July 2019
World Cup Semis Preview:
At the end of an exciting group stage, India, Australia and England as expected stand in the semis alongside the perennial dark horses and semifinalists New Zealand. What could have been a boring play out of dead rubbers turned into a thrilling photo finish to the semis because of Sri Lanka’s win over England. However none of what followed was able to knock the top 4 off their perch. And yet these games were enough to show the cracks and requirements in each of the semi finalists.
India: They finished stronger than they started. That bowling unit has got to be the world’s best at the moment with Bumrah, Shami and Bhuvi all in form and executing clinically. Jadeja showed promise but with all other semifinalists packed with lefties, a finger spinner maybe a liability. Chahal is bound to get his place back and will be a toss up between Kuldeep and a 3rd seamer. Rohit Sharma is having a Tendulkaresque World Cup and staking claim for ODI legendary status. KL Rahul is looking settled and Kohli’s 5 half centuries have held the brittle middle order together. Dinesh Karthik I feel could be a trump in the last couple of games in that middle order. India’s challenge is to ignore the world saying they have an easy semi final against the Kiwis. If they believe in the complacency press, they’ll find it all slipping away in a Kiwi rear guard. Hoping the newer clearer headspaced India takes the field.
Australia: They surprised themselves when they lost the final game against South Africa and now find themselves the difficult option of playing a momentum driven England. They are struggling to put 11 men on the park and have had to SOS from the A team. But all that side, they are the champions, 5 time Cupwinners, they have a pedigree for big match temperament and will want that to show up on Thursday. Their top 2 in bowling and batting have been in terrific form but they have not played a single game at Edgbaston and don’t seem to be sure about the bowling combo. If they start nervously like they did against the Proteas, they’ll find the home crowd and England too hot to handle.
England: For once they have got to be the emotional favourites instead of India. They took the scenic route to the semis losing a few matches and then finding the resource to emphatically win against 2 semi finalists. But I maintain Morgan has a well oiled machine. They often need a spark and Jason Roy with his calm yet effective batting is that spark. Bairstow is also in a good frame with back to back hundreds. They might have finally found their bowling combo with Woakes, Archer, Wood and Plunkett with Ben Stokes completing the 5th bowler but Rashid is still a worry. The stars seem aligned for them as they face an injury riddled Aussie team and they’ll want to overturn the group stage result and march into Lord’s.
New Zealand: They must be pinching themselves wondering what hit them. They had the chance to be the first team to qualify for semis and in the end the 3 back to back losses meant they scraped through on the back of paper than performance. But now they are through and will want to go all the way but they are up against perhaps the most dominant Indian team ever in a Cup so far. They need Kane and Ross to power them and Ferguson to regain fitness. Else this will become yet another “what could have been” event.
THE CRICKET ROUND UP 