India are on the verge of creating history Down Under, what's next for them in 2019?
India is on the verge of creating history by winning the Test series in Australia for the first time. Right from the time they had won the toss in Adelaide Test, they have ticked all the right boxes.
Skipper Virat Kohli used his tactical acumen and marshaled his troops remarkably well. But as pointed by Australian skipper Tim Paine, it was the individual brilliance of Cheteshwar Pujara that made the difference in this series. The way he was using his feet and being selective in his shot-making was truly the feature of his batting in this series. He is the leading run scorer in the series with 521 runs, while the next highest run scorer, Rishab Pant, is 200 runs behind him.
The Indian team's celebrations can only be short-lived. They have a bigger challenge of winning the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup. They are definitely one of the strong contenders to lift the title. Hence, there is too much pressure on the Men in Blue to perform well at the Quadrennial tournament.
Before the commencement of World Cup, India has got 13 One Day Internationals to play - eight of which against Australia and five against New Zealand. They have to now switch gears to the 50-over-format and be ready to win most of the games so that they can take the moment to England. It would give them a huge amount of confidence and send alarm bells to the oppositions.
India needs to solve several issues before the World cup starts. The Men in Blue need to arrive at a settled combination at the earliest. Though conditions are different in England and Australia, the skipper and the team management needs to be convinced that these are best eleven players on the park. The second issue is to sort out the batting order. Every player must clearly understand his role and responsibility in the team.
And finally, the Indian team needs Mahendra Singh Dhoni to get back to form at the earliest. The cricketing fraternity is waiting to see the old vintage Dhoni who can single-handedly take the game away from the opposition.
Without a single half-century in 2018, Dhoni needs to find his touch soon. His wicket-keeping skills are unmatched. But he needs to justify his selection in the team by making some useful contributions with the bat.
Virat Kohli has rightly pointed that certain key players like Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's workload have to be taken care properly during this season's Indian Premier League. They need to be fresh for the tournament as the injury is the last thing that you need right before the tournament.
Let us wish that Virat Kohli can emulate what Kapil Dev had done 36 years ago; lifting the World Cup at Lord's.