World Cup 2019: 3 reasons why India should be wary of Windies

The Indian team has been on a roll, outclassing every single opponent that has come in its way. After a few emphatic victories, the men-in-blue got a much-needed reality check against the underdogs Afghanistan. Luckily for them, it came early in the tournament. Afghanistan, which has no wins to show, exposed some of the hidden weaknesses of the team, keeping them on the toes throughout.

However, India has the ability to regroup and recover quickly. An ‘unpredictable’ West Indian challenge awaits them. If the team manages to defeat the Windies, it would be safe to say that their semi-final berth is secured. However, there are a few challenges and threats that the team needs to see off. Let us take a look at them

1. In-form power hitters

The Windies batting in itself is always indulged in a battle of long sixes. The likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Carlos Brathwaite and Jason Holder can smash every bowler outside the park with utmost ease. All of them are match-winners who can single-handedly outclass the opposition bowling on their day.

Most of these batsmen bat in the middle and the lower-order, which makes the death overs very crucial. Windies struggled against Bangladesh who scalped five of their wickets in the last 11 overs. From a position where a target of 360+ was on the cards, Windies were restricted to 321, thanks to the wickets which kept falling at regular intervals.

Jasprit Bumrah will play a key role here. This will be a stern test of his death bowling, and if he manages to stop Andre Russell, Carlos Braithwaite, and Jason Holder, then India can stop them well below 300.