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Photo: The Newsmen
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Team India has so far a dream run in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup 2023. They have so far won all of their five matches and almost sealed the semifinal spot. However, tough test awaits the Men in Blue in the knockout stage.
Attack against spin
The Men in Blue might have looked strong both on paper and ground, however, there are chinks in their armor which is still to be exposed. Against New Zealand, aggressive batter Daryl Mitchell showed the way by attacking India’s wicket taking spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the middle overs. Had the pacers led by Mohammed Shami not made a comeback, the Kiwis would have easily scored around 350 runs. The top teams must have taken a leaf out of Mitchell’s book and they will aim to attack Indian spinners and not allow them to settle anymore.
Pandya’s injury
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya gives the much needed balance to the Indian team. However, he is often injury-prone. He has been injured again in the most crucial time of the mega event. Though he is likely to make a comeback to the Indian team in the knockout stage of the tournament, his bowling with an injured ankle will remain a concern. Moreover, Mohammed Shami’s brilliant performance will always put a question mark on Pandya’s inclusion in the team as he won’t be able to bowl with the same intensity again.
Long tail
Most of the strong teams have good batsmen in their lower middle order up to number nine and ten. However, Team India has a long tail. After the number seven batsman, they have at least four to five batters in the lower middle order who don’t know how to wield the willow effectively. Luckily, India’s long tail has not been exposed in the mega event so far thanks to the in-form top batters. But the law of average will soon catch up and the lower batting order is going to be exposed sooner or later in this long tournament.
