World Cup Jinx : Back to Haunt India ?? Part-5

There is a jinx associated with the world Cup that no team has ever won the Cup playing in the home soil over the years irrespective of how strong they were. The only team to play the final in their own backyard is England who lost to West Indies at Lord's in 1979. This time, India is one of the strongest sides but at the other hand is also hosting the tournament.  It will be interesting to see whether they will be able to break this jinx or not.

Stakes are high for them as they were evicted from the last world cup in the very first round thanks to the defeat against Bangladesh. They will definitely want to perform better this time. Thousand of fans who were laathi charged by Bangalore Police during tickets sale will cheer them. This world Cup is Sachin’s last World cup and Men In blue will definitely want to gift him the trophy which is the only missing achievement in his marvelous career.

They came close to win World Cup in 2003 under the captaincy of Saurav Ganguly but could only finish second. From the last couple of years India’s performance is constantly improving. They are top ranked test team and ranked 2^nd in ODI’s. Their batting lineup is very strong and almost every batsman is among the runs from some time now.

They have started well in the tournament. They won both their practice matches quite easily. They won matches against Bangladesh, Ireland and Holland. Their match against England was a thriller where both teams ended up with same runs on scoreboard. Just some minutes before they lost against South Africa that was again decided in the last over.

Strengths:

No prize for guessing. They are very strong batting side. Sehwag is very dangerous batsman and can take away match from the opponent very quickly. Sachin is playing his best cricket from some time now. It will be difficult to stop him from making his dream come true. Yuvraj has also found his form. Gautam and Dhoni can play sheet anchor role whenever required. For them run rate is no worry till they have Yusuf Pathan.

They also have an advantage of home conditions. Since fast bowlers are not that effective in the subcontinent, lots of  teams have to stick with spinning options which gave an indirect advantage to India as they play spin best in the world.

Weaknesses:

Again no prizes for guessing, it is their bowling. They do not even look capable of defending 300 runs. If they persist with same performance in bowling, it will be very difficult for them to make place in top four. They had to sort out their bowling combination before knock out stage.

India has a habit of being succumbed in pressure situations especially when they are chasing. They may find it difficult to chase above 270 runs even with their great batting line up.

What I have noticed is that they have not yet decided the role of Virat kohli in the team. His batting order has been changed in almost every match. They should either define a role for him or give Raina a chance.

My Prediction: They will play Srilanka in the finals and will eventually win the tournament. They should play to Australia in quarters and  will meet Pakistan in Semis.

My Suggestions For Opposition :

Try to get Sachin and Sehwag early.

It was my last blog of the series “My Favorites For this World Cup”. I will try to write some more in cricket diary.

May best one win!!!!

Cheers J