Will World Cup hosts India handle the heat and play fearless cricket when it counts?

Cricket World Cup crowds have been fairly sparse so far, but that is unlikely to be the case when the host nation begins its campaign on Sunday.

One would imagine that dozens of Indian fans will flock to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the clash with five-time champions Australia live. Air sport cricket from 9:30 a.m.

Cricket-mad local spectators will be expecting a performance. They will demand representation. They will want a statement that their team is ready to win a first ICC event in a decade.

The names of Indian stars roll off the tongue: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami.

Kohli is perhaps the most star-studded of them all and will aim to become the first hundred-hitter in the history of ODI cricket by the end of this tournament with the 34-year-old just two tons away from the record 49 amassed by the great Sachin. Tendulkar.

There’s also a new star in town: Shubman Gill.

The highest runs scorer in ODI cricket this year (1,230 runs at 72.35). Youngest man to reach an ODI double century – against New Zealand at the age of 23 years and 132 days.

The second half of a superb opening partnership with captain Rohit, although he may not be deployed against Australia with Gill battling dengue fever.

Quality has never been an issue for India in global events. However, getting the job done was done.

Since beating England to win the Champions Trophy in 2013, India have won just two World Cup or Champions Trophy knockout matches, losing their other six.

Their most recent defeat came against England in the T20 World Cup semi-final last year. India reached 168-6 batting first in Adelaide, a score which their opponents overtook in 16 overs without losing a wicket. England played fearless cricket. India seemed inhibited.

Aerial sports Nasser Hussain said: “India will have to overcome the pressure. You could say that an Indian cricketer is always under pressure, but where he failed was in the knockout stage.

“In Adelaide last year they scored below average and England beat them. In the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand they progressed. They must go above average and play fearless cricket when they get to the knockout stage.”

‘India play stats-based cricket – they worry about what people say’

Hussain’s comrade Air sport cricket Pundit Simon Doull added of India: “Fearless cricket is their problem. They don’t play it enough. They play stats-based cricket, are too often preoccupied with their stats.

“They have all the talent. Some of the best players in the world, if not the best players in the world, but it’s about playing that fearless cricket at the right time in the tournament.

“They don’t take risks because they’re very worried about what might be said, what might be printed or their place on the team. That’s my only concern with them.”

Another concern noted by Hussain was the length of India’s tail: “Their batting doesn’t play and their bowlers don’t bat, so they have a different line-up than England or Australia with all the versatile players.”

There appear to be few other concerns.

India boasts a runs-laden batting line-up – one of Suryakumar Yadav or Shreyas Iyer could feature if Gill’s illness keeps him out – which includes the only man to score three ODI double hundreds (Rohit) and the fastest man to 13,000 runs in the format (Kohli).

Hardik kicks the ball in the middle order and delivers crucial overs from seam bowling, while the pace attack has welcomed the return of Bumrah – a man who moves the new ball and is excellent with his variations in death overs – after injury.

It also contains Mohammed Siraj. He has taken 30 wickets in 14 ODIs this calendar year, including four in one over as India razed Sri Lanka for 50 to win the Asia Cup last month.

In terms of spin, only Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane has claimed more ODI scalps in 2023 than Kuldeep Yadav’s 33. Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are other good slow bowling options for the hosts.

“The living conditions offer you a certain level of comfort”

The fact that they are hosts is surely India’s greatest advantage. No local team has ever won the men’s T20 World Cup, but the last three 50-over versions have been won by the event’s host country: India in 2011, Australia in 2015, England in 2019.

2019 World Cup winning England captain Eoin Morgan said Aerial sports: “The conditions of your home provide you with a certain level of comfort, a certain level of habit that you have already developed over the years.

“It’s an advantage other teams don’t have. It might sound silly, but I think it will be easier to block out the noise in India because they’ve done it before (in 2011).”

True, but India may not have been good at blocking out the noise during the 2016 T20 World Cup on their home turf, bowled out for 79 by New Zealand while losing the match in opening in Nagpur, then overtaken by the West Indies in the semi-final. in Bombay.

All things considered, though, India is the favorite for a reason. Many reasons.

It would not be surprising if Kohli was carried on the shoulders of a teammate in Ahmedabad on November 19 as India won the World Cup, just as Kohli carried Tendulkar on his shoulders after the team’s 2011 triumph at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

India is a formidable proposition, but can it be a fearless proposition? A nation waits. A nation demands.

Watch the opening match of the Cricket World Cup between India and Australia, in Chennai, live Air sport cricket from 9 a.m. on Sunday (9:30 a.m. first ball) or stream with NOW for £21 per month for six months.

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