Since the epic IPL finale, almost ten days have passed and many people especially CSK fans are yet to come out of the result. There were memes and funny comments being speculated in social media regarding that. Jokes apart being a great admirer of Cricket, I have to admit that Cricket is a real winner in the end.
“Make hay while the sun shines” – this proverb traces its origin to England where bright sunlight is a rare sight. The action now shifts to England, the destination where the new buzz is happening – Cricket’s biggest carnival ICC Cricket World Cup is back. Rather than discussing or debating about the Indian squad, I decided to do this in a Q & A format on the most common set of questions I have received.
1. Is 2019 World Cup group stage the best of all the ICC WC group stages?
Certainly yes and since it’s a round-robin phase it will be a challenging one for all the teams. It will bring the best out of all teams. ICC has limited to only 10 teams in this World Cup and that’s how World Cups are meant to be. Compete against the top teams and bring your best. I’m a big fan of super 8’s stage which took place in the 2003 and 07 edition compared to only 2 groups in 2011 and 15 World Cup.
2. Is this the strongest squad for India in all World Cups?
India is going into the World Cup with still haven’t settled their No:4 issues. Had their top order fails, their middle order will surely be tested in English conditions. But rather than saying the strongest squad, I would say they have a balanced side with good pace trio, young all-rounders, best batsmen and the best wicket-keeper.
According to me, India’s strongest Squad was during the 2007 World Cup which had Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer etc. Unfortunately, they were knocked out in first round itself thus proving “Even a homer nods”.
3. Who would you consider as Favourites for this World Cup?
Playing in familiar conditions with a good depth-in lineup, the home team (England) are surely one of the favourites. Next favourites are Australia – the daddy of ICC tournaments is suddenly looking formidable and balanced with the inclusion of Steve Smith, David Warner & 5 pace bowlers. With the World’s best batsmen, best bowler and best wicket-keeper, India are entering this tournament as favourites too.
West Indies and Pakistan will be the dark horse in this tournament.
4. What’s the most important phase in One Day matches?
For a bowling team, the important phase is to take wickets in the powerplay and control the middle overs i.e overs 15-40. The bowlers must not only restrict the batsman from scoring but also provide necessary breakthroughs, thus keeping the opposition under pressure.
For a batting team, the vice-versa of the above i.e getting off to a flying start in the powerplay and building partnerships in the middle overs and making optimum use in the death with wickets in hand.
5. What will be India’s chances to beat England in the World Cup?
Looking at the form England are in even a total of 350 plus would be dangerous. Taking wickets at regular intervals will be the key. I would not pick Kuldeep for the England game as there is no team other than England who knows how to play him well.
6. Who will finish in top-four?
Since it is a round-robin format, It is a very long tournament and anything can happen. Building momentum is the key as we have seen teams in IPL who have won in the first half and succumb in the second half. Also, there are teams who have bounced back in the second half. Similarly, teams in this World Cup too can either bounce back or lose momentum.
But still, my predictions are India, England, Australia and either West Indies / South Africa in Semi-finals.
Indian team is set to leave for England today and are set to play their warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh on May 25 and 28 respectively.
Stay tuned for further updates on the World Cup matches until then it’s Amithrayvon signing off thereby wishing Indian team on behalf of billions of people all the best to bring the World Cup back. #Bleed Blue #Chak De India #Whatver it takes.
Jammybing 