pluck that was in stasis throughout their one-day campaign in Australia. Two of the best teams in the world were on show in Bangalore, and what a show they produced.

Cooper and ten Doeschate keep Netherlands steady

The Netherlands batting line-up blended obdurate resistance with a measure of flair on an easy-paced wicket to push along to a solid 119 for 2 at the halfway mark of their World Cup opening fixture against England at Nagpur. After a lively cameo from the rookie wicketkeeper, Wesley Barresi, it was left to the established pair of Tom Cooper and Ryan ten Doeschate to keep the scoreboard ticking in an unbeaten 61-run stand for the third wicket.

Two years on from his side's shock victory in the opening match of the World Twenty20 at Lord's in 2009, the Dutch skipper Peter Borren won the toss and trusted the men at his disposal to post a competitive total. They started with some aplomb, as Barresi and Worcestershire's starlet Alexei Kervezee picked off a boundary apiece as James Anderson and Stuart Broad strayed onto the pads in their first overs, before Kervezee launched Anderson over mid-on for another four.

Broad showed good pace and aggression in his first proper international for two months, having sustained a stomach injury during the Ashes, but his third over was dispatched for 13 as Barresi fenced a lifter through the clutches of Matt Prior behind the stumps, before giving himself room outside leg to pick off two more off-side fours in the same over.

It was Tim Bresnan, recovered from the calf injury that curtailed his one-day campaign in Australia, who made the first breakthrough, as Kervezee got underneath an attempted pull and top-edged a looping chance straight into Prior's gloves for 16. Cooper was then gifted a leg-stump half-volley to get off the mark first-ball, as he and Barresi marked the start of the end of the bowling Powerplay by taking Netherlands to a comfortable 57 for 1 after 11.

Graeme Swann, back with the squad following the birth of his son Wilfred, and thrust straight back into the starting XI, did as he invariably does and struck in the first over of his spell, as Barresi dragged his back foot out of the crease as he was beaten outside off, and Prior whipped off the bails to end a 25-ball innings of 29.

Ten Doeschate, the kingpin of the Dutch batting line-up, was greeted by the nagging medium pace of Paul Collingwood, whose canny offcutters could have a big role to play in this tournament. He used his wrists well to pick off a pair of boundaries in a three-over spell, before Andrew Strauss returned to the pace of James Anderson in a bid to break the stand. But he was unable to do so, as the Dutch pair extended their stand with a succession of easy singles.

In the absence of the second spinner, Michael Yardy, Kevin Pietersen was tossed the ball to give his offspin an airing, but Cooper cut a short ball through third man to bring up the hundred in the 24th over, before Collingwood's fourth over was greeted with a one-bounce four from ten Doeschate over wide mid-on.

England 1 Kevin Pietersen, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James Anderson.

Netherlands 1 Alexei Kervezee, 2 Wesley Barresi (wk), 3 Tom Cooper, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Bas Zuiderent, 6 Tom de Grooth, 7 Peter Borren (capt), 8 Mudassar Bukhari, 9 Pieter Seelaar, 10 Bernard Loots, 11 Berend Westdijk.

World Cup could cement Afridi's captaincy credentials

Until 2009, the words Shahid Afridi and captaincy were used only in the lingo of left-field cranks in Pakistan. Captaincy, they said, would settle down an intrinsically hyper man; the rest, in generally exasperated tones, asked how such a personality could bring any stability to ten others?

Those leftists won when he took over first as T20 captain in 2009 and then again when he became ODI leader last year (he had captained two ODIs as stand-in before). But they lost when he chewed on a ball in Perth and did so again when he abruptly walked away from the Test captaincy after losing to Australia last year at Lord's.

Even the PCB isn't sure about Afridi's captaincy credentials, though that is about par for the course for them. They've only ever appointed him captain on a series-by-series basis. Until two weeks before the tournament began they still weren't sure. It probably suits him, the uncertainty of it, given how he plays every game potentially as his first and last: lose and be gone, win and there won't be a hero like you.

And yet, here he is, as captain in a World Cup, the biggest platform of them all, and one on which he has been a miserable presence: 125 runs and seven wickets in 12 games. Over the next many weeks, one side will claim victory.

For what little its worth, this scribe has come round to the idea of Afridi, the captain. Nine wins and 11 losses say little, but he hasn't done a bad job really. He's consultative but strong-minded enough to ignore advice he doesn't like. He has an involved presence in the field, though it might not be a bad option for the bowlers to carry around earplugs. This is Afridi, so nuanced understanding of strategy and tactic need not take up too much time here. In any case, barring two, possibly three, the great Pakistani tactician-leader does not exist: personality and the ability to create and seize a collective vibe are far more important.

And it's not as if he has had the greatest luck with the personnel available, or that he has led in particularly settled times, or that alternatives are overflowing. In fact, you'd be right to question the mind of any man whodoes take on the captaincy. Like the Presidency of Pakistan, if it brings rewards, arguably it brings greater tension and pitfalls, as Afridi noted a day ahead of his side's opener against Kenya in Hambantota.

"It's difficult to be the captain, in India or Pakistan it's difficult to handle it," he said with an old, worn smile. "Situations are tough at times but you have to come out of that, you have to give sacrifice at times, but my effort is always that I do well as captain. It was difficult in the beginning, when we had all those issues, we had to rebuild, we had to lift the team again and that was affecting my performances but now our team is settled and we have a good combination. I think in my 13-14 year career, we haven't done as much hard work as we are doing now."

Publicly he has said that the delay in appointing him and the criticism from various ex-players doesn't affect him. Here, he said it again. "My chairman had already announced me captain for the World Cup but I never felt worried about whether I am the captain or not. I am enjoying my cricket both as captain and player. That is the main thing."

But inside, it has bothered him as, naturally, it would anyone. He is quick to tell anyone who questions his position and place, for example, that he was Pakistan's top ODI run-scorer and joint leading wicket-taker in 2010. Lead by deed in Pakistan and half the job is often done.

A semi-final spot is a realistic target he believes. Any further, and not for the first time in Pakistan, left-field cranks will have won the day.

Ponting hopes Hussey's exclusion won't hurt

	Michael Hussey was Australia's most prolific batsman in the Ashes series but was injured in the first game of the one-day series against England © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Michael Hussey | Ricky Ponting Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: Australia

Ricky Ponting hopes Australia's decision to leaveMichael Hussey at home due to doubts over his hamstring injury won't cost them dearly later in theWorld Cup. The national selectors nearly faced an embarrassing situation after Hussey trained so well in Perth that Western Australia wanted to pick him for their Sheffield Shield match, which started on Monday.

That was the same day Australia kicked off their World Cup campaign, and while the batsmen did enough to help set up a victory over Zimbabwe, Hussey's quick scoring in the middle order could have been very useful. In the end, Hussey reportedly called the Western Australia coach Mickey Arthur and decided against playing at the WACA.

But it was a close call, and it would not looked good had Australia's highest-ranked ODI batsman been playing Sheffield Shield cricket instead of the World Cup opener. And the selector Greg Chappell confirmed on Monday that under the ICC rules, Hussey would not be allowed to rejoin the squad, even if another player was injured later in the competition.

"Hopefully it won't come back and hurt us at all," Ponting said after the win over Zimbabwe. "We've got what we've got now, with the squad. We understand that Mike was disappointed not to be in this squad in the first place and we're disappointed for him as well.

"But all we can do now is move forward and move on with the squad of players that we've got and do the best that we can to try to get ourselves into the semi-final stage of this event. We hope that Mike does make a speedy recovery and he is back playing cricket again soon. The medicos and our selectors felt he wasn't fit enough to come away on the tour."

Hussey had surgery five weeks ago to reattach a hamstring tendon that tore off the bone during the opening ODI against England, and the selectors did not want to risk taking an unfit player to the World Cup. But at training in Perth on Sunday, he impressed the Western Australian staff so much that he was named to play against Tasmania, before the decision was changed.

Adding to the drama were reports that Chappell had told Hussey that he should consider retirement rather than trying to force his way back into the Australian team. Australia generally base their selections on Ashes and World Cup cycles, and it's unlikely Hussey, who is now 35, will be part of the next battle for the urn or the next World Cup campaign, but Chappell denied the reports.

"That's untrue," Chappell told reporters in Melbourne. "In the nets [on Sunday] he was pretty excited by the way he pulled up, but in discussions between Cricket Australia medical staff and West Australian medical staff, they decided it was probably imprudent to try and rush it. They decided to stick to the original plan - try and play some club cricket on the weekend and resume on March 3. They jointly agreed to stick to that plan."

Hussey is the only Australian ranked in the ICC's top ten ODI batsmen, sitting in fourth position behind Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. If Australia need a replacement batsman during the rest of the World Cup, they will probably look to Shaun Marsh, although he is still struggling with a hamstring injury of his own, while another option would be Adam Voges.

No complacency for bullish Pakistan

At some level it probably suits Pakistan that the focus on them at these big dos is usually on the circus of controversy and scandal that travels with them. "Look here come Pakistan after the death of their coach, here come Pakistan after the spot-fixing brouhaha, here come Pakistan after the terror attacks, here come Pakistan with their 17th captain this month." Generally, it tends to be overlooked - though probably not by their opponents - that they come with a hefty bounty of talent, capable of equally hefty things. It is why no right-minded, field-based discussion can ever ignore them.

This World Cup, for the first time since 1999, they bring genuinely fresh personnel, players waiting to make a name, not players living off their names.Waqar Younis, coach and veteran of a number ofWorld Cup heartbreaks, sifted patiently through a raft of spot-fixing questions before a practice session in Hambantota, ahead of his side's opener against Kenya on Wednesday, before coming to the crux of his job: his team.

There is, as Waqar noted, a blend in this squad, of youth and experience, of flair and pragmatism, of stars and shopfloor assistants. "In every big tournament there are some youngsters, and they will be in other teams as well, who are the livewires of the tournament," he said.

"We too have such players like Ahmed Shehzad, who has played two very good knocks, and I hope that Umar Akmal, another youngster, can come good here. Younis [Khan] is in good form. We have Wahab Riaz, who we hope will do well. We have got a good blend, good spinners, fairly good fast bowlers. All that matters is that we click at the right time."

Over six months, significant ODI wins in three different countries has shown as much. What has worried Waqar has been an inability to finish off close games, or longer contests such as bilateral series. Eight of their 19 ODIs since Waqar took over last year have been close ones: of their 10 losses, three have been by 24 runs or less and two, by three wickets and four wickets that went to the last over. Of their eight wins, two have been by a wicket, one by two wickets and another by 23 runs; two bilateral series have needed a fifth, deciding game - which they've lost - and six-game series they won 3-2. Almost always, they are nearly there.

"It carried on for a while, when we played the Asia Cup, World Twenty20 and then even in England we came very, very close to the games but couldn't finish it," Waqar said. "Eventually we started finishing in New Zealand and yes, it is something which you can improve. Even I go out and learn something new from a youngster in cricket every day, so we are on a learning curve. We have learnt how to finish and make sure we don't get to the situation in the first place where the game gets tight."

Under normal circumstances Kenya should not provide too stern a challenge, but given Ireland and all that, understandably Waqar is wary. "Everyone knows this is an important tournament so every match is important, whether the opponents are Kenya or Australia. We will play as if we are playing against any big team. We will not take anything lightly and go out to win every match."

Calling it a personal mission to undo miserable past World Cups would be overdoing it, but a good run here will mean something to Waqar. At his absolute peak in 1992, he had to pull out of the squad at the last minute in Australia with stress fractures of the back; he later greeted his team-mates, with a tear in his eye, at the airport in Lahore as they returned with the trophy. In 1996 he was hit for 40 runs in his last two overs of the quarter-final, swinging the match decisively in favour of India.

He was a peripheral member of the 1999 World Cup squad, playing in just one game - the loss to Bangladesh. In 2003, he was captain as Pakistan crashed out in the first round. "I don't have any regrets, because 1992 was a glory for Pakistan cricket. I wasn't part of that team but that does not matter. I have been part of several World Cups, this is different role I've got, different challenges and hopefully, if as a cricketer I didn't succeed in the World Cup, this is my opportunity as a coach."

Australian pace too much for Zimbabwe

Australia began their World Cup campaign on a winning note, wrapping up an easy 91-run win over a Zimbabwean outfit that had no answer to the pace battery of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, who finished as the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 19. Zimbabwe had put in a spirited display in the field to keep Australia to 262 for 6 on a good batting wicket, but they never looked like chasing the runs down once a positive opening stand between Charles Coventry and Brendan Taylor had been broken.

With Lee and Tait steaming in with the new ball, Zimbabwe's openers had every reason to be nervous but they quickly shed their early jitters - Coventry's flambuoyant flash over cover point being a particular highlight - and started to settle before Lee switched his length with immediate reward. Digging the ball in, he drew a false stroke from Coventry and an ungainly hook resulted in a top edge that Lee himself charged round to catch.

Brendan Taylor did his best to overcome the setback but the revival was short-lived and after Tatenda Taibu glided Johnson straight to slip Tait beat Taylor for pace, aiming one full and straight and pin-balling it off bat and pad to disturb his stumps. It was extreme speed that did for Craig Ervine, too, as he took his eyes off a Johnson bumper to wear one on the grille and was pinned on the pad in front of middle and leg by the very next ball. With the Umpire unwilling to send him on his way, a successful referral was asked for and Zimbabwe's chase quickly began to slide towards the mire at 44 for 4 in the 13th over.

Williams didn't look particularly comfortable against Johnson either, but he and Chigumbura did at least manage to survive the onslaught and slowly began to rebuild against Australia's second string. The chase derailed completely when Chigumbura gloved Jason Krejza to Haddin for 14 in the 22nd over and Zimbabwe's last hopes evaporated soon after, Williams wafting Tait to slip as the score sank to 96 for 6. Despite some stubborn resistance from Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer, there was no coming back from there.

It had been a different story for Zimbabwe when they were in the field as some disciplined bowling and inspired fielding ensured Australia's batsmen never really got away from them. As has been the case so often in recent times, Shane Watson provided the bulk of the runs at the top of the order with a well-paced 79, while Michael Clarke guided their charge past 250 with an unbeaten 58.

Watson and Haddin made a strangely subdued start, and despite the admirable professionalism shown by Zimbabwe's attack one might have expected more than 28 runs to have come from the first Powerplay. While Chris Mpofu, the only specialist seamer in the side, maintained a disciplined off-stump line, Ray Price shared the new pill and also lived up to his unapologetically brusque reputation, laying into Watson before he'd even faced a ball.

The batsmen finally decided they had had enough of the wait-and-see tactic and broke loose with 17 off Mpofu's sixth over but Zimbabwe struck back when Utseya came on at the end of the first Powerplay. After an exemplary start to his spell - in which not a run was scored for the first nine deliveries he sent down - had his reward when Haddin stepped back to a flighted delivery and was struck in line with middle and leg. Umpire Asoka de Silva thought there might have been an inside edge, but Zimbabwe asked for a review - this being their first ever look at the UDRS - and had the decision over-turned.

After a quiet start to his innings Watson started to strike the ball with ominous force, lifting Cremer into the stands with a brutal pull, before he was removed by Zimbabwe's second fortuitous referral of the day. Stretching forward to a Cremer legbreak, Watson played with more pad than bat to prompt an emotive appeal. This time it was Umpire Richard Kettleborough who decided there was enough doubt to turn it down, but wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu insisted on a referral and Zimbabwe were rewarded with the result they wanted.

They were given a serious lift in the very next over as Ricky Ponting, in his first full international innings since his return from a finger injury, took on Mpofu's arm with a hard-run second as the ball rolled to midwicket. A pinpoint rocket throw hit the wicket directly to catch him well short to spark wild celebrations from Zimbabwe and with that Australia were 144 for 3. Clarke and Cameron White started their rebuilding effort cautiously and Zimbabwe never let the game get away from them, Mpofu recovering well from a cumbersome start to his spell at the death to rattle White's stumps and reduce Australia to 207 for 4.

David Hussey and Steve Smith came and went in quick succession but gave the innings some oomph while they were at the crease, both clearing the boundary with some powerful strokes. Clarke remained to guide Australia to a total which, while probably not as many as they would have hoped for, still proved far too much for a Zimbabwe line-up with precious little experience of facing express international fast bowling.

Jayawardene ton sinks outclassed Canada

For the many who slammed the ICC's decision to expel Associates from the next World Cup, this was a bad day. After Kenya were embarrassed by a modest New Zealand team, Canada desperately needed to showcase why minnow teams belong on the global stage. Instead they were overwhelmed by 210 runs against Sri Lanka, who opened their World Cup campaign as emphatically as their co-hosts India did on Saturday.

Mahela Jayawardene stroked his way to the fastest World Cup hundred by a Sri Lankan, sharing a 176-run stand with his captain Kumar Sangakkara, before the home side's pace bowlers rushed through a hapless Canadian line-up to deliver a crushing victory.

After India's fervoured opening in Mirpur, proceedings at Hambantota felt much more leisurely, and with a combination of sight screen problems and a few injuries, it took the visitors four hours to get through their fielding effort. For the first 20 overs of Sri Lanka's innings the scoring rate was almost as sluggish - despite a 59-ball half-century for Tillakaratne Dilshan - as Canada demonstrated the ideal model for Associate cricket. Disciplined dobbers combined with swift fielding and a slowish track to keep Sri Lanka in check.

It was only when Jayawardene arrived that Sri Lanka's campaign really kicked into gear. He was in total control, threading the spinners through the finest gaps and caressing boundaries at will. Sangakkara was not quite as fluent, needing 47 deliveries to find his first boundary. He survived two moments of alarm, when he was dropped on 12 by by 16-year-old Nitish Kumar, on as a substitute, and again on 48 by the rotund legspinner Balaji Rao.

Jayawardene barely mistimed a ball but twice survived reviews from Canada captain Ashish Bagai, who was convinced he was out caught behind. On both occasions the appeal was spontaneous and exuberant but the UDRS - without Snicko and HotSpot - revealed nothing. With those behind him, Jayawardene's glances, chips, pick-up-sweeps and even a reverse-thwack toyed with an attack that faded under pressure. 

Smart Stats Sri Lanka's 332 is their second highest score in World Cup matches, behind their 398 against Kenya in Kandy in 1996. It is also the second highest score against Canadain World Cups behind New Zealand's 363 in 2007. Mahela Jayawardene scored his century off 80 balls, making it the fastest century in World Cups by a Sri Lankan batsman. The previous record was held by Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored his century off 85 balls againstBangladesh in the 2007 World Cup. With their ninth century partnership, Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara went past the pairing of Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga, who have eight century stands in ODIs. They are now second only to Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, who have 14 century partnerships. The 179-run partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene is the second highest third-wicketpartnership for Sri Lanka in World Cup matches. Sri Lanka posted their sixth score over 300 in World Cups, which is second only to Australia, who have 13 scores over 300. Three of Sri Lanka's 300-plus scores came in the 2007 World Cup. The 210 run victory margin is Sri Lanka's second highest in World Cup matches and the seventh highest overall in World Cup matches.

There was no route back for Canada as the pair cashed in against a tiring attack. It's becoming one of cricket's more quirky stats that Sangakkara can't seem to reach three figures in ODI cricket anymore. His last century was in June 2008 and he has now gone 60 matches without a hundred, despite scoring heavily over the period.

He had the ideal opportunity today, but inexplicably popped a gentle return catch to John Davison when eight runs short. By this stage the only trouble for Jayawardene was the heat and he looked exhausted as he crawled the single to bring up his record-breaking century.

While victory was always going to be beyond them, a competitive showing with the bat would have lifted the spirits of a dank World Cup day but Canada's top order folded against a sparky new-ball pairing. The hulking Thislan Perera proved too quick for John Davison and Zubin Sukari before returning later to snare Bagai. The looming threat of rain forced Sangakkara to swap seam for spin to rush to 20 overs - the minimum needed to constitute a match - but once that threat cleared Sri Lanka's job was as good as done.

At 40, Davison has had plenty of experience but appears to be trading off the World Cup century he made eight years ago. In the build-up Canada were keen to point to the clutch of youngsters who had come through their Under-19s side but come the day Kumar and Hiral Patel - their two bright batting talents - were left out. After today's showing both can expect to make their senior World Cup debuts soon.

Rizwan Cheema offered a glimpse of the big-hitting that gave England a fright but by that stage that game was meandering towards the inevitable. After two matches and two crushing defeats, the Associates are doing the ICC's case no harm at all.

Australia v Zimbabwe, Group A, World Cup 2011, Ahmedabad Confident Australia seek winning start

Match Facts

February 21, Ahmedabad
Start time 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)

Big Picture

Australia enter uncharted territory as they open their tenth World Cup campaign at Motera in Ahmedabad. For the first time in a cricketing generation, they come into the competition without the favourites tag to weigh them down, and while the expectations of their fans will still be high, a fourth consecutive world title seems a long way off. The Zimbabweans, too, stand at the brink of a new era. A group roundly written off for half a decade - and rightly so - is now a rapidly maturing unit, fully aware of its strengths and how to play to them.

While they are clearly no longer the world-beaters of old, Australia remain one of the best limited-overs outfits in world cricket. They left the Ashes in England's hands but tempered that disappointment with a 6-1 trouncing in the one-day series that followed and have an enviable record of 23 consecutive wins in World Cup matches since their semi-final tie against South Africa in 1999. They were well short of their best in their two warm-ups against India and South Africa, but Zimbabwe will be softer targets and haven't beaten Australia in a full one-day international since their famous win at Trent Bridge in 1983.

All the same, the Zimbabwe side Australia will meet in Ahmedabad has a different complexion to the one that was thrashed 3-0 in their last bilateral series way back in May 2004. A lot of the names on the Zimbabwe team sheet are the same, but the attitude in the team camp is completely different, and they will also be buoyed by the fact that their most recent confrontations against Australia have both resulted in wins. They triumphed on a rainy night at Newlands in the World Twenty20 in 2007 and then edged a closely-fought encounter in the warm-ups to the 2010 competition in the Caribbean.

Those results will have pricked more than just Aussie pride, and where once they would have floated into this match surrounded by an impenetrable aura, now they will be respected but not feared. Ricky Ponting's men have ample firepower to blow Zimbabwe away with both bat and ball, but if they're not at their best the Zimbabweans have a couple of emerging stars of their own who could at least ensure a competitive match. Zimbabwe are one of the better 'minnow' sides at this tournament, and with the ICC seemingly set on expelling Associate nations from the World Cup altogether in the future, a spirited performance from them would at least show that the smaller teams are also capable of playing entertaining cricket.

Form guide

(Most recent first)

Australia: WWWLW
Zimbabwe: LLLWL

Pitch and conditions

While the pitch has a slightly grassy look to it, plenty of that is made up of grass shavings that have been rolled into it so it is not as green as it appears. Recent history suggests that conditions could favour the batsmen - South Africa racked up 365 for 2 here a year ago, with centuries for Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers. A steaming hot day should be followed by a cool, clear night, and while dew shouldn't be a major factor, it could play some part in the second innings.

Watch out for…

Zimbabwe's batsmen will be unaccustomed to facing a bowler of Shaun Tait's searing pace, and if he gets past the top order the soft underbelly of the middle order could easily be opened up. In England last year, he hit 160kph and if he even gets near that he'll be too much for the Zimbabweans. A menacing presence with both the new and old ball, he's been in the wickets recently too, taking 3 for 48 against England at the WACAto cap Australia's resounding series win.

After a quiet couple of months, Elton Chigumbura seems to be getting back to his effervescent best - with the bat at least - and he cracked a 81-ball 103 against Ireland during Zimbabwe's warm-ups. There's also something about competing against Australia that seems to bring out the best in him: as an 18-year-old in his sixth ODI against an attack containing Glenn McGrath and Shane Watson, he top-scored with 77, and at the World Twenty20 warm-ups in 2010 he cracked 76 from just 35 balls against them to set up a one-run win.

Team news

Australia have remained tight-lipped on a possible playing XI, but they'll be looking to stamp their authority early on this World Cup and will be loathe to experiment despite the relative weakness of the opposition. That means Callum Ferguson, Tim Paine and perhaps Doug Bollinger will sit out, while Jason Krezja's position will depend on their reading of the pitch. John Hastings is more likely to find his way into the starting line-up.

Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 David Hussey, 6 Cameron White, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 John Hastings, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Shaun Tait.

The main questions for the Zimbabweans revolve around their top order. Charles Coventry was tried as an opening partner for Brendan Taylor during their warm-ups, with limited success, but it's unlikely he'll make way for the only other specialist opening batsman in the squad - Terry Duffin. The bowling line-up is sure to have an emphasis on spin, while the greater dynamism of Sean Williams' batting means he'll probably sneak in ahead of offspinning allrounder Greg Lamb.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Charles Coventry, 3 Regis Chakabva, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu.

Try picking the XIs for tomorrow's game by playing Team Selector.

Stats and trivia

• The highest total at Motera came in the previous match played there, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers putting on an unbeaten 173 for the third wicket as South Africa reached 365 for 2. There have been five other totalsover 300 at the ground, all of which have come since 2000.
• A couple of the Zimbabweans won't have happy memories of their last trip to this ground. At the Champions Trophy in 2006, they came up against West Indies here and were bowled out for 85, losing by nine wickets.
• In 27 ODIs against Zimbabwe, Australia have lost just once - and that was in the first official match between the two sides.
• Taylor has been in terrific form in the last 18 months, and he'll also draw confidence from his past recordagainst Australia: he made consecutive half-centuries as an 18-year-old in his first two games against an Australian attack including the likes of McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz.
• Ponting will be making a record 40th World Cup appearance, moving ahead of McGrath (39) and pulling away from Sanath Jayasuriya and Wasim Akram (both 38).
  Quotes
  "The pitch is a massive part of the equation. But if you have a bowler like Tait bowling around 160 kmh at the batsmen's toes, it doesn't matter where you are playing. It is still going to hit the batsmen on the full."
  Brett Lee believes sheer pace alone could be enough to get past the batsmen in Ahmedabad
  
  "If we play confidently, play our best cricket and Australia don't, then we may have a chance. Let's be honest, if both sides play their best cricket, it's very likely that we'll lose."
  Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher is realistic about his team's chances of causing an upset in their opening game