World Cup 2019: Predicting where each team will finish on the points table
The entire cricketing fraternity will have their eyes glued to the action as England take on South Africa for the opener of the ICC World Cup 2019 in less than a day.
The 10 warm-up games, with a bit of marring by rain have given teams enough time to reflect upon plans for their oppositions, their own World cup squad setup and batting order. Many teams might have had their questions answered while many would have had fresh doubts created.
Though this is a tournament filled with surprises and with no team down at any stage, there a couple of pre-tournament favourites who are oozing with confidence who will be exciting to watch.
Despite being pretty tough to determine with authority, let's now take a look at a prediction of where the teams will finish on the World cup points table at the end of the group stage.
#10 Sri Lanka
It's very clear from the warm-up games that Sri Lanka have a huge number of problems at hand. Their opening pair is clearly not settled, they are unable to find the right team combination, there are too many ineffective all-rounders and their spin bowling has been horrific.
While skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis have done a good job with the bat, Sri Lanka need to step up as a unit and need to perform much better than what they have done so far if they want to pose a challenge. They actually have a huge list of match-winners in their squad but they have refused to perform like they need to do.
Sadly, they have found it difficult to do so and have a low probability of actually doing so.
#9 Afghanistan
Underdogs Afghanistan have been pretty refreshing to watch and really pulled out a surprise by beating Pakistan in their first warm-up game but the crushing loss to England showed them that they shouldn't get too ahead of themselves. While they are undeniably optimistic and enthusiastic on the field, they have some clear holes in the squad which makes them a weak opposition.
Their spin bowling is undoubtedly one of the best in the tournament but isn't enough to keep them floating. All their batsmen have to step up and contribute, not just one or two players. Plus, their pace bowling has been very ineffective and they have leaked runs very easily.
While Afghanistan can spring another surprise on unsuspecting opponents, they have a long way to go before they become contenders.
Also read - Best bowling figures in world cup