With India’s first World Cup match today, fans across the globe will probably be weighing their chances of victory this year. Let us look at the plus points the Men in Blue have, which will (fingers crossed) help them emerge on the winning side.

2018, has been a fruitful year for the Indian team, raises our hopes. With wins against Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and in the Asia Cup, the team has been in very good form.

Looking at the batting in the World Cup squad, the number one and two ranked ODI batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are key to India’s chances in the tournament.

Kohli’s average of 133.55 in 14 ODIs in 2018 speaks for itself. Along with them are other in-form players, especially Mahendra Singh Dhoni, KL Rahul, and Shikhar Dhawan. With brilliant performances in the year 2019 both as a batsman and as a wicketkeeper, fans are eagerly awaiting Dhoni’s performance in the World Cup.

The captain Virat Kohli also emphasized Dhoni’s role in the tournament, in his talk with The Times of India: “There's one thing about MS that's far more important than anything else - and there's a lot to him - for him, the team is always above everything else. It's always about the team, no matter what. To top it, look at the experience he brings to the squad and we're richer with it. Some of his dismissals behind the stumps, just recently too (in IPL), were match-changing."
Rahul and Dhawan both featuring in the top 10 list of highest runs scored in the IPL are players other teams need to watch out for.

Coming to the bowling attack, with two spin and three fast bowlers, and left-arm right-arm variations, India has the ability to give batsmen a run for their money. Number one ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah, along with Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have proved effective on numerous occasions, both with the new ball and at the death. Along with them are spin kings Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who are adept at picking wickets and controlling the run rate in the middle overs. Yadav impressed with his performance in the previous year with 45 wickets in 19 ODIs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, commenting on the bowling in talk with The Times of India, said: “Our performances over the last few years speak for us. The Indian bowling attack has grown from strength to strength. Today, we can say that our pace attack can make an impact on any surface. Each one of us has our own strengths that we bring to the bowling unit. It is always a good thing that whoever is getting a chance in the playing XI has been performing well. As a bowling unit - we back ourselves to do well in any conditions”

With four all-rounders, the batting and bowling are highly strengthened by Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Vijay Shankar. These players ensure a lengthy batting line-up for the team. The explosive hitting of Pandya helps to score crucial extra runs in the last few overs. Jadeja’s economical and effective bowling has been match-changing in the past.

Last but not least, the incredible fan following for the Men in Blue which is present in every nook and corner of the globe, will definitely act as a major support to the players.