Defending champions India have not had the most inspiring of limited over international tours to Australia. Having played two matches against Australia and England each, they failed to win a match, and quite honestly, failed to even look like winning one. There are quite obvious weaknesses in the Indian set up. A lack of experienced bowlers, the sometimes lethargic, passive captaincy of Dhoni. The fact that Virat Kohli, who for so long looked like he was born in a power play has chosen a rather inopportune time to forget how to buy a run. Indeed 24 runs in an entire tour does not strike fear into the heart of the opposition.
That said though, one must remember that India are the reigning World Champions, and they aren't there by accident. In Dhoni they have one of the best, if not the best finishers in Limited Overs history. His performance in the 2011 World Cup final was for my money the greatest second innings knock in World cup final history. He certainly has not produced a miraculous knock in well over a year, but the tiger remains in there. They would also have been in Australia for a very long time by the time the tournament proper starts, and this can only be a good thing, long as they don't already hate each other. Acclimatizing is not going to be a problem for them this time.
So how far will they go? Not an easy question to answer,as I feel India are a little dependent on a kind passage to win the tournament proper. I don't think they will top their group, South Africa will most likely take that honour, but India should battle it out against Pakistan for second or third place. This position pits them against either New Zealand or England (in a fantasy prediction where group A goes - Aus, NZ/Eng, SL). I think they can beat England, but are very heavy underdogs against New Zealand. They can beat both of course, the Indian batting line-up is of such rich quality that a victory would certainly not be unexpected, but they would most likely want to face England. If I'm being completely honest, I think Semi Finals is the furthest this Indian team can go. They are a little too limited in the bowling front and possibly have too many batsmen not in the best of form for winning the whole thing to be a real possibility.
Final prediction
Quarter Finals
Thursday, February 5, 2015
How far can India go in the World Cup
Defending champions India have not had the most inspiring of limited over international tours to Australia. Having played two matches against Australia and England each, they failed to win a match, and quite honestly, failed to even look like winning one. There are quite obvious weaknesses in the Indian set up. A lack of experienced bowlers, the sometimes lethargic, passive captaincy of Dhoni. The fact that Virat Kohli, who for so long looked like he was born in a power play has chosen a rather inopportune time to forget how to buy a run. Indeed 24 runs in an entire tour does not strike fear into the heart of the opposition.
That said though, one must remember that India are the reigning World Champions, and they aren't there by accident. In Dhoni they have one of the best, if not the best finishers in Limited Overs history. His performance in the 2011 World Cup final was for my money the greatest second innings knock in World cup final history. He certainly has not produced a miraculous knock in well over a year, but the tiger remains in there. They would also have been in Australia for a very long time by the time the tournament proper starts, and this can only be a good thing, long as they don't already hate each other. Acclimatizing is not going to be a problem for them this time.
So how far will they go? Not an easy question to answer,as I feel India are a little dependent on a kind passage to win the tournament proper. I don't think they will top their group, South Africa will most likely take that honour, but India should battle it out against Pakistan for second or third place. This position pits them against either New Zealand or England (in a fantasy prediction where group A goes - Aus, NZ/Eng, SL). I think they can beat England, but are very heavy underdogs against New Zealand. They can beat both of course, the Indian batting line-up is of such rich quality that a victory would certainly not be unexpected, but they would most likely want to face England. If I'm being completely honest, I think Semi Finals is the furthest this Indian team can go. They are a little too limited in the bowling front and possibly have too many batsmen not in the best of form for winning the whole thing to be a real possibility.
Final prediction
Quarter Finals
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