India started their world cup campaign on a positive note after they pipped a determined South Africa in their world cup opener by 6 wickets. They next pipped a much fancied and top contenders- Australia in their next clash by 36 runs to take two wins in as many matches. Their third game against New Zealand was washed off due to rain in Nottingham. In the biggest rivalry of world cricket, India faced Pakistan in their fourth fixture and they pipped the Sarfaraz Ahmed led team by a huge margin of 89 runs to take a lead of 7-0 against men in green in the world cup history.
The men in blue faced a tough task from a low lying Afghanistan in their next clash which turned out to be a low scoring thriller. India scored just 224 runs in their quota of 50 overs and Afghanistan fell just 11 runs short of the target.
In their sixth clash against an unpredictable West Indies, India’s middle order was again exposed as they finished on 468/7 at the end of 50 overs. Indian bowling line up led by Jasprit Bumrah proved too good for the Windies batsman as they were bowled out for 143 runs to hand a 125 run victory to India.
They were up against the tournament favourites England on 30th June at Birmingham and the English batsman made the most of the shorter boundaries and scored 337 runs in the quota of their 50 overs. In reply, India fell short of the target by 31 runs despite century from Rohit Sharma.
They next pipped a determined Bangladesh in their next clash by 28 runs to seal the semi-finals berth. In the dead rubber against Sri Lanka, Team India showed their batting prowess as they pipped the islanders by 7 wickets.
Sanjay Manjrekar suggests the ideal playing XI for Team India
The middle order conundrum is becoming a big headache for the Indian team management. They benched Kedar Jadhav and picked Dinesh Karthik in place of him but the Tamil Nadu batsman scored just 9 runs in the game against Bangladesh. Rishabh Pant has got off to a start in the two games he played, but he failed to convert it into big scores. The form of Kuldeep Yadav is also under the scrutiny.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer turned commentator- Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested the ideal playing 11 for India ahead of the crucial semi-final clash against New Zealand on 9th July at Manchester.
The 53-year-old sticked with the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with Virat Kohli taking the all important number four slot. Rishabh Pant has showed some promise after he replaced injured Shikhar Dhawan in the team and will take the number four slot in the team.
He will be followed by wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya in the lower middle order. Majrekar strengthened the lower order by adding Ravindra Jadeja to the team who can also come handy with the ball.
Despite, Kuldeep Yadav’s poor form, he included him in his team ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will be the three specialists pacers in his team.
Sanjay Manjrekar best India XI
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
Trying to predict Indian team for the semis. Let’s see how many I get right. Do send yours too. Will retweet a few.
Rohit
Rahul
Virat
Pant
Hardik
Dhoni
Jadeja
Bhuvi
Shami
Kuldeep*
Bumrah.*If pitch is not a turner.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 6, 2019
