World Cup 2023 is just a few days away from the action. The World Champion England will take on the finalists New Zealand. The opening encounter itself promises to be one of the key clashes of the tournament. This ODI World Cup looks to be one of the most closely fought World Cups. All teams are well equipped to defeat each other on a given day. This looks to be one of the most fiercely fought ODI World Cups. Is there any clear cut favorite to lift the trophy on 19th November?
India are touted as the prime favorites to win the World Cup as they are playing at home. Playing at home is always advantageous as you know the intricacies of the pitch, the conditions, and of course the crowd supporting you. India are dominating at home and with all the big guns firing it will be difficult to stop them. This time, they have a stable middle order in Shreyas and KL along with the Big 3: Gill, Rohit and Virat. They have a quality spinners in Jadeja, Ashwin and Kuldeep along with the ever reliant Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj in the fast bowling department. However, they need to manage the expectations and will have to shut out the outside noise to lift the coveted trophy. Also, India’s ‘home advantage gets nullified in a way that all teams are accustomed to playing in these conditions.
Home Conditions: Really an advantage for India?
The home conditions do not give a clear cut advantage to India as it gives to the other nations. Most of the players play in the cash rich Indian Premier League and have known the conditions here. Gone are the days when touring teams struggled to play the spinners. They are more than ready to combat the spin threat. Playing in the subcontinent brings teams like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan more in the picture.
Reading the conditions is extremely key in a team’s success. The captains often get misled by the dew factor as the pitch tends to slow down and the ball sticks into the surface as the game progresses. With the round robin format of the World Cup 2023, none of the matches could be taken lightly. A narrow loss here and there would make a long lasting impact on a team’s chances to make in the Semifinals. Pakistan narrowly missed the semifinal of the World Cup last time.
ODI Powerhouses
The World Champions England appear to have covered all bases. A star studded team with quality all rounders and menacing batsmen, England is a team to watch out for this World Cup. The return of Ben Stokes has bolstered the middle order with Morgan’s void filled by the English Phoenix. Jos Butler, and Moeen Ali will bring all their IPL experience to the table. They have a plethora of spin bowling options in Rashid, Livingstone and Moeen who are all different spinners. They bat extremely deep and hence can go hard from ball one. It will be difficult to stop any of their batters once they get going. This team is an upgrade from 2019 and are the prime favorite to lift the trophy.
Whenever you talk about World Cups, the first name that comes to mind is Australia. You cannot rule out a team like Australia in the World Cup. Even if they are out of form before the tournament, once the tournament starts, everyone will be switched on. Mitchell Starc took a hattrick in the warmup match, Maxwell bowled well in the third ODI against India. Warner, Smith, and Marnus are looking in good touch. The newly formed opening combination of Marsh and Warner looks devastating. Mitchell Marsh will look to give a quickfire start to Australia. His revival as a white ball player is really great. They have a reliable spinner in Adam Zampa who along with Maxwell will control the middle overs. The Big 3 fast bowlers and how they play the middle overs will eventually decide how far they go in the tournament. Even if the bowling looks weak, their batsmen will outscore the opposition giving a cushion of an extra few runs to the bowlers.
New Zealand just brings out their A game in ICC tournaments. The return of Williamson has been a major boost for the Blackcaps. Rachin Ravindra played well in the warmup game. He looked fluent and would be a great asset for New Zealand in the World Cup. Mitchell, and Latham are the vital cogs of the lineup who often go under the radar. The duo of Santner and Sodhi bowl well in tandem complementing each other. Just like Australia, you cannot rule out the Kiwis in an ICC tournament.
The Proteas are the dark horses in this tournament. Quinton De Kock will have a point to prove in his last tournament for the country. South Africa have one of the best middle orders in the tournament. Van der Dussen, Markram, Klassen, and Miller are absolute beasts in these conditions. These 4 are the best spin players in the team. If anyone of them have a memorable tournament, South Africa will go a lot deeper in the World Cup. Without Nortje, the bulk of the damage needs to be solely done by Rabada for South Africa.
Asian Giants
Pakistan enters the Indian shores after 7 years. They have a balanced squad but will surely miss Naseem Shah’s services. But overall they have a balanced fast bowling attack with Shaheen leading the pack. The batting is overly dependent on how the top 4 perform. Babar needs to have a standout tournament to help Pakistan reach the finals. They also need their spinners to create an impact in the middle overs. Rizwan getting a hundred in the practice match will boost the morale of the misfiring middle order.
Sri Lanka enter the tournament as the underdogs. They have quality spinners and have all the bases covered in the spin department. Theekshana, Wellalage, and De Silva can be difficult to deal if the pitch spins. Pathirana with his uncanny action and his IPL experience will be a wicket taker for Sri Lanka. The batting lineup is perfect for these conditions. Kusal Mendis, De Silva, and Asalanka can build innings and take the game away quickly. They will badly miss Hasaranga, but still they are more than ready to make a solid impact in the tournament. However, the key factor for their success is they need one batter to step up with the bat and score big runs in the tournament.
Bangladesh and Afghanistan have quality spinners in their lineup. Bangladesh have Shakib and Mehidy Hasan in their lineup. They do have quality fast bowlers in their side in Mustafizur, Taskin, and Shoriful. Shakib, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Shanto provide solidity in their batting lineup in Asian conditions. Whenever you play in subcontinental conditions, Bangladesh becomes a different and very well-balanced side.
Afghanistan will look to play without any baggage. They have a high quality spin attack. The Afghans will look to choke the opposition with spin. 30-40 overs of spin from Rashid, Mujeeb, Noor and Nabi will be difficult things to negotiate on slow spinning pitches. However, they must not over rely on their spinners. If their batting lineup somehow puts up a competitve total on the board, they would spring up a lot of surprises in this World Cup. Impressive batting performance against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup will give a lot of confidence to Afghanistan going into the World Cup.
Everyone is a favorite on their given day in this World Cup. Teams need to maintain their composure and adapt quickly. Games in India change quickly in few overs time. A big over quickly changes momentum or 2 quick wickets and the pitch suddenly looks like a turner. Teams that control the middle overs will win most of the games. However, with explosiveness in all the teams, a few big overs will quickly turn the tide. Teams that are adaptable, will have hands on the trophy in a month. Get ready to witness a fiercely fought, highly intense, edge of the seats thrillers in this tournament. Enjoy the carnival while it lasts…
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