Is India Vs South Africa Series a Rehearsal for 2011 World Cup Final

 South Africa and India are two of the biggest teams in the World of cricket today. In that sense are we watching a rehearsal for the World Cup 2011 Final in the current India Vs South Africa series. You never know. South Africa and India are placed in the same group in the World Cup 2011. Both are likely to qualify easily for the second round of the tournament and are not likely to meet each other in the next rounds, including the Semi-Final. If they reach Semi-Finals, they are likely to face other teams in two Semi-Final games. If they win those semi-final games, they will meet each other in the Final. If current form and strength of the teams are any indication, India and South Africa are two likely teams for the Final of the 2011 World  cup. At the same time, nobody can discount other teams from reaching Final four stage, and then to the Final. But if it is South Africa and India progress to the Final who is more likely to win. Will we get any pointer in that direction from the current series being played between India and South Africa. May be. But India is not playing to their full strength. Their key players are still missing. But we will have a larger picture from this series as to which team is stronger between the two of the biggest teams in the World cricket today. The first one day has gone South Africa's way. The toss might have also played a crucial role in the result. We could not come to a conclusion as to which side is better of the two after the test series. There is very little to differentiate between the two sides at this time. Both have some very promising players. In Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, South Africa  has the best bowling unit. But how much they will be effective on the subcontinent pitches where the World cup is scheduled to be played remained to be seen. Hashim Amla's superman with the solidity of Kallis and firepower of Smith, De Villiers, and Duminy can prove vital for the success of South African team in the World Cup. On the other hand, India has formidable batting line up. In Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Sachin, and Suresh Raina they have as many as five dependable stroke players who can be decisive with their bat. Gambhir can play the anchor role. Yusuf Pathan can be lethal on his day, but he  will be the biggest gamble in the World Cup if he plays for India. India is thin on bowling resources. Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, and Munaf Patel/Sreesanth will make the perfect bowling line up for India. Ishant Sharma will be ineffective so will be Harbhajan. If India plays Yusuf Pathan, they should drop Harbhajan. Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, Tendulkar, and Yuvraj Singh are better bowling options than Harbhajan Singh.

Perfect Indian batting line up would be 1. Gautam Gambhir 2. Sachin Tendulkar 3. Virender Sehwag 4. Mahender Singh Dhoni 5. Yuvraj Singh 6. Suresh Raina 7. Yusuf Pathan 8. Praveen Kumar 9. Zaheer Khan 10. SreeSanth 11. Munaf Patel/Harbhajan Singh