ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 SWOT analysis of Team India and Australia
Thursday, 24 March 2011, 17:43 IST
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ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 SWOT analysis of Team India and Australia
With Sachin Tendulkar planning to quit after this World Cup, the bar is set much higher for the Indian players. Team India stands as one of the favorites alongside a formidable Sri Lanka, a strong South Africa, T20 Champions England and the reigning ODI champions Australia. So here at Cric City we have done a SWOT analysis on the selection of Indian squad for the upcoming cricket fiesta. The players selected by BCCI are: MS Dhoni (Captain), V Sehwag (Vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla. Cricket experts say that bowlers win you test matches while batsmen win you ODI?s. If this is indeed true then India stands a bright chance for they have a splendid batting line up. Sachin ,Sehwag ,Gambhir take up the first three slots while ,Dhoni and Pathan will be at six and seven respectively. Num 4 and 5 slots will be a tossup between Kohli,Yuvraj and Raina. The bowling side has 3 spinners and 4 seamers. The bowling department may not look that strong with Nehra and Munaf there but considering Patel?s recent form he also becomes a force to reckon with. The spin attack led by Bhajji looks good and also the part timers have proved their worth. Strengths: Balanced Team: The team is a perfect combination of both experienced as well youth. Though the bowling department looks a little weak, presence of Zaheer and Harbhajan should exude confidence to others in the team. After a long time Indian tail has started wagging which was evident in the last Series as well as the warm up match against Australia. Home Conditions: Since the World Cup is being played in the subcontinent, the Indian cricket team can expect the maximum crowd support. The Indian stadiums will be expecting a crowd of about 50,000. Weakness: Consistency: Off late team India has not being able to perform consistently. A lot of the games show that individual performers have saved the game. If the team India aims to win the WC then they have to perform collectively and every player have to play to their fullest. Brittle Middle Order: Yuvaraj and Raina are not in good form and have been picked mainly based on their past performance. It is an altogether a different issue that both of them are game changers but their current forms are the weak links. Absence of a genuine Allrounder: For the past 4 years selectors have been trying to groom one genuine allrounder , but with little sucesss. The fifth bowler slot is absent which makes the team to rely on bowlers like Yuvaraj and company. Opportunities: Spinning Subcontinent Pitches: The pitches in the subcontinent are very favorable for spinners and India has opted for 3 spinners. Its part-timers are also spinners. Both Ashwin and Chawla have a chance to shine in their 1st WC and aid Bhajji in the sub-continent conditions. With spinners, India would be restricting the opposition at the same time will be an attacking team. Virat Kohli: The young star has been in brilliant touch and was India's highest run-getter in 2010 so this is the big chance for him to stand out and fix his place in the team's middle order. Sachin Swansong: The only accolade missing in Tendulkar's illustrious career. The entire country wants it for him and also the entire team wants to win the cup for him. This should act as an extra motivation for everyone in the team. Threats: Injuries: A lot of Indian players have just come back after injuries. Though fully fit their fitness would still be suspect and they would be short of match practice. No back-up keeper: So who keeps if MSD is declared unfit right before a match? Team Australia The four times winner with a hat-trick in its kitty, Australia, is definitely the eye-candy for all the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 watchers. In the betting community, where the matches make the biggest impact, Australia is the second favorite team, with 11/2, after India, who enjoys 11/4. The team currently ranks 4th in Tests and 1st in ODIs. The World Number 1 ODI Squad With the Coach, Timothy Nielsen, the squad announced includes Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Ricky Ponting (Capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Cameron White, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Doug Bollinger. The exclusion of seasoned batsman Brad Hodge who is in prolific form in the Ryobi Cup, as the leading run-getter with three centuries at an average of 82.33 is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Yet as Ricky Ponting says, 'Australia may lack the big names it once had, but the three-time defending champion is still good enough to make an impact at this year's World Cup too." Ponting will remain the Captain of Australian team. The Hussey brothers too are included in the 15 men world cup squad and also the spin bowling champion Shaun Tait and the fas bowling terror Brett Lee are intact in the new team, despite injuries. The Australian batting no more evokes the fear of life in the opposition without the retired Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist in their ranks. But the Antipodeans' bowling can pose a few puzzles, even on docile sub-continental pitches. The quartet of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Doug Bollinger - three of them certainties in any given match -- can rattle the best in the business. The Injured Superstars Coach Nielsen once said, "You can't replace superstars". Each of the best Australian players has been through an injury phase in the recent days, and are back with a bang to defend the World Cup title for the fourth time. Key Batsman Ricky Ponting - For most of the Australian summer leading to the World Cup, Ricky Ponting faced questions about his poor form and future, a broken finger only adding to his gloom. The right hand batsman and a close catching fielder, has till date altogether played 151 matches scoring a total of 12,333 runs at an average of 53.85. The Australia Captain has made 39 centuries and 56 half centuries. The fastest spinner Shaun Tait - The Australia's fastest bowler Shaun Tait, who makes pace his ace, dropped out of international cricket in 2008 due to a combination of injury problems and depression later returned as a short-form specialist. still capable of making the world's top batsmen hop towards square leg. His expertise is in Express pace, and full length that can make turgid pitches irrelevant. Infact, Tait gave up first class cricket to protect his fragile body for 50-over and Twenty20 games. This spin master in 22 matches has taken 38 wickets at an average of 25.28. Pace bomber Bret Lee - Fast bowler Brett Lee made a rousing return from a 15-month injury lay-off, bowling back at 150km/h. The 34 year old pace bomber, Lee, in 10 matches has 22 wickets at the world-class average of 17.91. He claims a wicket every 22.68 balls, or once every fourth over, a strike-rate unmatched by any quick, tweaker or medium-paced trundler in the showpiece 50-over extravaganza 2010 Performance Overall, the Aussies won 16 of their 25 matches played in 2010 and have managed to hold onto their number one ranking ahead of the World Cup. The Ground acquaintance Australia has long acquaintance with the Indian grounds - Sardar Patel Stadium (SPS), Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium (VCAS), R.Premadasa Stadium (RPS), M.Chinnaswamy Stadium (MCS) and Punjab Cricket Association Stadium (PCAS). The pitches are unlikely to be West Australia Cricket Association ground?s style decks. SPS hosted 1st ODI saw Australia beat India, while VCAS saw the team take on Zimbabwe in 1995. Even RPS and PCAS proved to be favored pitches for Australia; however, MCS experience hasn?t been favorable wherein they recently lost the warm up match against India. Prediction At the end of the day they have to play the games the "Australian way" - Rely on quicks even on the slow, low pitches of the subcontinent. Tait, Johnson and Lee can be hoped to bowl around 150km/h when Australia begin their title defence against Zimbabwe on Monday. However, if they are caught on a flat patch their spin bowling would turn haywire and the opponent team will race away from them with too many extra runs. Without the best batting line-up, the team may either turn a terror on the opponent via their bowling team out within a score of 140 or the bowlers may miss the way and walk out with 360 runs in the opponent's scorecard.

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