COLOMBO, July 25: The only thing that can be said with any degree of certainty about the condensed form of cricket is its unpredictability. It just takes a few overs of bad cricket to undo hours of good work. Therein lies the agony and ecstasy of the game.

India have the knack of surprising everyone, including themselves. Remember the Titan Cup, when India struggled their way into the final, where they plotted a fantastic coup against the marauding South Africans? Months later, India again beat the odds to enter the triangular final in South Africa where a victory was very much in the realms of possibility.

These cricketing inputs would not have escaped the intelligence of Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga as his team braces up for the Pepsi Asia Cup final against India, here, tomorrow.

Ranatunga conceded that ``India have started playing well again,'' basing his assessment on the manner in which they beat the mathematicial odds to qualify for the final.

Sri Lanka go into the title round holding all the aces: they are the World Cup champions, they have the advantage of playing in front of supporters who infuse life into a dead man, they boast of possessing some of the most destructive batting ammunition and they have several all-rounders of class and consistency which gives the team a fantastic balance and the skipper options which are pressure-easing.

If there is one thing Ranatunga hates, it's the tag of favourites -- a burden that he will have to shoulder going into the contest tomorrow. He realises the perils of inflated expectations. And as his team lead a compelling and attention-seeking surge in the last World Cup, he took great pains to stress that his team was the underdog.

The sobriquet of underdog has to be India's, who have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Nobody expected them to make the final. In the event, it was a bonus. Should they win tomorrow it will be an even bigger achievement.

The one man in the Indian ranks who could win the match on his own divine gifts, is Tendulkar himself. Unfortunately, his batting is in the midst of a mini trough, with scores of 2,4, 21 and 28 in the last four outings in One-day Internationals.

Asked if he believes in the laws of averages, the Indian skipper retained his sense of humour, when he replied: ``I hope, I will start believing it from tomorrow.''

The bigger the occasion, the greater the challenge for the genuises. The final may just be the perfect platform for Tendulkar to come good at Premadasa Stadium -- a venue which saw him make his first ODI ton and also the first century as India captain.

The Indians have shortlisted the 12, which does not have a place for tourists Nilesh Kulkarni and Debashish Mohanty. David's off-spin against the plethora of Lankan southpaws makes him a certainty, leaving the team management to decide between Navjot Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja.

Lanka will be playing at their full available strength. They are certain to bring back Chaminda Vaas and Kumara Dharmasena, who gave way to the reserves Upula Chandana and Dulip Liyanage for the inconsequential match against Bangladesh.

The threat of rains continue to hover over Colombo. A sharp burst in the evening today ruined the Indians' outdoor practice. The side finally had to resort to indoors for their nets.

The forecast is not too cheerful for tomorrow, with the Met department predicting occasional showers. The rains today has done considerable damage.

The Premadasa stadium does not have good drainage system, putting a question mark over a prompt start tomorrow.

THE TEAMS

India (from): Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Navjot Sidhu, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Saba Karim, Anil Kumble, Noel David, Abey Kuruvilla and Venkatesh Prasad.

Sri Lanka (from): Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama, Lanka de Silva, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralidharan, Ruwan Kalpage, Sajeewa de Silva, Upal Chandana, Dulip Liyanage and Romesh Kaluwitharna

Umpires: Nazir Junior and Salim Badar (Pakistan)

Third umpire: N Asghar (Bangladesh)

ICC match referee: John Reid (New Zealand)

India achieves all-time high ODI record

India during their frantic run chase against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup match on Thursday achieved a world record for the fastest run-rate of 8.80 runs per over by a team in One-day internationals. They surpassed the previous record of 8.33 runs which was held by West Indies against Australia at Sydney in January, 1989.

Listed below are some the fastest team totals in terms of fastest run-rate.
Scores (Overs) Run-rate Teams Venue Date
132-1 (15) 8.80 India v B'desh Colombo (SSC) 24.7.1997
111-2 (13.2) 8.33 WI v Aus Sydney 18.1.1989
121-6 (15) 8.07 Eng v Ind Chandigarh 27.1.1985
398-5 (50) 7.96 SL v Kenya Kandy 6.3.1996
157-5 (20) 7.85 Pak v NZ Faisalabad 23.11.1984
162-3 (20.5) 7.78 NZ v Zim Napier 3.3.1992
252-3 (33) 7.64 Pak v Ind Lahore 31.12.1982
152-7 (20) 7.60 NZ v Pak Faisalabad 23.11.1984
114-5 (15) 7.60 Ind v Eng Chandigarh 27.1.1985
299-4 (40) 7.48 Ind v SL Bombay 17.1.1987
371-9 (50) 7.42 Pak v SL Nairobi 4.10.1996
333-8 (45) 7.40 WI v Ind Jamshedpur 7.12.1983
289-7 (40) 7.23 SL v Ind Bombay 17.1.1987
360-4 (50) 7.20 WI v SL Karachi 13.10.1987

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.