Team India Cruises into Semis with Questions Still Lingering

Team India cruized into the Semifinals of the World Cup with a victory over Bangladesh. This is the Seventh consecutive ICC event in which India has reached the Semifinals since 2013. The team has one more league match against Sri Lanka before entering the Knockout stage which means we need three good games to bring the Cup Home.

Despite the victory against Bangladesh, India will still ponder over its problems. Opener KL Rahul is still not at ease and the Middle Order is struggling. The Team is thriving on the heroics of Rohit Sharma and Kohli. Rohit bangs a century once again and is adjudged the Man of the Match.

He has the most Man of the Match Awards for India in a World Cup only after Yuvraj Singh (Four in 2011) and Sachin Tendulkar (Three in 2003). Lack of Performances from the Middle Order is still a concern and the strategy of the team in the last 10 Overs is baffling. With no aggressive approach, India’s performance between 41 and 50 Overs has been ordinary.

At one stage today, it looked like 350 Plus is very easy but the team settled with just 314 Runs on Board. Things will not be this easy in the Knockout stages and the team would still have to experiment with the selection in the next match to get its combination right for the Semifinal and the Final (If it gets there).