Never before such a situation came when five –six teams matched skills to skills in the contest for the top honor. Reigning Champion India, red hot hosts Australia and New Zealand, very strong South Africa, Sri Lanka and England are championship potential. Cricket pundits cannot also rule out possibilities unpredictable Pakistan and West Indies. Even teams like Bangladesh and Ireland may shatter the dreams of one or two championship aspirant. A grand world cup cricket tournament is waiting to unfold in Australia-New Zealand in a months’ time. The inauguration ceremony will be held on February 14. The venue for the opening ceremony of ICC Cricket world cup 2015 was declared by the organization of International cricket and New Zealand cricket conference. This host nation has chosen Christchurch to arrange the opening ceremony of world cup. This means, the eleventh edition of cricket world cup tournament can begin at cricket stadium of Christchurch.
Fourteen teams – ten ICC full members and four qualifiers from ICC associate members countries-- dividing into two groups will play on league basis in preliminary rounds. Eight teams – four top teams from two groups-- will then play quarter finals for four semifinalists and eventually the final will be played at Iconic Melbourne Cricket ground on March 29 to crown the champion 2015.
The teams are.
Pool A: Sri Lanka, Australia, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Scotland
Pool B: India, South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE.
Given the past proven track records, forms of key players of the present squad, conditions of Australia and New Zealand many analysts have identified reigning champion India, hosts Australia, New Zealand and very strong South Africa to feature in the semifinals this time. But we all know Sri Lanka present team possess some of their all-time greats who individually can win matches on their own. West Indies and Pakistan are unpredictable teams which can beat any team on their day. Some toddlers in the big fishes Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland even can spring some surprises. This world cup is going to be a fascinating contest where any firm prediction can make one get embarrassed.
India as reigning champion deserves discussion first. Their inspirational captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (MSD) has recently retired from test cricket to concentrate more on limited version of the game. Gone are the legends of the past Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laksman, Shewag, Harbhajan, Kumble. This is a new team with fresh legs who have excelled in limited versions of the game T20 and ODI. There are some raw geniuses who have all the elements to develop into rock stars in not too distant future.
Aggressive Shikahar Dhawan and blaster Rohit Sharma given a little opportunity to settle can bat any opponent out of the game. Rohit is the only player to be credited for his two double centuries.
But both Dhawan and Rohit are struggling a little bit to adjust with the pace and bounce of Australian wickets. They have some issues with balls leaving them at pace in the corridor of uncertainty. Youngster Ajinka Rahane appears more technically sound and precise. He has wonderful array of strokes and appeared very courageous in some of the test innings he played in the Border Gavaskar series. Dhoni can use him at opening slot or can use him at number five. Virat Kohli India’s new test captain is perhaps the most accomplished batsman at the moment along with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. He will give solidity and dynamism to Indian batting. Ambati Rayadu is another calss act at Indian middle order. Suresh Raina in Indian middle order is a dynamo who can take India beyond reach of any opponent with his aggressive stroke. He was preferred over Yuvaraj Singh for his younger legs and very athletic movement in the feet. Raina is equally devastating with is bat. But we have a feeling that Yuvi, the man of the series of ICC World Cup 2011 may be missed. India has a very strong batting line. MSD is the match winner at number seven – a greater finisher. His trademark helicopter shot cuts throat of opponent bowling at crunch time. Jadeja, Aswin, Sami, Stuart Binny, Kumar all can bat a bit. India has to bat consistently well and try to post around 280 + in every match as its bowling and fielding may not be at par with Australia , South Africa and New Zealand.
The squad has six batsmen – Dhawan, Rahane, Rohit, Kohli, Raina and Rayadu, Four pacers Mohammad Sami, Bhubaneswar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, three all -rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Sturat Binny and Akshar Patel, One spinner Ravi Aswin and Captain Wicket Keeper Mahindra Singh Dhoni. Rayadu can keep wickets if required.
Indian bowlers Sami, Yadav, Kumar and Sharma at times bowled well in Border Gavaskar test series. We hope they learned a lot from four test matches .The ongoing Carlton Mid triangular ODI will give Indian team great tonic for testing their squad and gathering momentum. Indian pacers must make earlier inroads and set the stage for Aswin and Jadeja to stifle opponents with spin. Indian pacers must use more Yorkers and variation of pace in batting power play and slog overs. The team leaked too many runs in late overs off late. Indian fielding in ODI looked well in recent times. But in test series against Australia Indian fielding was poor. Dhoni squad must improve ground fielding, throwing and catching a lot if they want to defend their title.
India is grouped with strong South Africa, traditional rival Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE. There should be any issue for India to advance to quarter finals. In the business session India must produce their A games in every match as all other qualifiers will be equally strong. Any bad game can knock them out. There are doubts about match fitness of Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma. Hope they are rehabilitating well.
India may be missing a leg spinner on the hard bouncy wickets. We are not sure whether Stuart Binny is a right choice for Australian wickets. India will definitely miss Yuvaraj Singh. His flamboyancy in batting, bowling and fielding could push India forward.
India starts their mission with India Pakistan derby at Adelaide oval on 15 March. The match got sold out within hours of letting out the ticket. This match will set the tone as team winning will start with great momentum.
(To be continued.) Next Day Preview of Australia
BDST: 0956 HRS, JAN 17, 2015
