World Cup 2019: Three concerns that still remain for India
India, pitted to be one of the pre-tournament favorites, have lived up to their reputation in the World Cup. The Men in Blue have had a dominant run so far, having made it to the semi-final stage with a game to spare. Having won 6 out of its 8 matches, with a no-result and a solitary loss, the team is comfortably placed at the second spot in the points table.
This has been possible on account of an all-round effort by India, ticking most of the boxes. While Rohit Sharma has raced to the top run-getter's spot, registering 4 hundreds, captain Virat Kohli hit five consecutive half centuries to anchor the innings in the middle overs. In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have delivered the goods on every occasion, while Hardik Pandya has been the x-factor with the bat as well as the ball.
Given these outstanding credentials, some concerns still remain to be addressed in the World Cup campaign of the subcontinental giants. The team would be wanting to solve these issues in the last league game against Sri Lanka, ahead of their semi final clash.
#3 The sixth bowler
The bowlers have essayed majority of the wins for India in this tournament, including a nerve-racking effort to defend a paltry 225 against Afghanistan. The fast bowlers as well as the spinners have shown great temperament and control even in the toughest circumstances
However, one thing that has been lacking in this department is the presence of a sixth bowler. Virat Kohli has been reluctant to use a sixth bowler, even when the full time bowlers were under attack. On the contrary, teams such as Australia and New Zealand have even resorted to using eight bowlers in such situations, with skippers Aaron Finch and Kane Williamson respectively rolling their arms, and also tasting success.
This was one thing that cost India dearly in the game against England, and even after the presence of Kedar Jadhav, he was not handed the ball. His sacking in the favour of Dinesh Karthik leaves India with only five bowlers, without any contingency plan should a bowler have a bad day.