Published: Mar 06, 2015, 03:56 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 06, 2015, 04:04 PM (IST)
Former England skipper Geoffrey Boycott thinks the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup has been a “batsman’s World Cup” so far and that India will play well and will persist to be a “big threat” when batting first. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full Coverage
Boycott told ESPNcricinfo, “I think it is because this is a batsman’s World Cup. You look at the flat decks, shortish boundaries, heavy bats, no spin or turn and you look at the field restrictions. Its easier than ever for the batsman, more difficult for the bowlers. And I think India’s strength is batting, they have always had good batsmen. So batting first, I believe India will be a threat, a big threat.”
The former English cricketer believes that batting has always been India’s strong point. “When you bat first and you have a good batting line-up, there is less pressure, players have no inhibitions, they play with freedom, they can express themselves because batting is their forte. And when you bat first you don’t know what score you are going to get, what score is going to be best,” said Boycott.
He was also of the opinion that Indian captain MS Dhoni is at ease when the team bats first. He said, “I also think Dhoni as a captain is more comfortable when his team posts a big score and then defends it. That is the key where Dhoni is comfortable. So for me the toss is important to a lot of teams, but I think it is more important for India.” (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Points Table)
Talking about the performance of the Indian bowlers he said, “And although bowlers have had a tough time in this World Cup, the Indian bowlers, who were not well known, bowled really well. There is no movement for bowlers but these bowlers bowled a wonderful line and length. They bowled so tight a line against Pakistan that they put the pressure on the batsmen. Pakistan batsmen found it hard to get runs and were out,” he said.
India have won all the fixtures of the World Cup so far and are leading the Pool B points table of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 with six points.
