The Cricket World Cup is a seminal moment in international cricket, coming along every four years. For many sports fans worldwide, it is the pinnacle of the sport. It has a 50-over One Day International format, so many cricket analysts and ardent fans believe this is the best format to attract the broadest cricketing audience. The whole purpose of ODI cricket was to bring in a new audience and to inject excitement into the sport.
Although the purists may have had initial reservations, there’s no doubt that the short form of the game has generated massive numbers that would be difficult to replicate in longer-form test match cricket. India is the host nation and is a strong betting favourite, and it is almost a unanimous verdict across the sport that they will end their drought on home soil this year. The sport welcome bonus from Melbet is something you can use to explore the current Cricket World Cup betting odds. Although the outright markets might be slim for India to lift the trophy, you can also use this sports betting bonus to explore individual and accumulator cricket betting markets.
Is It India’s Year?
Since 2011, Indian cricket fans have dreamed of seeing their national heroes lift the World Cup. They’ve come up short, falling short in the tournament’s semi-finals in 2015 and 2019, but many now believe this will be their year. Cricket is a colossal sport in India, and if the World Cup Final this year is anything like the last final, then cricket fans will be in for an enthralling encounter.
India is by far the best ODI team in the world; the rankings rarely get it wrong. Despite a shaky opener against Australia, a majestic partnership of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli steered the Indians to victory. Still, it all could have been so different if Mitchell Marsh hadn’t dropped Kohli when he was only a dozen runs into his innings.
The Kohli Factor
After clearing half a century and climbing further up the illustrious list of batsmen who have managed this feat, it appears that Kohli could be the man to spearhead this fantastic Indian team to their second World Cup on home soil since their iconic win back in 2011. Although there were several worrying false starts, with Australia grabbing a cluster of wickets very early on, these decisive moments, such as Marsh dropping a clear chance to take India’s best player out of the batting order, is a good omen.
Look at some of the recent World Cup winners, and you can point to either a couple of crucial moments or one big moment where luck was on their side, which could signify that it could be India’s year. Not to mention that they’re the best team on paper, of course.
Final Thoughts
With such incredible all-around quality, this Indian team seems to be set for glory. Once you add in the home advantage and the fact that Indians are a lot more used to playing in this humidity than other nations, like defending World Cup holders England and even hot countries like Australia, these are other significant factors that should work in their favor as the tournament progresses.
England’s 2019 team was much better than their current squad, and although they still have a lot of quality, you’d fancy India to beat them if they come up against each other, whatever stage of the competition it happens to be. Australia are the second pick, and India has already shown that they can despatch them efficiently. While this year’s World Cup will be gripping, the only outcome seems to be that India will lift the trophy in front of their adoring home support.
