suni51 wrote:

The way English team and other teams are performing in Pre-WC games, I am sure of one thing at least. All the teams participating have a very good chance of reaching to the top 4. I would love to watch every match and more so because I want to see how Kohli performs as a captain.

Me too. That is one thing every Indian will watch with fingers crossed!

Hope he does not make the same mistakes in a big tournament like this. His analysis of pitch, team combination, shuffle of batting order according to situation, bowling changes that he rings in will be under heavy scrutiny.

To expect Shuffle of batting order according to situation is something that cannot come from Virat Kohli yet I think as I have not seen him act that way yet. Also that does not seem to impact this World cup due to the batting paradise available, however in death overs of batting, if a 1st wicket falls, Hardik should be brought in for power hitting.

His bowling changes also needs to improve a lot as there is a same pattern of changes that he brings in and not like Dhoni who thinks out of the box and brings part timers or bowlers who normally would not expect to be brought on.

I think even field placement is not so changing under his leadership according to batsman, like he changes the field according to batter but to set a trap for a batsman according to his favourite shot is something I have not seen from him yet.

Also Kohli will have to remain calm and cool and control his aggressive attitude. He also needs to reduce his facial expressions which displays his disappointment.

epraneeth77 wrote:

Saurav Banerjee wrote:

epraneeth77 wrote:

Saurav Banerjee wrote:

I have a feeling that the conditions this time around would be pretty batting friendly in England during the world cup. In a match played between Pakistan and England yesterday at Bristol both the teams found batting relatively easy. Pakistan scored a massive 358 and England chased it down comfortably with 31 balls to spare and 6 wickets in hand.

During the world cup I feel the ball may initially swing in the first few overs and then the wicket will get perfect for batting. If that happens it would be great for the spectators and more than 400 run totals can be expected from the teams on a regular basis.

Very true, I also saw the scorecard and commentary from Cricbuzz.

That comes as a relief to our Indian team as Rohit and Dhawan can capitalize on such tracks if they can bat sensibly in the first 15 overs.

If they can cross those overs, we can expect a Double century from Rohit in the Tournament and a swashbuckling 100+ from Dhawan.

However, the way England batted gives me a mighty scare.

They are a force to reckon with this World cup.

Hope our Wrist spin comes handy. But the England batsman look very best.

Yes England are the favorites. They have a pretty balanced team to exploit all types of conditions. I Hope they succumb to world cup pressure in key moments just like South Africa.

England have the support of home advantage and their fans will be more. So hoping for a stutter like South Africa is a bit too much to expect, but that is what we will wish anyway.

Yes on the flip side fans and home advantage can add to the pressure as well. I know this is a different England team altogether, but let's pray that history repeats itself as England have lost three times in world cup finals so far and twice while hosting in 1975 and 1979.

If flat pitches are on offer during the 2019 world cup, then I feel even Bangladesh have a good chance of advancing within the top four teams. This is mainly because they have a positive mind frame and aggressive batting approach.

England are the team to beat this tournament, the way they thrashed Pakistan is an evidence of their all round abilities.

As you mentioned, only the history gives a good hope for us. They have invented Cricket but did not win it till now. Hope it stays that way now also.

But I am feeling that if they reach finals this time they will not lose. That is what my gut feeling is saying, so I am hoping they lose in semi finals.

True, Bangladesh win in the recently concluded Tri series against Windies and Ireland proves that, even more so after the final that took place which required Bangladesh to score 210 in 24 overs, they chased it in 22.5 overs.

India do not look like favorites along side England as news papers are publishing.

India is no where near to favorites. Middle order woes, lack of lower batters are it's prime deficiencies.

Never discount teams like India and England. My top 4 teams are England, India, Australia and South Africa (for their bowling). Previously I chose New Zealand ahead of South Africa.

I think India is over rated, though I may be wrong and very early to put my views on one performance.

I am thinking India is over rated because of its batting deficiencies.

Also in previous England encounters India were not so good.

I have one doubt though, the warm up match was played in London, will the real matches also be played at this venue?

epraneeth77 wrote:

I think India is over rated, though I may be wrong and very early to put my views on one performance.

I am thinking India is over rated because of its batting deficiencies.

Also in previous England encounters India were not so good.

I have one doubt though, the warm up match was played in London, will the real matches also be played at this venue?

Yes Indian batsmen were exposed in a bowling friendly pitch against New Zealand. However, we must not dismiss the chances of India on the basis of one practice match. Team India have done very well in the ODIs in the past few years. Don't forget they reached the finals of the Champions Trophy played in England.

Also, we should not lose our sleep thinking of a particular venue. All that matters is the pitch on which the game would be played on a given day along with the weather conditions.