The fever is back

CHENNAI: The flags, bugle, chants and the jerseys are ready. Eight years after clinching the ICC Cricket World Cup, the men in blue are ready to roar again. Fans across the country hope history repeats itself. But will our players bring the prized trophy home?
Chennaiites say victory is a coin toss

Akshaay Pareekh, 24
Rather than India, I think England will win. Their chances have never been this bright for them to lift the Cup. Home conditions and a terrific batting line up in Root, Butler and Morgan make them pretty set. Their last wins against all the big teams including India, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies at home have shown that they are the team to beat this season. All said and done, as an Indian supporter at heart, I truly hope the odds work in India’s favour. With the past data showing that we have played amazingly in the summer conditions at England (Champions Trophy), I have my fingers crossed.

Sunitha Sarda, 42
I don’t think we will be able to lift the trophy for the third time. This is mainly because the team is over-dependent on Virat Kohli to fire. The rest of the players, especially the top order batsmen are not taking enough responsibility on themselves. In swinging conditions, Virat might also prove to be vulnerable. This is why I don’t think India will be able to lift the trophy albeit their bowling and fielding is very strong.

Harshita Parikh, 22
The ICC World Cup is not just a cricket match. The tournament is about great games which become history. The cricket fever has set in over the last two months and it’s right on time as now the men in blue together will take the field together. With some extraordinary young performers like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, great minds like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, the team has the right concoction of players. And not to forget the team being lead by one of the world’s best batsman, the record-breaking player Virat Kohli. Team India has high chances of bagging the trophy this year. That would create history, as it would our the third World Cup win.

Pradeep Sanker, 20
TIeam India has a high chance of winning the Cricket World Cup as it is a young team. They have a strong batting line-up and all-rounders can contribute a great deal to the team in terms of putting up some runs in the death overs. They will reach the semifinals for sure but after that, it’s going to be hard as other teams are equally competitive.

Kashyap Sivakumar, 19
On analysing the attributes of the present squad, they are a capable pack. But, their current performance does not serve justice to their calibre. In my opinion, England seems to be the favourite to win the World Cup considering their remarkable squad-depth in batting, fielding and endurance to stay longer and score more than seven runs per over till the end. India always falters in a crunch situation in the long or in the shorter version when they are challenged with a big score to chase. So, the batting weakness in the middle order has to be bolstered with an exhibition of more patience. In short, India will have to bank on their Lady Luck if they are to get their hands on the silverware.

Rakesh Dondeti, 25
The very first look at the Indian World Cup squad shows the number of match winners that the team has — Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah to name a few. The one thing that is obvious with this Indian squad is their balance and their capability to do well in all conditions. The weakness that could have been hidden in other conditions might just be too glaring in English conditions. The toughest competitor will be team England. The recent series against Pakistan where they scored 380 plus in all the matches shows that the whole team is in a good form. The pitch is going to be crucial.

GN Sharad, 49
India has a high chance of lifting the Cup this year due to the right mix of players. With an impressive batting line-up that includes Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and young guns like KL Rahul, and Vijay Shankar — team India in great form. Not to mention the right mix of a bowling attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav with the much-required experience of MS Dhoni, who is a master in reading the pitch. The boys in blue will be unstoppable this year and we will be ‘Virat’orious!

Pavan Kumar, 23
India has a great batting unit. If the opener performs well at the start, it will give more confidence to the next batsman looking at the current state of England. Not to forget the injury woes in our team. We need a perfect partnership for middle orders. Jadeja can bat in 4th-5th place. Jasprit Bumrah is the world’s number one bowler currently and he will play a crucial role in death overs. This World Cup is going to be tough and luck will not take us to the top. We should face all the teams and play well. If we make it to the top four, we have a sure shot to win this World Cup.

Nahshon Benjamin, 27
A nail-biting season of IPL that had us all on the edge of our seats serves only as jet-fuel for World Cup 2019. I can attest that one of the proudest moments for Indian cricket was the victory lap headed by one of its greatest captains, hoisting cricket deity Sachin to a million fans for the last time. However, it is time for some fresh blue blood on the field.With aggressive captaincy from Virat and Dhoni’s batting-arm free to reign, we can expect them to put on quite the show! And yes, I will be keeping an eye on Ashwin’s twitter feed.

Karthik Sivakumar, 26
India is heading into the World Cup with their overseas triumph over Australia. The lads are oozing confidence and are all charged up after their IPL exploits. Dhoni’s cool-headed cricketing philosophy coupled with Kohli’s ruthlessness sparks hope in the hearts of millions of Indian cricket enthusiasts. Experience coupled with young blood will strengthen India’s quest for clinching the World Cup. Our spinners are well-trained and they will exploit the English environment very well. My gut whispers this World Cup is coming to India. Chak de India!

Inputs by Prachi Mehta, Romaa Sharad, Rinreichui Kashung, Swetha Suresh, Vaishali Vijaykumar