5 reasons why India needs to win the 2015 Cricket World Cup

Given the current form of the Indian team, you can’t rule out their chances of being crowned World Champions for the second consecutive time. Only Australia and West Indies have been successful in defending the World Cups, and although India have had a brilliant start to the tournament, winning it requires a special effort altogether. Now, as Team India embarks on its third possible World Cup glory, we bring you five reasons that make it necessary for them to win this world Cup:

#1 Own the world stage

India defied the odds at the world stage in 1983 by winning the Cricket World Cup in England, defeating the mighty West Indies in the final. While it may have been seen as a major upset at that point of time, the tide has turned now: India is no more a minnow at the world stage and the Windies have lost the grip as the world leaders.

Though the image of Kapil Dev smiling and lifting the World Cup will remain as an eternal moment in Indian cricket, the team’s defining victory over the Caribbeans at Lord’s was termed a fluke by many of the keenest cricketing brains and hasn’t yet been given the credit it deserves.

Indian cricket, though, grew in stature since then as if to prove the doubters wrong, to show that it is not a one-off incident. After coming agonisingly close to the World Cup glory in 1996 and 2003, they eventually tasted success under the inspired leadership of MS Dhoni and brilliant all-around performances from the team in 2011. Not a single team had won a Cricket World Cup at their home before. The men in blue, though, showed the world that a World Cup can be won at home despite the immense media and crowd pressure.

But unfortunately, the team wasn't given the due recognition again, this time they critics cited the home advantage as the reason.

So, now, enough is enough. With the tournament being held in alien conditions, the Pool B toppers need to win it this time to shut the detractors up once and for all.

#2 Bring back the interest in ODIs

With the advent of T20s and the massive success of IPL, ODIs are losing their popularity. The attendances have been decreasing of late, even at home. People find it hard to sit through an entire ODI match or be glued to the TV screen for such a long time.

The T20 format seems to be the preferred choice for the fans. A World Cup victory at this point of time will bring in a sense of pride and supremacy in the ODI version for every Indian Cricket fan and thus garner more interest as well.

What better way to do it than by winning the biggest trophy in world cricket?

#3 Life for pacers

The 2011 World Cup, played on either flat or slow, low decks, may have been seen as India’s batting versus the rest of the world’s bowling. The current edition of the World Cup, though, is being played Down Under on decks where you need pace and swing to trouble batsmen, and the Indian pace battery comprises of bowlers doing exactly that.

Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and company have bowled out oppositions in all the World Cup matches so far. Mohit Sharma has been a great addition and Ravichandran Ashwin, too, seems to be on song. This team balance looks great with everyone doing his job perfectly. It great to see oppositions take the Indian bowlers seriously, for a change, rather than just focusing on its batting.

After the abysmal bowling performances in the series leading up to the World Cup, these inspired bowling efforts will go a long way in boosting up the confidence of the bowling unit, the team, in general, and the fans who were close to giving up. It will do a world of good to the upcoming cricketers, too.

#4 Dispel doubts over Dhoni\'s captaincy skills

The last few overseas outings before this World Cup didn’t prove to be successful for the Indian team. The lackluster tours of England, New Zealand, and Australia left a lot to be desired, and as a result, the team’s performance and the captaincy of MS Dhoni came under the scanner. Dhoni’s individual form, too, has been of big concern to the fans. Many believe that Dhoni is not an aggressive captain like, say, Michael Clarke or Brendon McCullum.

It has been often commented that Dhoni sits back and lets the game slip away. With so many Test losses on foreign soil, India have again been labelled as “lions at home and lambs abroad”.

However, Dhoni has been very proactive in this World Cup, with his bowling and fielding changes fetching good results. A nine-match consecutive winning streak in World Cup matches goes on to show how able a captain he is. If India manages to pull off its third Wolrd Cup victory, it will just be the right answer to all those who had written off the 33-year-old.

#5 Young Brigade: Rise and Shine

This is the first time in a World Cup since 1992 that India are playing without any of its three biggest stalwarts of the last two decades – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. They do not have the experience of Zaheer Khan or Anil Kumble, either.

While we may have a few star batsmen like Virat Kohli and arguably the best finisher of his times in MS Dhoni, the team, in general, is in a rebuilding state. Many young and talented cricketers are trying to fit into the big shoes. With fans still finding it difficult to come out of the nostalgic memories, winning this tournament will go a long way in creating a new identity for this team.