In every World Cup, prediction becomes an interesting thing for all the fans.
All the speculations and observations regarding what might happen and what is most likely to happen, how certain individuals, as well as teams, are likely to perform in the World Cup, who got the edge and who does not become the talk of the town.
Analysts, critics, pundits, fans-- all of them indulge themselves in these discussions. Keeping up with the flow, FE is bringing its prediction of the top 4 teams considering the performance of the teams till the 21st game of the tournament.
England
It’s no surprise that the current World T20 runner-up and ODI champions would be one of the favourites in the World Cup.
Since 2015, England has renovated their limited version side to such a level that they are automatically the most feared team. You won’t find as blistering a batting lineup as the one that consists of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joss Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali.
Bowlers like Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes added with Moeen Ali becomes one of the most decorated bowling attacks. As a result, even with absentees like Archer, Stokes, Sam Curran, England are strong enough to lift the title.
Crushing Bangladesh by an 8 wicket victory, England have already proved why they are the most favourites to attain what was almost theirs in 2016.
India
For over a decade, India enters a tournament being one of the hot-favourites regardless of the format.
There’s no exception this time with one of the most impressive squads in the tournament. In-form KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Surya Kumar Yadav added with charismatic Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma destroy any bowling in the world.
Also, bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarty, Ravi Ashwin and Mohammad Shami can tear apart the opponent batting.
Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya more than make up for the all-rounder department. On paper, this team does not lack anything. Combining with their last one month which they spent in the UAE for IPL, they easily are one of the favourites to win the title.
Although India lost their first game against Pakistan poorly, they are expected to turn things around.
Pakistan
Apart from Pakistan’s unpredictable characteristics, not many pick them as one of the top 4 contenders.
However, you can never count a team out when they have someone like Mohammad Rizwan, who is on the verge of becoming the first-ever player to score 1000 T20 runs in a calendar year and Babar Azam, the most talked-about batsman of recent times.
Not to mention the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, highly experienced Mohammad Hafeez, Rauf and Shoaib Malik who can bundle the opponent for a cheap score on the board.
Also, UAE is like the home ground for Pakistan. They have an astounding blend of experience and youth which is hard to find. The way Pakistan humiliated India in their first game with a clinical 10 wicket victory, they are now easily a top 4 contender.
Sri Lanka
Well, seeing the name of Sri Lanka among the top 4 contender list might raise some eyebrows.
The Lankans came to the World Cup with a fresh experience of a 3-0 loss against South Africa in T20. Over the past few years, everything possible has gone wrong with this team.
However, cracks seem to be healing for the Lankan side leading to the Super 12 round of the World Cup. They slip in the qualifying stage and defeated Bangladesh in their first Super 12 game chasing a huge total.
The likes of Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana have stepped up and are giving Sri Lanka the hopes of a resurgence. Hence, FE picks Sri Lanka as its fourth choice for the top 4 spots.
ahnaf.sabit10@gmail.com