The Battle of Two Unfortunate Sides.

Every cricket team has a dream of lifting the world cup. The want to hold it around their body, pose for pictures, kiss on top of it and feel it. Around the years, some teams are fortunate enough to win this prestigious prize and make their name in the hall of fame. But two of the most popular sides namely England and South-Africa haven’t had much luck in gaining this trophy.

England is still in search of its maiden world cup trophy. Infact its the only other team after New Zealand who has competed in every world cup since its inauguration in 1975, but failed to win it even once. Last time when England hosted the World Cup, they were thrashed in the first round itself. They haven’t had much luck when it comes to World Cup. They went to final in 1979, 1987 and 1992 but failed to win it every single time. England never made it to the finals after 1992.

Similarly, when it comes to South-Africa, they are referred as the chokers. They got this name as a reason for being one of the most strongest team yet failing to win an ICC major event each time. They compete hard each and every time, but due to some reasons they don’t find enough luck in the knockout games. The 2015 World Cup was an emotional one for South-Africa. After coming so close, the rain had other plans for them and made the game easier for the opponents. Few of South-African players even broke out on the field.

However, both the teams this year are of different contrast as compared to 2015. While England are playing cricket of a different brand, South-Africa have lost one of their gems, Abrahim Benjamin DeVilliers. He is one such guy who can turn the tides for your side anytime he feels like. Losing him has certainly taken the tag of ‘favorites’ from the South-Africans. But, they haven’t lost their protea power yet. Having groomed some wonderfully talented youngers for this stage, they certainly look promising.

The first match is going to be a crucial one for both the sides. While England will look to prove their dominance once again, South-Africans will love nothing less than defeating England and proving a point. It doesn’t matter whoever wins this contest as it is going to be a treat to watch. Watch out for the rain, they are certainly going to be the spoilers.

Domination or Playing Accordingly?

When someone asks us about domination in cricket, there is currently only one country that comes in our mind, England. With the rise in technology, England have also leveled up their way of playing cricket. Although they were a side who were considered to be a good test playing nation, yet they somehow managed to improve their limited overs stature recently. Having some of the finest stroke makers in their side, England makes batting look so easy.

The best part about their batting is their batting order, which seems never ending. They have got players who can do multiple tasks on the field. One of the perks that most teams search now a days is to have bowlers who can bat, England seems to have abundant supply of those. They have got extremely talented youngsters who can swing the tides of a match anytime they desire.

However the question is whether such kind of domination is necessary when you are playing a marquee tournament. With the stakes so high, there is obviously going to be some kind of pressure. There is nothing wrong in dominating. In your given day, it may also bring fruitful results for you. But, in the eve of a knockout game, if things go wrong then domination may prove to be disastrous. There is always some added pressure when your fans have a lot of expectations from you. In such situations, teams need to approach any kind of game cautiously. They might try to access the conditions, try to understand the situation and then try to perform accordingly.

Domination can be good against a poor or weak side but it may not be that effective against a well balanced side. A good example can be of Brendon McCullum. In the last World Cup, he played some astonishing knocks against the likes of Australia, England, South-Africa etc. But when it came to the final, he tried to be aggressive against the veteran seamer Mitchell Starc and lost his wicket early. This cost New-Zealand the game and the World Cup.

So the bottom line of this article is to play smart. No matter how good of a side you may be, you will always have flaws. You need to pick the right moment in order to launch your assault and the right moment to respect the opposition. As happened with Hitler, too much domination can be your endgame.

India, A real contender!

With the 12th edition of World Cup kickstarting from May 30, team India seems like one of the strong favorites in lifting the World Cup. However, in the last 4-5 years, India hasn’t been able to grab its opportunities when it came to lifting up some of the coveted trophies. In 2014, they were defeated by Sri Lanka in the world t20 final. In 2015, they were knocked out by Australia in the world cup semi-final. In 2016, they were defeated by the West Indies in the semi-final of the t20 world cup. And who can forget last year’s champions trophy’s final where they were destroyed by the arch rivals Pakistan for the first time in an ICC event.

Though it seems like India has lost its touch when it comes to the knockouts of the grandest stage, Yet India’s record is staggering in ICC events since 2013 Champions Trophy. In addition to that, they have got a side which is as brutal as the Australian side in the early 2000s. With proper combination of batsman, bowlers and sum gun fielders, India certainly looks like a side to deal with. With the run machine Virat Kohli in the form of his life and Jasprit Bumrah bowling the ball as lethal as a sniper, Team India might take their chances to take the teams head on. Not to forget the man behind the stumps, the mastermind, M.S.Dhoni, who is probably playing his last World Cup and is the key for India when it comes to big stages where the adrenaline starts rising and everyone feels the pressure. He is the glue that keeps this Indian side intact and provides invaluable experience.

With the rise of the two wrist spinners from India and the feats they have achieved recently, the duo of Kulcha are playing their first World Cup. There is no question regarding the pressure they might be facing, but with the master behind the stumps and a well organized Indian faculty, they might just feel confident enough.

The round robin format that the teams are going to experience this world cup is certainly going to test them. Its a format where each team faces every other side once. Its a format where you need to put your mind and body in the best shape. As it is going to be a long world cup, therefore th players need to manage their workload judiciously and avoid any kind of injuries. With the stakes so sigh, the teams might just bring the best out of them.

With England being the real favorites as the Cup is being held at their backyard, India do stand a chance against them having beaten them once in the ODI series last year. Though the middle order woes aren’t over for India, Billions of people do hope for that not to be a reason for their downfall. If things go right along with a tincture of luck by our side, we may just bring this auspicious trophy to our home for the third time. For now lets just keep calm and bleed blue!