How will India fare in the ICC World Cup 2011?
In a country where cricket is religion and cricketers are demi-gods, the Indian cricket team will always be an underachiever. No matter what the team does, they can never live up to the mammoth expectations of their fans. The mercury rises further when they
are playing in front of home crowds. The pressure of performing in a World Cup at home would be unimaginable. Historically they have failed to do well on two such occasions. Will this time be any different for them? http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 would definitely like to think so.
The Men in Blue will start their campaign for the cup ranked one of the favourites to win. In order to become the all conquering side and before they lift the coveted trophy for the second time, India will have to shrug off the disaster from the last World
Cup, when they were eliminated in the first round. The Indian squad needs to make sure their past failures at home will not come back to haunt them. The Indian side has had an excellent time leading up to the World Cup and for that it deserves to be among
the front runners. The team, under their inspirational captain, Mahindra Singh Dhoni, boasts of a world-class batting line-up and a very effective bowling attack.
India has been placed in Group B, alongside heavyweights http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753. India played the Proteas in two evenly contested one day series last year, so they should be aware of their
strengths and weaknesses. They will also have to be wary of the English team because they can be tough competition. The other dangerous team in the group are the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bengal-c771 Tigers, who knocked India out from the last World Cup in the Caribbean. The Indians should
know that they can take nothing for granted, even when playing lesser teams.
India is confident of advancing to the quarter-final stage and probably further in the 10th edition of the World Cup. The form the current Indian team has been in for the last year would make them believe they have what it takes to go all the
way. India won the tournament in 1983 by overthrowing the mighty West Indies team, under the leadership and guidance of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kapil-Dev-c70234. A feat they were not able to repeat when they made it to the final of the 2003 World Cup against Australia.
The way they play in the group matches will be a good indication of how they are handling the pressure. In the sub-continent the crowds play a very pivotal role. India probably remembers the reactions of the crowds when they were close to losing the semi-final
against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in 1996. The players need to be able to handle the pressure of igniting a combustible crowd.
India also have plenty of fond memories, like their victory against arch rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 may be the
number one ranked team in the world but from the way India beat them in the first warm-up match, it seems India are on their way to make a serious attempt at being named the best team in the world.
Tags: