Hobart: Pushed to the very brink of elimination, a demoralised India face an ardous task of beating Sri Lanka with a bonus point to have any remote chance of qualifying to the final of the cricket tri-series when the two sides clash here on Tuesday.
Barely left standing on their feet after a dismal show in the tournament, India would not only need a win with a bonus point to remain alive but also hope that Australia would somehow prevail over Lanka in the last league match in Melbourne on March 2.
The odds are heavily staked against the beleaguered Indians but teams have won with bonus points and India would hope that they do it tomorrow or leave Australian shores with humiliation after a Test series whitewash.
A bonus point is earned when a team achieves a run-rate of 1.25 times than that of the opposition. A team’s run-rate will be calculated by the reference to the runs scored in an innings, divided by the numbers of overs faced.
In essence, India needs to chase down a target in 40 overs or while batting first, get the opposition out in the least number of overs as possible.
A bonus point though looks a wild dream for a team which is getting all-out in most of the matches and have suffered defeats by the margin of 101, 51 and 87 runs in last three successive matches.
No Indian has hit a hundred nor have they managed a century partnership in the tournament and the highest score from their miserable batsmen last night against Australia in Sydney was a mere 23. There have been only eight partnerships of 50 or more. They have lost four of their seven matches and managed a tie in one game.
It would be too much to expect from the hapless unit to suddenly discover the potency of scores and most bear the look of someone who would give anything to get out of Australia on the next available flight.
Sachin Tendulkar has just one innings, if India were to be knocked out tomorrow, to fulfil his unfinished mission of scoring his 100th international century.
There was poignancy in the manner he was run-out last night and it was one more instance where he’s dismissed in an unexpected manner. In the previous game, he had shouldered arm to Nuwan Kulasekara but the ball had still touched his willow and fell on to his stumps. (PTI)