India not the hot favourites for 2011 ICC World Cup anymore
India were tipped to be one of the biggest contenders for this year’s ICC World Cup, being played in the Subcontinent. However, the “hot” favourites are “not” favourites anymore, especially after their match against England, which exposed their weakness in bowling.
There have been a lot of positives for the Men-in-Blue throughout 2010. They played and won a number of series at home, which helped them reach the number one ranking in Test cricket, and second spot in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Another good sign for the team was their impressive performance in South Africa against the Proteas. India managed to level the three-match Test series 1-1, and then fought hard in the five-match ODI series, which they eventually lost 3-2.
However, the team was shaping up nicely for the World Cup. Former cricketers and cricket experts rated India as the team to watch in the mega event, which began on 19th February.
There was one thing though, which wasn’t given much importance throughout this time period, and that was India's weak bowling attack. Would India be able to defend even a 300-plus run target with their current bowlers? Apparently, the answer is no.
The co-hosts of the mega event have so far played two games in the tournament against Bangladesh and England. Both matches have been very good for the batsmen as the conditions in Asia are ideal for them.
However, the bowling has been below par for India. After scoring 370 runs in their first match against Bangladesh, India were expected to win the game by more than a 100 runs, but things didn’t turn out to be as easy as everyone thought.
Bangladesh started the chase with confidence and the Indian bowlers took a lot of pounding. However, a massive total allowed the Men-in-Blue to eventually win the match by less than 100 runs.
In yesterday’s match against England, India yet again managed to post a massive total of 338, but the bowlers were helpless when England came out to bat. The Poms almost made history by chasing down the target. However, a poor strategy cost England some wickets, which resulted in the match ending in a tie.
The results don’t matter a lot at this early stage of the tournament, but if yesterday’s game had been a knockout match, England would have been victorious courtesy of the two wickets they had in hand compared to India being all-out.
India have been playing with four specialist bowlers in this World Cup. Their attack is led by veteran pacerZaheer Khan and wily off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. However, Harbhajan has been playing a containing role rather than proving to be a wicket-taking option, which has really hurt India's chances in the mega event. Harbhajan's inability to take wickets has left India with only one strike bowler, Zaheer Khan.
Apart from Harbhajan and Zaheer, India have Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ravichandran Ashwinand Ashish Nehra in their bowling line-up. The hosts can opt for anyone of them in their playing 11, and drop one batsman, which could strengthen their bowling a bit.
The next few matches will be crucial for India. They have proved to be a strong batting unit but the batsmen will need some support from the bowlers, as India will not be able to score 300 plus in every match, especially against good bowling sides like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan.
If India is unable to find a solution to their weakness, they might not be able to go beyond the quarter-finals of the mega tournament, so they will have to think of something very quickly.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of bettor.com.
Tagged in: England, South Africa, India, Australia, Harbhajan Singh, Bangladesh, Zaheer Khan, Pakistan,Sreesanth, Asia, Ashish Nehra, ODIs, Munaf Patel, ICC world cup, Proteas, Subcontinent, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla
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