Hyderabad: As Virat Kohli's Team India gears up for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales starting on May 30, the Indian diaspora and global fans of cricket will get another remarkable edition of the game.
The champions of 1983 and 2011 World Cup, India, will launch their campaign against South Africa on June 5 at the Kennington Oval. Though India made two final and one semifinal appearances in the last four World Cups, their tryst with the game's biggest trophy has been a mixed bag, especially in England, where 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1999 editions of the quadrennial event took place.
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Except for the magic of 1983 World Cup, India have observed a string of lows in rest of the editions at the home of cricket, England.
This time around India will look to improve their performance graph there. In the 1999 World Cup, India finished sixth after a good start. However, considering their recent upsurge away from home in the 2018-19 season, India are being dubbed as one of the favourites to lift the coveted trophy.
ETV Bharat does a SWOT analysis of India, leading to the World Cup.
Strength
Bilateral series wins in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand made India serious contenders for the 2019 World Cup. This is possibly the first time India are going to play the World Cup with a well-established bowling attack, courtesy to Indian bowlers' overwhelming exploits at home and away conditions.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead Indian bowling attack in the World Cup. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya, who compose India's fast bowling attack, have been constantly proving that they can rock any batting order in any day.
The pace bowling attack has been ably supported by wrist spinners- Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. However, as Kuldeep's form is a concern for India left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja could make a cut in the XI considering his ability to add firepower to the lower order.
As English conditions are known for providing ample support to the bowlers, who swing the ball, and spinners, who know to make the best use of wind at wide open stadiums, Indian bowling attack will have a strong chance to excel in this summer.
Challenge
Batting will be India's main concern in this World Cup. It may sound odd, but India traditionally struggle to adapt to English conditions. Till date, only those who are technically well equipped made a statement in England but the rest fell perry to the wet and swing friendly conditions.
Will Vijay Shankar play India's warm-up match against Bangladesh? Indian batsmen are going to play the World Cup after a stellar IPL season at flat Indian pitches. So, they have a tough task of getting accustomed to one of the challenging conditions of world cricket.
The warm-up game against New Zealand gave India an ominous signal as the world No. 2 ODI side was bundled out for mere 179 by Kiwi pacers who deployed pace, bounce against India's famed batting line-up that defeated the formers 4-1 earlier this year.
The wound of India's 3-2 home series defeat against Australia is still fresh. Now, this humiliating defeat against New Zealand could erode their confidence going into the main draw.
Virat Kohli departs after scoring 18 against NZ in warm-up match on Saturday. However, India and their fans may take solace from the fact that the Men in Blue always did well in the World Cup after poor outings in warm-up matches.
They will look for a solid start from openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who did really well in England in 2017 Champions Trophy. At the same time, captain Kohli's batting will provide solidity to their batting attack.
Ravindra Jadeja's firepower will add strength to the lower order. But, they are yet to address the No.4 issue. India are still not certain about their best bet for the anchor's role. In the warm-up match, KL Rahul came to bat at the position but failed to impress in injured Vijay Shankar's absence.
Shankar is expected to play the second and final warm-up match against Bangladesh before the tournament begins.
Also Read: Lower order needs to be ready to bail out team when top order fails, says Virat Kohli
In the middle order, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja will have a big role to play.
With batsmen are yet to settle down India will have an uphill task in hands when they will launch their campaign against South Africa on June 5 at the Kennington Oval where New Zealand handed them a 6-wicket defeat in the first warm-up match.
Opportunities
India have been one of the dominant sides in the 2018-19 season clinching three ODI series against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. So, they will be expected to maintain the same form and at least cruise to the last four for the second consecutive time.
With a strong bowling attack and big names in the batting order are in place Indians have a good chance of making the tournament to their name.
New Zealand defeated India by 6 wickets in warm-up match. To make it big Kohli, Dhoni, Dhawan, Rohit, Bumrah, Pandya and Chahal will have to rise above the rest.
India World Cup Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik
