World Cup 2015: Weaknesses shown by top 4 title contenders

The first roll of the dice has been cast. Teams have played out half their league games, giving one and all a good idea about their tournament prospects, their form, the squad’s capability and their appetite for pressure-cooker situations.Apart from the three original pre-tournament favorites Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, a fourth team India has entered the fray. It has done so on the back of intimidating performances in all their three games, one of them against the mighty South Africa, who were eventually thumped.However, none of the aforementioned teams are foolproof like the Invincible Australian sides of 2003 and 2007. All four teams have their weaknesses that could come back to bite them on a big day, say during a knockout game. Come the knockout stage, there will be a lot more pressure considering one strategic mistake could lead to a team’s ouster from the tournament. While all four teams would try to iron out all their problems in the time remaining, opponents will not be careless in spotting or exposing them.

#4 India

India jaywalked into the tournament battling bad form and a long winless stay Down Under. But the team has undergone a complete turnaround, playing like the defending champions that they are. Yet there are some weaknesses they need to deal with:

• Their pace bowling battery is doing well. Yet only Mohammad Shami has the pace and skill to get the best batsmen out on good batting tracks. Umesh Yadav could be wayward, and Mohit Sharma doesn’t have the pace to threaten batsmen on good tracks. Bhuvneshwar Kumar isn’t swinging them as much as he used to, a tough thing to do anyway in Australia.
• The slog isn't just working for India. MS Dhoni has looked scratchy in the two innings so far and Ravindra Jadeja is not the best man to tonk high-quality pace bowlers. India haven’t scored as much as they would have wanted to against South Africa or Pakistan in the last ten overs despite excellent foundations.
• The lack of a genuine all-rounder at No.7 is a worry for India. Neither Jadeja nor Axar Patel have shown the batting capabilities needed for a No.7. While Ravichandran Ashwin is a good batsman, he doesn’t have the big shots needed for a No.7. Jadeja’s left arm slow bowling, too, could be a cause to worry on flat tracks.