Two-time world champion India will be hoping to make it a hat trick of titles when it arrives at the 2019 tournament. Led by Virat Kohli, there will certainly be plenty of support in the betting markets for such a talented side in the 50 over format.
India is set to arrive as the No. 2-ranked team in one-day cricket. They are only fractionally behind England in that respect and may well overtake the 2019 hosts over the course of the tournament. The squad also includes the No. 1 batsman and No. 1 bowler in this form of the game so can India claim its second world title on English soil and its third overall?
Chasing the Leaders
India is close to England and only just behind the 2019 hosts in the outright betting markets, with Virat Kohli’s men quoted at odds of +275 to lift the trophy.
The sportsbooks have given their verdict but India will be the favorite for many bettors. There is a question mark over the No. 4 slot but this current team looks to have the perfect combination of power hitting, resilient batsmen, potent spin and economical death bowling.
India’s Strength
It’s such a cohesive squad that it’s hard to pin down one key area where India will excel. Perhaps we should focus on the top three where Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are charged with getting their side off to an explosive start.
Dhawan can be inconsistent but in Kohli, we have the No. 1 batter in ODI cricket. India’s skipper is approaching 11,000 ODI runs and he’s made an incredible 41 centuries in this international format. As for Rohit, he holds the world record for an individual ODI score with 264 and he’s compiled no fewer than three double tons in the 50 over game.
We may take those stats for granted in the modern day but if we stop and think, these numbers are scarcely believable. India has many qualities but that top three is a powerhouse and it will have a big role to play if the squad is to claim its third title.
Notable Absentees
When commentating at the IPL, former England spinner Graeme Swann thanked the Indian selectors for leaving Rishabh Pant out of the squad. Many supporters share that sentiment and, outside of India, it was a surprise to see this talented keeper/batsman excluded.
Following a successful spell as MS Dhoni’s ultimate replacement in the test side, Pant seemed the obvious deputy to MSD at the World Cup but the selectors went for the more experienced, if pedestrian, Dinesh Karthik.
Rishabh Pant may have also filled the troublesome No. 4 spot. Murali Vijay had clearly expected to travel to England but he also misses out in favor of the ‘three-dimensional cricketer” Vijay Shankar.
These aren’t necessarily weaknesses in the team but both selections seem strange to the neutral observer, so will India regret leaving Pant and Vijay behind?
Key Man
We can’t look past Virat Kohli in this section. We’ve already mentioned some of his stats and if the skipper doesn’t fire, India will not win this tournament. That run aggregate stood at 10,843 going into the World Cup warm-ups. The strike rate is a fraction under 93.00 but the average of 59.57 is another remarkable statistic.
India has depth in its batting lineup as we’ve seen but will need Virat Kohli to maintain those numbers across the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Verdict
We’ve talked comprehensively about India’s batsmen and we haven’t even mentioned the bowlers yet. The squad contains the No. 1-ranked ODI bowler in Jasprit Bumrah, who can pick up early wickets and keep things tight at the death. Bhuvneshwar Kumar should also thrive in English conditions and the seamers have support from Mohammed Shami, who impressed in the test series against England in 2018.
Spinners may not get quite so much assistance on English surfaces but Kuldeep Yadav enjoyed himself in the one-dayers here last year. Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal have their part to play at the World Cup and opponents shouldn’t underestimate the slow men.
There’s definitely some potential for long-term, individual bets: Virat Kohli is favored to score the most tournament runs at +700 while Rohit Sharma offers exceptional value at +1400. We’ve yet to see odds for top bowler but we think Kuldeep Yadav is worth considering when that market opens.
As for the team, when you have a batting lineup like that, you could almost dispense with a No. 4. There is just that small question mark but if key individuals are at their best, India really should be lifting its third trophy in England this summer.
Prediction: Winners
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