England has nothing much to lose but its honor to gain.Image Credit source: PTI
No one would have thought that England would defend its title in this way in the World Cup 2023. This defense of England, which is considered a contender for the title for the second consecutive time, will end in just three weeks. Hardly anyone would have thought that the English team, which won the T20 World Cup a year ago under the captaincy of Jos Buttler, would be so bad in ODI cricket. After losing 4 out of five matches, England’s chances of progressing are almost over. Whatever remaining possibility may be dashed in Lucknow on Sunday 29th October because England is facing Team India. Still, this England team can pose a threat to India.
Eyes will be on this clash between India and England at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow. In a way, with the victory in this match, Team India will almost secure its place in the semi-finals. With the defeat, England’s journey will completely end. Obviously, the England team is currently looking beaten and tired from all sides and is considered weak in front of Team India, which is running like a superfast express, yet this England can prove to be dangerous for Team India. .
A wounded lion is more deadly
The first thing is that there is nothing to lose for England in this World Cup. Based on the mathematics of points and run rate, England is still not out but the hopes of winning 4 consecutive matches and other results also going in their favor are almost impossible. That means England is out in a way. In such a situation, he has the only option to fight for his honor and often in such situations, teams prove to be more dangerous like a wounded lion. They spoil the game of other teams by winning the remaining few matches.
There is a lot of quality in the England team, they just need to click together as a team and what could be a bigger inspiration for them than stopping the winning streak of title contenders and hosts India.
Benefit of Team India’s problems
A big problem for Team India is to achieve balance in the playing eleven. This balance has been disturbed due to Hardik Pandya’s injury. Now either Team India should go with only 5 bowlers, which it did against New Zealand, or go with only 5 key batsmen to fill the 6 bowlers, which would be a big risk. Only England can take advantage of this. In the situation of only 5 bowlers, Indian captain Rohit Sharma will not have options and if 2 bowlers have a bad day then the situation can become difficult. At the same time, if only 5 batsmen are kept, in case of collapse, something amazing will have to be expected from the all-rounders. England can take advantage of both these situations.
Amazing expectations from the path shown by New Zealand
In Team India’s last match in Dharamsala, New Zealand had shown the other teams how Team India can be pushed on the backfoot. Team India’s bowling has been its strength, in which Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have proved to be the most lethal in the middle overs. New Zealand batsmen Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra had adopted an aggressive stance against Kuldeep Yadav in that match, which had put India in trouble. This would have shown a path to other teams as well that if any one spinner is targeted then India can come on the backfoot. Especially in the situation of only 5 bowlers, England can also take advantage of this. In such a situation, if explosive batsmen like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Liam Livingston are successful in this, then England can do something amazing.
