India, the defending world champions in ODI’s is a strong force to reckon with in the limited overs game especially in the sub continental conditions. India is capable of beating any opponents in these conditions. They go into the Asia Cup as favourites and they will look to stretch their Asia Cup winners tally to six. But they will look not to be complacent given their current form and they will be aware of the fact that they are yet to win a game in their last 12 matches. But all those 12matches took place in overseas conditions to which India are vulnerable. With Asia Cup scheduled to take place in the familiar territory, India will look to restore some pride by winning the tournament. Here is a preview of India’s chances at the Asia Cup.
Squad:
Captain: Virat Kohli
Coach: Duncan Fletcher
Batsmen:
Bowlers:
All-Rounders:
Wicket Keepers:
Strengths:
- The tournament is taking place in the familiar conditions.
- India have the strongest batting top order in the tournament.
- Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are capable of giving the team a flying start.
- Presence of Virat Kohli, World’s best ODI batsman.
- Three decent All-Rounders who can bring the much needed balance to the side.
- The young Indian team is a good fielding side.
Weakness:
- Absence of their regular skipper MS Dhoni will be huge set-back for the team.
- Their inconsistent middle order will worry the team management.
- The Great Indian Bowling, India’s familiar foe for the past few years is all set to begin its run gifting spree.
- India are yet to crack the new ODI rules.
Players to watch out for:
Rohit Sharma:
Being hailed as a talented cricket for the past few years, Rohit Sharma had nothing great for the team other than being a good fielder till 2012. But in 2013, after being promoted as an Opener, Rohit Sharma has started justifying why he is hailed so. He along with Dhawan formed a solid opening to the team as they both led India to the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Sharma continued his good form with the bat and against the mighty Aussies, Sharma managed to score over 550 runs in a seven match ODI series that included two breath-taking centuries out of which is magnificent 209 at Bangalore. After the start of South African tour, runs from Rohit’s bat started drying up and he looked to get back into the groove in the New Zealand series. Sharma will be hungry for runs and will look to dominate the bowlers in the Asia Cup.
Shami Ahmed:
Shami Ahmed, the latest pace sensation of India cemented his spot in the team during the ODI series against Australia with some good performances in a series which was completely dominated by the batsmen. Since then there was no turning back for the Bengal pacer as he is one of India’s bright stars in the overseas tours of South Africa and New Zealand. HE has the ability to bowl fast, swing the ball with a decent pace and can also be accurate with his line and length. He is one of the very few Indian bowlers who can bowl Yorkers accurately. Even though the conditions in Bangladesh won’t suit Shami, he will look to call the shots against the opposition batsmen.
X-Factor:
Ravindra Jadeja:
Slowly in the past one year, Ravindra Jadeja has started to justify his role of All-Rounder in the side with some good performances with the bat, which was missing from Rock Star in the early stages of his career. He had a sensational tour of South Africa and New Zealand where the conditions are known to be against his style of play. With the Asia Cup being played in well-known conditions, Jadeja will look to make the most of it and lead India to victory.
Possible Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthick, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Ishwar Pandey.
Schedule:
|
Date |
Against |
Venue |
|
26-2-2014 |
Bangladesh |
Fatullah |
|
28-2-2014 |
Sri Lanka |
Fatullah |
|
2-3-2014 |
Pakistan |
Mirpur |
|
5-3-2014 |
Afghanistan |
Mirpur |
|
8-3-2014 |
Finals |
Mirpur |