Five highs Team India must take from CWC 2015

Cricket World Cup 2015 may have come to a halt with mighty Australians lifting the title for the record fifth time, but cricket can never come to a standstill in India. The new season of IPL is underway, and the twitterati is still all bonkers over Anushka-Virat love tale, and everyone is perpetually blaming Team India to have surrendered easily against the Australians in the semi-final game.

India may not have been able to defend the ICC CWC title in 2015, but fans can be proud of the team’s performance in seven matches that it played before falling to the Aussies. It’s just fitting on 2nd April, (four years since Team India’s epic world cup victory) to touch on some of the highs team India must take from their performance in the Cricket World Cup 2015.

Indian seamers have the metal to bowl out sides on foreign tracks

Umesh Yadav

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Everyone – cricketing pundits and fans, had written off the Indian bowling attack considering their below par performance in the test series against Australia, and later in the tri-series involving Australian and England. The quality of Indian seamers on the Australian pitches was expected to be tested, since Team India came into the mega tournament as defending champions improbably of retaining the title.

It was not to be – Indian fast bowlers amazed one and all with how they lifted themselves in world championship. In the tournament where batsmen attracted more attention, it was the Indian bowling spearhead, Mohammed Shami who proved himself a prized asset, with 17 wickets for six matches.

At the beginning of the tournament, critics were asking if the Indian bowling attack had the penetration to advance into the stiffer stage of the World Cup. Indian bowlers viz-a-viz Umesh Yadav (18 wickets), Mohammed Shami (17 wickets), Mohit Sharma (13 wickets), and the experienced Ravichandran Ashwin (13 wickets), proved India’s bowling attack had the metal to back its star-studded batting lineup.

This was confirmed by Indian bowlers claiming 70 wickets in seven matches. India had bowled out each opposition before their game against Australia in the semi-final (the first and only match India couldn’t bowl out a side in the World Cup) a jinx that became the reason for India’s downfall.

Shikhar Dhawan can bat long


Shikhar Dhawan

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Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always backed Dhawan for being a long innings bat. Gabbar of Indian Cricket, has proven his skill in the subcontinent pitches. This tournament was, however, his test of skill on foreign (testing) wickets. Form had not been on his side prior to the tournament; therefore, his performance was a revelation in the World Cup. Dhawan, with two centuries and a fifty under his belt, played a very promising 45 run knock against the fierce Australian bowling in the semi-finals too.

Holding ground against the arch rivals

INDIA DEFEATED PAKISTAN

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India kicked off the World Cup campaign against the arch rivals Pakistan. Amid a carnival atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval, Indian wrapped up the game (76 run victory) by a clinical performance both with the bat and the ball and maintained their record of never losing to Pakistan in an ICC world cup match.

Virat Kohli had set the stage with a blistering century (first by an Indian against Pakistan in a world cup game), and then Indian bowler came to party with Shami finishing at 4/35.

Thumping the Proteas with aggressive fielding

Ajinkya Rahane

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When India went out to play South Africa in their Pool B encounter, Indian had the numerical disadvantage of never beaten South Africa in an ICC world cup match at the back of their mind. But, Team India wasn’t to be bogged down by the past. Following a blazing century by Shikhar Dhawan, and a quick-paced 60-ball 79 by Ajinkya Rahane, India had the upper hand in the game. To defend the 307 on board, the Indian bowlers came out aggressive; but hands down, it was the Indian fielding that was the standout point. India managed to run out two of the best players between the wickets – AB de Villiers and David Miller, which made sure the Proteas were all packed up for a meager 177.

Losing to a clearly superior side

INDIAN TEAM

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It was surely the most memorable World Cups for Team India, winning seven games on the trot, with almost all players contributing in their respective domains. India’s dream run may have been brought to an end by Australia in the semi-finals, but to most of us, it wasn’t all too surprising. Australia was clearly the better side, not just on the day, but also since the last couple of months. Australia had comprehensively defeated India in the tests, in the tri-series just before the World Cup and also in the World Cup warm-up game.

The crowd was firmly behind the Blue Brigade, but law of averages, history and pressure surely caught up with Team India.

Team India rose to the occasion at the world stage. How fast bowlers bowled through the tournament, how the team fielded and how some of the batsman showed poise, goes to prove that Team India has a few highs to take from the tournament irrespective of the fact that it failed to retain the title.

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