Indian eves up against Sri Lanka in must-win tie

India, who suffered a 10-wicket mauling at the hands of England in their campaign-opener, rode on leg-spinner Priyanka Roy's five-wicket haul and Anjum Chopra's gutsy batting to bounce back into contention by defeating Pakistan yesterday.

Skipper Jhulan Goswami will surely expect another good knock from experienced opener Anjum, whose unbeaten 37 was the cornerstone of India's win yesterday, but what is giving her sleepless nights is the failure of her batters to fire in unison.

Even a paltry target of 76 was looking stiff when India were struggling at 21 for three after five overs in yesterday's match and Anjum was candid enough to accept that the batters have to show more responsibility if the team is to qualify for the semi-final.

"Wickets were falling like nine-pins, so it was a little tense. Fortunately the score wasn't too high and you could push it around for singles. You need matches like this - but not too often," Chopra said. However, bowling is not a concern for India any more especially after the brilliant show in the last encounter.

New-ball pair of Rumeli Dhar, who crumbled the Pakistan top-order by scalping three wickets for 13 runs, and Jhulan Goswami is working well, while spinner Gouher Sultana is capable of getting some timely breakthroughs.

"We had to win and we did. But no, I'm not happy with the way we played at all. Our final game against Sri Lanka is another must-win. Hopefully we will click against them," India coach Sudha Shah said.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka also have a respectable batting line-up with skipper Chamari Kumarihami coming out with in-form Inoka Galagedara, whose 37 was the cornerstone of their four-wicket win against Pakistan, to open the innings.

Their batting line-up consists likes of Hiruka Fernando and Chamika Bandara who have the ability to make themselves count when the team is in trouble.

Their bowlers are also performing well as medium pacers Eshani Kaushalya and left-arm Udeshika Prabodhani may pose serious threat to India's semi-final bid.