The Indian Cricket team is on a roll. The class of Cricket that India has played in this World Cup is by far reminiscent of the aggressive cricket played by the West Indies in the 1980s or by Australia in the first decade of this century. When India is on the field no team has any answers. They have till now won all the round-robin matches with ease, with a great command almost unseen or unheard of in living memory.
The matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa were special. The Indian bowling led by Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammd Siraj peaked and the batsmen had no answers to their pace and swing. This trio was supported well by spin wizards like Jadeja and Kuldeep Sharma. Indian bowling looks like an amazing combination of skills and experience. So far, no batting lineup has had any answers to the class and fierce professionalism exuded by the Indian bowlers. Every batsman from South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan looked effectively clueless against such world-class bowling.
Talking of the Indian powerhouse batting lineup, it boasts of the consistently dangerous Rohit Sharma who tends to peak in ICC tournaments – and this time he has peaked like anything. Rohit is hitting sixes at ease right from the comfort of his crease and hitting it in the top tier of the stadium. The kind of power strokes he hits in the initial power play reminds one of players like Sanath Jayasurya who would take the game away from the opposition in the first fifteen overs only. The immensely talented 23-year-old youngster Shubhman Gill has added that technically correct yet aggressive hue that suits an India team opener. Virat Kohli looks as magnificently composed and consistently unfailing as he always has been. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul chip in in slog overs and complete the assault set in motion by the top three Indian batsmen. While KL Rahul dons the cap of a wicketkeeper that leaves number six and number seven open to any quality batsman, allrounder, or a bowler-cum-batsman to fill in.
This World Cup India has lived up to the hype and walked the talk. India is by far the best team of the tournament by a huge margin. No team even looks like challenging them. They deservingly are the favorites to lift the trophy.
So far so good. The only dampener could be India’s track record in the semi-finals. India often stumbles in crunch games. However, this time round we believe that the qualitative bowling and batting would help Indian cricket to sail through and lift the trophy eventually. Wishing the Indian cricket team all the best for the remaining of the matches.
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