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Bowling and fielding have become a bugbear for Team India at the World Cup Cricket 2011 and this has taken a toll against England even though the match ended in a draw.

Though India’s batting remains among the best, a weak bowling line up (with pacer Zaheer Khan and spinner Harbhajan Singh being India’s two frontline bowlers) along with some shoddy fielding could dent India’s chances of clinching the World Cup, despite being the world’s top team in Test cricket.

India won the toss and chose to bat. This time it was batting legend Sachin Tendulkar who came to the rescue with his brilliant 120 of 115 balls, helping India mop up a total of 338 for all out. This is his 47th century in one-day matches.

This is the second time India scored 300-plus runs in its two matches at the World Cup. Tendulkar was supported by Gautam Gambhir, who scored 51 and Yuvraj Singh (58 runs).

England was off to a good start with openers Kevin Pietersen (31) and captain AJ Strauss adding 68 runs for the first wicket. Munaf Patel’s super caught-and-bowled wicket saw Pietersen, one England’s top batsmen, walk back to the pavillion.

Strauss played a superb knock of 158 in 145 balls. He was supported by Yardy, who hits 13 runs of 10 balls and TT Bresnan (14 runs in 9 balls).

Among Indian seamers, Patel gave 70 runs and took two wickets while Piyush Chawla took 2/71 and Harbhajan managed only one wicket. The best bowler was Zaheer Khan who picked up three wickets for 64 runs in 10 overs and also took the crucial wicket of Strauss.

India’s batsmen have been doing their job well. However, unfortunately they are being let down by the bowlers and even the fielding is sloppy. Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that India could have won the England match with a better fielding side.

Team India is playing against Ireland on March 6. Although India doesn’t need to put in much effort in this match, the real test will come when India play South Africa. Winning the match will be crucial as it will come as a huge morale booster for Team India.

India is likely to reach the semi finals without much difficulty, considering there are only four teams in group B (South Africa, West Indies, South Africa along with India) that are regular one-day teams. But Bangladesh could turn out to be the dark horse in the group.

At the semi finals, India will have to ensure that even its bowlers work in tandem with the batsmen in order to reach the finals and win the World Cup.