India pulverise Sri Lanka, move into semi-finals It was a curious match-up - one team had peaked early and declined in form and strength ever since, while another started rustily before scaling heights that had pundits proclaiming them serious contenders for the Cup. Oddly enough, then, Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya asked India's mighty batting to have first strike, only to watch painfully as the batsmen racked up 292. Sachin Tendulkar missed a century narrowly, making 97 off 120 balls, while Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly scored 66 and 48 respectively. Sri Lanka were undoubtedly under pressure chasing such a tall target, and things only got worse after the first four wickets fell having made ducks, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 15 for four. A string of poor scores followed, and although Muttiah Muralitharan swung his bat entertainingly towards the end, it was hardly enough, and Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 109. They must now beat Zimbabwe to even get into the semi-finals, and don't look like they will do too well if they get there - unlike India, who must count themselves in with a strong, strong shot at the title.

Tendulkar has never played better - Ganguly Speaking to the press after India's 183-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Monday, skipper Sourav Ganguly said there was every reason for his opposite number to choose to bowl first. "There was a lot of moisture in the pitch early on so I knew he was going to put us into bat, but we just batted very well," Ganguly said. "We're very happy with the way we played today, we've done a very good job here today. We're a good unit, we know our strengths and we play to our strengths and we have match-winners in every position - that is the key," he added. Ganguly was particularly fulsome in his praise for Sachin Tendulkar, who hit a six and seven fours in a 120-ball innings of 97, taking his run tally in the tournament to 571 in just eight matches. "He's playing as well as I've ever seen him, I think," said Ganguly. "The key this time is his consistency because he's doing it in nearly every match. Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore, meanwhile, backed his players to bounce back in their next game against Zimbabwe, despite two crushing defeats by Australia and India. "The players got themselves into this - they can get themselves out of it," Whatmore insisted. "We've had a talk about things in the dressing room and basically that's a fact. Myself as coach and the physio and the backroom staff share a responsibility but what ultimately happens, whether we win or lose, is down to the players in the middle to put right."

Less is more for record-breaking Tendulkar Three ounces would hardly tip the scales at a Bombay food market but for Sachin Tendulkar it has been the difference between feast and famine. It is the weight Tendulkar had shaved off his famously heavy bat before the start of the tournament. The Little Master, who scored just two runs in his last three one-day internationals against New Zealand in January, has since amassed a record 571 runs in eight World Cup innings, at an average of 71.37 with one hundred against Namibia. "It allows him now to play all the shots, all around the wicket. His balance and timing are outstanding. This is the best I've seen him since 1998 against Australia," former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri observed, before adding that Tendulkar's determination .to play with the kind of freedom he hasn't always allowed himself in the past. has also helped in him becoming the dominant batsman of the tournament.

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