India’s spectacular winning streak came to a disappointing end on Thursday when the defending champions lost their semi final match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). No one gave India a chance before the start of the World Cup 2015, but MS Dhoni and his men played very aggressive brand of cricket and won seven consecutive matches before losing to the home team in the semi final.
Here we look at the top 5 positives for India from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015:
1) Opening Partnership
Before the start of the World Cup 2015, the opening partnership was one of India’s biggest worries. Shikhar Dhawan was horribly out of form and many thought Ajinkya Rahane will be promoted to the top of the order. But, Dhawan, played a very patient knock in the opening match against Pakistan and followed it up with a brilliant hundred against South Africa. Rohit Sharma took his time but played a match-winning knock in the quarter final against New Zealand. Now, the opening pair of Dhawana and Sharma looks settled to take India forward in One Day International (ODI) cricket.
2) Fast bowlers packing a punch
The trio of Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma were anything but experienced campaigners. Yet, they bowled their hearts out each time they stepped out on the field. It is, after all, no regular feat to bowl out oppositions in seven consecutive matches. It was heartening to see two Indian fast bowlers bowling fast and aggressively consistently throughout the tournament.
3) MS Dhoni’s astute captaincy
MS Dhoni is one of the best ODI captains ever. He is known for his charismatic and inspirational leadership and in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Dhoni once again showed why he is rated as a captain-par-excellence. Dhoni held his team together and each and every role in the team was very well defined.
4) Sublime effort on the ground
There was a time when Indian fielders were known for their lazy attitude on the field, but now India are one of the best fielding units in world cricket. There were diving saves, crucial run out and some brilliant catches. Such was the effort on the ground that bowling coach Bharat Arun even rated India as the best in the world currently.
5) Solid batting performance by top 6
Despite being one of only two undefeated teams till the semi final at the World Cup, India don’t have any players atop the batting rankings for runs scored. India’s top 6 batted in partnerships and sparkled bright with crackling display of aggressive stroke play. There were four different centurions for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015- Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma.
By Aniket Arora
