'India suffering because of weak bowling & fielding'

Former Australian batsman Dean Jones believes India's bowling and fielding could be brutally exposed in the ongoing ODI tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka despite the presence of younger and more agile players in the fold.

"They need to get their bowling right. It would be sorted out here in Australia. The weakness is bowling and fielding," stated Jones who was one of the pioneering one-day batsman of 80s and 90s with his fine running between the wickets and thrilling stroke-play.

India lost the first match of the triangular series by 65 runs at MCG last night - a game in which their bowling was brutally exposed.

"I still think bowling is their weakest part. Hope some of your boys get to speak to Billy (Craig McDermott, Australia's bowling coach). A lot of Indian players get carried away by bounce. They don't need to worry about it - bowl fuller and present a straighter seam, that's the way to go.

"The line and length of bowlers is instantly sorted out in these grounds in Australia," he said.

Even though the presence of youngsters has lifted India's fielding standards enormously, Jones still feels it could show up on bigger Australian grounds. The 50-year-old is aghast at how little time the Indians set aside for fielding sessions during their nets.

"Fifty percent of the time they are playing cricket. If you are practicing for two hours, you need to set aside one hour for fielding. Say Sachin Tendulkar, who averages 45 and let's say faces 65 balls in the middle, he needs to bat for 45 minutes in the nets but also practice fielding for an hour.

"I have always thought they never get fun out of doing fielding drills. They need to practice fielding for at least one hour, but they don't. For some reason, they love batting and love bowling and that's not enough. They got to learn."