Following an imperious show, Team India has stormed into the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019. With a 28-run win over Bangladesh, Men in Blue become the second team after Australia to make it to the semis. Also, hosts England and with oodles of luck, New Zealand has become the fourth team to feature in the knockout fixtures. On Saturday, with India taking on Sri Lanka, former Islanders skipper Mahela Jayawardene has given his opinion regarding India’s chances of lifting their third World Cup title.
Meanwhile, India had won their first-ever World Cup against Windies in 1983 when Kapil Dev led his side. Then they lift the second title after a prolonged gap of 27 years at home under the dynamic leadership of MS Dhoni.
With Virat Kohli leading his team for the first time at the World Cup, the World No. 1 ODI team is keen to win their title World Cup title after Australia.
Overall, the Kangaroos had clinched the World Cup title on five occasions since their first title triumph in 1987 against England. Interestingly, they had registered a hat-trick of title wins in 1999, 2003 and 2007 respectively.
In 2003, India had remained runners-up when Australia won the game by 125 runs.
With 14 points in eight games, Aussies top the point table. On the other side, India has 13 points in eight matches which include a washout fixture against New Zealand. India’s solitary defeat came against England when Eoin Morgan-led side won the game by 31 runs in Birmingham on June 30.
The celebrated cricketer Jayawardene has hailed India’s consistency. He added that India holds a strong chance to lift the coveted title. Also, he reiterated that India has the best spin ploy despite poor show against England.
Jayawardene believes India has a stable batting order:
Besides, Jayawardene asserted that India has a good batting line-up.
“They have been consistent throughout and will challenge strongly for the trophy. Their spinners, despite being beaten up a bit by England, have been excellent. And I think their batting line-up is as strong as anything else out there,” Jayawardene wrote in his column for the ICC digital.
Moreover, Jayawardene has stressed on how skipper Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma have done their job for India. With India’s batting department revolving around Kohli and Rohit, Jayawardene stated Kohli is in good stead despite missing out on scoring big hundreds.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in excellent form. Sharma has three centuries and, although Kohli is yet to reach three figures, he won’t be too frustrated. He knows he is playing well, with five straight fifties to his name,” Jayawardene said.
Meanwhile, on Friday (July 5), New Zealand has officially become the fourth team to qualify for the semis. They become the fourth semi-finalist based on better net run-rate. Earlier, Pakistan were mathematically required to win their last league game in excess of 300 runs against Bangladesh at Lord’s.