Can Australia be beaten? Yes

They changed the name of the body that runs Australian cricket last week. The Australian Cricket Board is now known as Cricket Australia. Two days later, Australia went out and marmalised Sri Lanka to win their seventh game in the World Cup. No change there.

There may be sound marketing reasons for the alteration, and while it certainly has the edge on the Post Office becoming Consignia, it would probably not matter a jot if Australia had a losing team. That does not look imminent now that the top order have slipped out of second gear, but Ricky Ponting, the captain, offered the rest some reason to believe after their latest victory.

Having been asked if Australia could be beaten he treated the question dismissively: "Of course we can be beaten, you just have to look at what happened in Port Elizabeth against England." But they ended up winning that, and it is said about good teams that they win the games they look like losing. "We've got to make sure we keep on doing what we do best, keep focused and keep pressure on our opponents' weaknesses," said Ponting. "We have got to be very competitive in every game."

Whatever Ponting's opinion, the question of course remains. Can they be beaten? Yes, they can. There are two sides left in the tournament who probably have the wherewithal to knock the Aussies out of their swagger.

Forget Sri Lanka, the only side to have defeated them (twice) in the last 25 matches. They had their chance and were found wanting. If they meet again, Australia's bowlers will simply follow the template of making it bounce. New Zealand and India are different propositions. The Kiwis follow in the classic line of teams in knockout competitions who do better than expected: they are greater than the sum of their parts. They also have, by common consent, the most thoughtful, shrewd and calm captain in the competition in Stephen Fleming. But they have to keep winning, and the possibility is that to reach the final they will have to beat Australia twice. It would not be a double to put the mortgage on.

Which leaves India. There are reasons to believe that at long last the masses of the subcontinent will soon have the team their devotion merits. It is fashionable to talk of infrastructure, and India have some of the coaching infrastructure in place now to develop players.

What matters for the moment is that the captain, Sourav Ganguly, and the coach, John Wright, have moulded their charges into a cohesive unit. This does not make them a lean fighting force. When they met Australia in the pool match they were insipid. They are supposed to have some of the most glittering batting in the world, but Calcutta Street Urchins second XI would have disowned that display.

But India have kept winning since. Ganguly has perfected the wonderful trick – it is almost an illusion – of persuading his charges to follow him unquestioningly, although he is a liability in the field, is a careless runner while batting and can be distractedly haughty. But he also has the sense to give praise and he makes no bones of his desire to win this World Cup.

On Friday night in Cape Town, Ganguly was pretty pleased with himself after pulling his side from a deep hole against Kenya by scoring his second hundred of the competition. Quite right, too, but it was Yuvraj Singh who injected the innings with momentum. India bat long, and they now know they can bat on these pitches, which are unrecognisable from those they have been brought up on. They bowl just well enough to make Australia think before going into slogging mode.

India are also gaining a merciless streak, which tends to be a key factor in successful modern sides. They have always played attractively, but now they play purposefully too.

They are less prone to crumble, as English spectators should know. Last summer, in the NatWest Series final, India triumphantly chased 326 to win after being 126 for 5 before a packed Lord's. That showed them something, it showed everybody else something. They are nobody's patsies.

There is a conclusive reason for fancying India to harry Ponting's Aussies. Sachin Tendulkar. It would be the crowning moment of a magisterial career if Tendulkar's runs could help India into the final and give them victory.

But Australia will not go easily. They have now won 13 matches in a row, they are already in the semi-finals. Ponting said: "We have not spoken about going through the competition unbeaten. It would be nice, but we're just going about our business and our game being as professional as we can."

The World Cup final is not until 23 March. It is not over yet.