It was almost as though Mark Waugh was the forward scout for Australia. From the moment he charged Venkatesh Prasad and sliced a boundary high over slips, Australia was constantly on the attack.

Mark is a casual genius, playing elegantly, easily and occasionally resorting to brute force. By showing intent, Mark elicited some loose deliveries, in particular, from the inexperienced Debashish Mohanty pitching short and wide. Adam Gilchrist is seen as the man to get Australia off to a fast start, but it was Waugh who raced away from his partner in displaying as much skill through the off-side as his renowned on-side play.

Despite the loss of Gilchrist, nothing could slow Mark'sprogress as he went for Robin Singh with a force that we don't normally associate with this elegant strokemaker.

Just as it looked like he'd post yet another World Cup century, he played a typically casual flick off the pads. This weakness for soft dismissals are Mark's only failing and when Ricky Ponting followed in the same over, Australia's progress was slowed perceptibly. Glenn McGrath made it a target too far when he got rid of Sachin Tendulkar. India was right to elevate the maestro back to the top of the order, but on this occasion, McGrath won the joust and to underline the return to form, he prised out two more with the new ball.

McGrath unseated Tendulkar by bringing him forward and did the same to Rahul Dravid, but he used liberal lift available in the Oval pitch to end Mohammed Azharuddin's resistance. The Indian captain is in the batting horrors at the moment and his use of Ajay Jadeja at number four hinted that his confidence is at a low ebb.

Jadeja found a solid ally in Robin Singh andafter a period of consolidation, they launched an attack on Shane Warne, hitting three sixes in one over. This followed some good overs from the leg-spinner, but every time he tosses the ball up to the nimbler batsmen, he is picked off easily. Jadeja eventually reached a well-deserved century, but it was all in vain as a comedy caper brought a run-out and the end of the match. India will now struggle to make the semi-finals, but they are a good enough batting side to cause an upset and help to shape the final four.

Australia still has plenty of work to do and the real measuring stick for Steve Waugh's team will come against South Africa.