- Cricket enthusiasts around the world would be eagerly waiting for the commencement of the eighth edition of the T20 Cricket World Cup to be played in Australia from 16th October onwards. The very mention of Australia brings to mind the cricket-crazy patrons flocking to those huge stadiums in droves ushering in buzz, razzmatazz, expectations, excitement, and quality battle. One thing is for sure, the Australian conditions and the true pitches on offer will be great for cricket expecting quality cricketers to showcase exceptional skills whilst competing. Indeed, there will be no dearth of world-class cricketers trying to outdo each other during the event. The moot point to ponder over here is where does Team India stand presently? Will they go the distance?
PC: T20 World Cup Hospitality
- Going by the multilateral events over the last few years, Team India has failed to live up to the expectations meekly surrendering during the crunch meetings. The case in point is the last 50-over World Cup and the last year’s T20 World Cup, respectively. Conversely, Team India has been successful in overcoming its opponents in the bilateral series comfortably. Recent wins against Australia and South Africa substantiate the same. However, when it comes to multilateral events, Team India was found wanting in crossing the hurdles with aplomb. Mind you, T20 cricket has very little margin for error, and any team displaying superior skillsets on the day would emerge triumphant. Team India was found wanting in winning those crucial moments quite often.
- Cricket fans would also have noticed how Indian bowling is repeatedly failing to contain or defend reasonable enough scores, especially during death overs. An experienced bowler like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was taken to the cleaners on more than three occasions in recent matches. When your most experienced bowler fails to deliver, the pressure on the others scales up tremendously. Now, with the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to a back injury, the bowling unit will be tested to the core. If declared fit, an experienced Mohammad Shami should be the natural replacement who has the skillsets to lead the pace attack on bowler-friendly conditions. Hearteningly, left-arm young paceman Arshdeep Singh is shaping up quite nicely.
PC: Lauderhill
- Harshal Patel with his variety is finally finding the groove and will be handy in those big grounds. Spinners R Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Yazuvendra Chahal will have a huge role in essaying as well. The batting department is well endowed with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and the sensational Surya Kumar Yadav, ably backed up by Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Kartik, and Rishabh Pant. Hopefully, captain Rohit Sharma will be reserving his best for the marquee event as the last few innings from him have hardly been spectacular. Undoubtedly, Team India will be considered one of the favourites to lift the World Cup. If played to true potential, there is no way Team India could be leaving the Australian shores without the coveted title in possession.
