With the World Cup less then 15 days away, all the participant teams are keeping their fingers crossed and undergoing their final preparation sessions. ICC World Cup 2019 is to begin on 30 May in England and Wales. This is the fifth time England will be hosting the mega tournament. India had won their first World Cup title in 1983 on the same soil under the captaincy of Kapil Dev.
Indian team will be playing their first World Cup match against South Africa on Wednesday 5 June at Hampshire Bowl, Southampton. India is considered to be a strong contender for the World Cup title this year. With world class batsmen like captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav who are considered to be a big threat to other teams. The team is also loaded with exceptional bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami. All-rounder Hardik Pandya never fails to save the team in critical situation. Hence, the Indian team is a great blend of fabulous batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders making them a strong contender for the WC title this year.
India’s first match will be against South Africa and it’s going to be a great challenge in terms of facing pacer Kagiso Rabada, popularly known as KG. Rabada became the highest wicket-taker in IPL with 25 dismissals up his sleeves in 12 games before he was pulled out of the league due to issues related to stiff back. Rabada’s injury has been a big cause of concern for the South African team where good measures are being taken for his timely recovery and it is expected that the fast bowler will be his 100 percent before the big tournament. The fast bowler can create big problems for the Indian team.
Rabada has taken 106 wickets in 66 matches. His performance in the last two years has been remarkable with 110 wickets in all three formats of Cricket since 2018. This will be the first time Rabada will be playing in the World Cup, however, he has played Under-19 World Cup for South Africa and the team won the title. He was the second most successful bowler of the tournament with 15 wickets in 5 matches. Clearly, with his record Rabada can prove to be a big threat to the Indian team.