CWC 2019: Analysing the 6 venues India will play at
Touted as the game's fiercest battle, the first ever limited-overs cricket ICC World Cup started in 1975 and had eight participants each of which fought their heart out to reach the ultimate glory.
As the years passed by, the dynamics of the game kept changing and today 44 years later, as the fans of this beautiful game eagerly wait for another edition of ICC Cricket World Cup to kick off, the sport appears to have changed completely - it has become more intense, more data-oriented, more technology driven, more fitness driven, slightly less technique driven, more innovative, more entertaining and of course richer in terms of money as well.
Having said that, there are certain core factors of the game which were relevant back in 1975 and are relevant even today.
Pitch, weather conditions, outfield and ground dimensions always have an impact on the outcome of the game.
The CWC 2019 is to be played in cricket's place of origin - England and Wales from 30th May - 14th July 2019 and the men in blue - team India will play its first match on 5th of June.
Let us have a look at the venues hosting India's matches in the first stage of the tournament, keeping in mind the above core factors.
#1 Venue - The Rose Bowl, Southampton
Matches - India Vs South Africa (5th June), India Vs Afghanistan (22nd June)
Weather forecast - Weather on the 5th of June is expected to be sunny the whole day with temperatures in the range of 18 - 20°C but 22nd June might see some showers.
Pitch - The pitch at Southampton has been mostly dry with teams scoring a bucket load of runs in ODIs since a year or two. Having said that, as it is dry it does grip a bit and spinners could play an important role.
All in all, it should be a high-scoring venue for teams playing spin well unless rain gods interrupt and pitch gets slow and sticky.
Average first innings score - 262, Average second innings score - 213
Last ODI - England Vs Pakistan
Eng 373 - 3 (50), Pak 361 - 7 (50)
Also read - Most world cup wins