– It could go either way for Kholi and co.
Very few persons would dispute the indelible cricketing genius of Virat Kohli – Captain Marvel – and his team of Avengers. Kohli and his men come from a rich cricketing genealogy, one that is marked with a few bumps here and there during their 11 outings at the ICC 50 overs World Cup.
India, during their World Cup adventures, have soared to the apex of the world when in 1983 a Kapil Dev led side knocked off Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in the final, bringing to a halt the Caribbean side’s three-peat ambitions.
Almost three decades later, in 2011, MS Dhoni delivered their second world title after revered characters like Sourav Ganguly – the prince of Kolkata – as captain, failed.
During that time, India in 2007 in the Caribbean edition of the event, reached one of their lowest points in their World Cup history where a highly touted side, including Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Rahul Dravid, Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Anil Kumble failed to make it out of their group and were also surprisingly beaten by a then-emerging Bangladesh side.
The 2007 side when compared to India’s current stocks, is quite similar in terms of star quality and expectations but one has to wonder which side of history Kohli and his men will land – whether it will be similar to the sorrows of 2007 or the glory of 2011.
Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised.
On one hand, India who is actually one of the pre-tournament favourites – having the ICC number one ODI batsman and bowler Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah – makes them more than capable of pulling it off.
Their top three in Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli himself have been in sublime form over that last couple of years, combing to score over 50 per cent of the side’s runs. How that will affect the side in England if they encounter a few collapses, is yet to be seen.
Further down the order – though there is quality – doesn’t really inspire a whole lot of confidence.
KL Rahul, who scored a warm-up century against Bangladesh and looked in pretty good touch can be a bit of concern at times when his confidence wavers while Kedar Jadhav, the aging Dhoni, and the enterprising Hardik Pandya have not really been tested enough lately because the top order has been doing the heavy lifting for the most part.
Mind you, they are all match winners and when their efforts are in unison and will no doubt present a threat to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, there is much depth in the bowling department, spearheaded by Bumrah, who is simply brilliant with both the new and old ball.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Sham complete a formidable fast bowling arsenal while Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal are among the best spinners currently in the business.
Essentially, I have a strong conviction that India’s 2019 campaign will end leaning more towards their dreaded 2007 run simply because I’m convinced that host England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan are stronger contenders for the final four slots.
India play their first match against South Africa next Wednesday.
