The biggest cricket Extravanganza is on its way in the form of World Cup 2011. This season makes an exciting watch for more than one reason. This could be the last world cup for the batting Maestro Sachin Tendulkar. There are no clear cut favourites this time as Australia are no more the team they were before.
India looks strong on paper but weak on form. Middle order has not performed lately. Kohli and Pathan are the only batsmen who are comming to this worldcup with runs behind them. Fast bowling department looks pathetic. Nehra and Munaf are totally out of sorts. Sreesanth can best be described as unreliable. Zaheer Khan carries the maximum responsiblity in this entire team. All depends on how quickly he provides the initial break throughs. I can read the opposition score to be 60-70 runs in 10 Overs with this bowling lineup. Dhoni should not hesitate to bring on the spinners inside the first 5 overs.
By saying a lot depends on Sachin, is an understatement. He single handedly took us to the 2003 finals. I hope he repeats the same magic with his bat. He should aim to bat close to 40 overs and others to rally around him. He along with Zaheer are the men who can do it for india consistently. However i beleive it was a bad strategy on his part to sit out on almost all the One Day matches in the last one year. It will take him atleast a few games to settle down before getting used to play a long innings. Sehwag is talking about playing full 50 overs. Looks like he wants a role reversal with Sachin. He should play his natural game. Though he is in hot form in Test cricket,but not so much in the One Dayers. Gambhir and Kohli have shown lots of promise and maturity. They can mould their innings according to the situation. High hopes rests on them. The form of Dhoni, Raina and Yuvraj would be the make or break for India. They are the genuine match winners for India. Especially Yuvraj. His form is the greatest worry. No matter how well Sachin,Gambhir or Kohli plays it all depends on how good Dhoni or Yuvraj or Raina finishes. Even if one of them is in form then there is no beating team India. It would be exciting to watch Yusuf Pathan in this world cup. A few fire Works are expected of him. Even a 30-40 Runs from him could make a huge difference to the side's total. This could be a make or break series for him because i still believe he has to prove himself on a few more ocassions to ensure that his last couple of heroics were no fluke. We can expect Harbhajan too to lift a few games for us through his batting prowess. There is some assurances in the Spin department. Their role is more crucial at games where india is looking at defending small totals. Let me do a SWOT analysis on team india
Strengths: Presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Quality in spin attack
Weakness : Running between wickets, Fast bowling department
Opportunities : Home Conditions, Sufficient time for lack of form players to be back on track before the knock out stages
Threats: Dhoni's Luck with the Toss, Bangladesh
Let me have a look at the other teams too.
Bangladesh is a much improved team now and they are playing most of their matches at home. So expect them to throw some surprises. They may be the fourth team to qualify for the Quarters. Man to watch - Tamim Iqbal,Abdur Razzak
England have made an exciting move by promoting KP as an opener. Excellent Move infact. This will enable the team to have brisks starts but they have a weak middle order. Interesting to see Swan bowl. He will surely win a few matches on his own. Men to watch - KP & Swan
Australia: This world cup would be exciting just because of the fact that this team is no more a potent side they were in 2007. They can be beaten. Lee and Tait are players to watch out for. Though the later can go for runs. Batting is heavily reliant on Ponting. Watson has matured as a complete cricketer of late. For me he looks to be the player of the tournment because of his ability to bowl as well. Men to Watch - Watson,Lee
Srilanka: looks to be a very good side because of the fact that they play at home. They have destructive batsman in Dilshan who provides the fireworks at the start,Sangakara to see them through the middle overs and Angelo mathews to propel them at the dearth. They have a good bowling attack in Malinga and Murali. Men to watch: Dilshan, Murali
Pakistan: are the dark horses. Misbah is their hope. Younis Khan their next best. Razzak can be a match winner on his day. Inconsistency is what will do them in. Men to watch : Misbah,Razzak
South Africa: A Balanced side among all the teams. They slighly fall behind in their spin department.Steyn is their Bowling spearhead. Batting looks rock solid with Kallis, Devilliers & Dumminy.
Men to watch: Steyn , Dumminy
Nothing much to right about teams like West Indies and New Zealand. They are failing misreably as a unit. I hope they do not prove me wrong.
All the very best Team India, Go for it.
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