The ODI World Cup is set to begin at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5). Defending champions England led by Jos Buttler will meet New Zealand captained by Kane Williamson in the first match. These two teams had met in the ODI World Cup final in 2019. England had snatched a thrilling win back then.
In four years, England seem to have grown stronger. They have perhaps the most ballistic batting line-up in the shorter versions — Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes to name just a few. Almost all those who hold the bat for them are capable of scoring at a fast pace.
They have a well-balanced attack too. Mark Wood, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes and Stokes will manage the pace department, with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali being the principal spinners. In all, this team looks strong and starts as the top favourite in the ODI World Cup.
New Zealand will be no pushovers. Williamson is not fully fit, but they too have able players in almost every position. Unlike England, who start blasting the ball from the word go, New Zealand’s approach is more conventional. In Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Will Young and Daryll Mitchell and others they have a strong batting line-up. Trent Boult, Mat Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner mean the bowling is in good hands too.
This is the 13th ODI World Cup and the fourth in the subcontinent. This is the first time that India is the sole host of the ODI World Cup, after having staged the event jointly with the neighbouring nations thrice in the past. The team led by Rohit Sharma is not the hot favourite, but is looking good at the right time. Some key players appear to be peaking at the right time and that augurs well for the Men in Blue.
Rohit leads a strong batting side featuring the likes of Virat Kolhi, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. All of them are in form. All-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja provide power to both the departments. In bowling, Jasprit Bumrah seems to be returning to his best, while Mohammed Siraj is breathing fire. Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav make this the most versatile bowling attack in this edition of the ODI World Cup. The Men in Blue must reach the semi-finals first and take it as it comes after that.
Australia is another team to watch out for. The record five-time winners of the ODI World Cup are not the hot favourites, but they have enough in their arsenal to test any team. Mitch Marsh can form a very destructive opening pair with David Warner. With Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis following, this can be a formidable batting unit.
In bowling, Australia will depend on Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. All of them are proven performers and have enough experience of playing in India. The spin wing appears to be a bit low in comparison, with Adam Zampa likely to be the lone specialist in the XI. This means some of their batters may have to bowl a bit of spin and that’s where the opposition can attack Australia.
One can never write Pakistan off. They are ranked No 1 in this format not too long ago. The team will miss speedster Naseem Shah, who is injured. But Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf make the pace department formidable. The question is, which one of Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim do they pick? The spin department is in the able hands of Shadab Khan and Mohamad Nawaz.
Babar Azam is their star batter and one of the best in the world who excels in formats. The captain is Pakistan’s mainstay in batting, but they also have the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan. Iftikhar Ahmed can accelerate lower down the order. And they have the experience of playing in similar conditions. It can be good ODI World Cup for them if they put up a good show while fielding, which is their problem area.
Among the other teams in this ODI World Cup, South Africa and Sri Lanka will be the dark horses. Led by Temba Bavum, South Africa are a strong batting side with the likes of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks. The bowling will be led by Kagiso Rabada, followed by Lungi Ngidi, who are used to Indian conditions.
Champions of the ODI World Cup in 1996, Sri Lanka are handicapped by injuries. Still, they have the likes of Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva who can make the opposition think. The bowling, though depleted, should have spin solace in Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage. One can expect Bangladesh to make a mark too. A team with the likes of Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, which also has a good spin attack, can cause surprises.
The other teams in this ODI World Cup — Afghanistan and the Netherlands — are not expected to do much. However, the likes Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohamad Nabi will look to make an impact. Left-arm unorthodox bowler Noor Ahmad will also be watched. As for the Dutch, they can learn some valuable lessons from this ODI World Cup and come back stronger in future.
ODI World Cup schedule
Oct 5: England vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad
Oct 6: Pakistan vs Netherlands, Hyderabad
Oct 7: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Dharamsala
Oct 7: South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Delhi
Oct 8: India vs Australia, Chennai
Oct 9: New Zealand vs Netherlands, Hyderabad
Oct 10: England vs Bangladesh, Dharamsala
Oct 10: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Hyderabad
Oct 11: India vs Afghanistan, Delhi
Oct 12: Australia vs South Africa, Lucknow
Oct 13: New Zealand vs Bangladesh, Chennai
Oct 14: India vs Pakistan, Ahmedabad
Oct 15: England vs Afghanistan, Delhi
Oct 16: Australia vs Sri Lanka, Lucknow
Oct 17: South Africa vs Netherlands, Dharamsala
Oct 18: New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Chennai
Oct 19: India vs Bangladesh, Pune
Oct 20: Australia vs Pakistan, Bengaluru
Oct 21: Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, Lucknow
Oct 21: England vs South Africa, Mumbai
Oct 22: India vs New Zealand, Dharamsala
Oct 23: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Chennai
Oct 24: South Africa vs Bangladesh, Mumbai
Oct 25: Australia vs Netherlands, Delhi
Oct 26: England vs Sri Lanka, Bengaluru
Oct 27: Pakistan vs South Africa, Chennai
Oct 28: Australia vs New Zealand, Dharamsala
Oct 28: Netherlands vs Bangladesh, Kolkata
Oct 29: India vs England, Lucknow
Oct 30: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka, Pune
Oct 31: Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Kolkata
Nov 1: New Zealand vs South Africa, Pune
Nov 2: India vs Sri Lanka, Mumbai
Nov 3: Netherlands vs Afghanistan, Lucknow
Nov 4: New Zealand vs Pakistan, Bengaluru
Nov 4: England vs Australia, Ahmedabad
Nov 5: India vs South Africa, Kolkata
Nov 6: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Delhi
Nov 7: Australia vs Afghanistan, Mumbai
Nov 8: England vs Netherlands, Pune
Nov 9: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Bengaluru
Nov 10: South Africa vs Afghanistan, Ahmedabad
Nov 11: Australia vs Bangladesh, Pune
Nov 11: England vs Pakistan, Kolkata
Nov 12: India vs Netherlands, Bengaluru
Nov 15: 1st semi-final (1st v 4th), Mumbai
Nov 16: 2nd semi-final (2nd v 3rd), Kolkata
Nov 19: Final, Ahmedabad