World Cup 2015: Weaknesses shown by top 4 title contenders

The first roll of the dice has been cast. Teams have played out half their league games, giving one and all a good idea about their tournament prospects, their form, the squad’s capability and their appetite for pressure-cooker situations.Apart from the three original pre-tournament favorites Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, a fourth team India has entered the fray. It has done so on the back of intimidating performances in all their three games, one of them against the mighty South Africa, who were eventually thumped.However, none of the aforementioned teams are foolproof like the Invincible Australian sides of 2003 and 2007. All four teams have their weaknesses that could come back to bite them on a big day, say during a knockout game. Come the knockout stage, there will be a lot more pressure considering one strategic mistake could lead to a team’s ouster from the tournament. While all four teams would try to iron out all their problems in the time remaining, opponents will not be careless in spotting or exposing them.

#4 India

India jaywalked into the tournament battling bad form and a long winless stay Down Under. But the team has undergone a complete turnaround, playing like the defending champions that they are. Yet there are some weaknesses they need to deal with:

• Their pace bowling battery is doing well. Yet only Mohammad Shami has the pace and skill to get the best batsmen out on good batting tracks. Umesh Yadav could be wayward, and Mohit Sharma doesn’t have the pace to threaten batsmen on good tracks. Bhuvneshwar Kumar isn’t swinging them as much as he used to, a tough thing to do anyway in Australia.
• The slog isn't just working for India. MS Dhoni has looked scratchy in the two innings so far and Ravindra Jadeja is not the best man to tonk high-quality pace bowlers. India haven’t scored as much as they would have wanted to against South Africa or Pakistan in the last ten overs despite excellent foundations.
• The lack of a genuine all-rounder at No.7 is a worry for India. Neither Jadeja nor Axar Patel have shown the batting capabilities needed for a No.7. While Ravichandran Ashwin is a good batsman, he doesn’t have the big shots needed for a No.7. Jadeja’s left arm slow bowling, too, could be a cause to worry on flat tracks.

#3 New Zealand

They are a force to reckon with at this World Cup and have smashed the daylights out of teams like Sri Lanka and England. Yet the best team to ever come from New Zealand still has its own faults. Here are a few:

• They are over-reliant on Kane Williamson to steady the innings and McCullum to give them blazing starts. Ross Taylor isn’t amongst the runs at the World Cup, while Grant Elliott and Martin Guptill have both been steady without scoring big.
• Susceptibility to genuine pace and swing could leave New Zealand undone. They survived by the skin of their teeth against Australia, chasing a low score and after a blazing McCullum half-century, thanks largely because of the lack of support for Mitchell Starc from the other end, especially from Mitchell Johnson.
• New Zealand’s first change bowlers lack experience. Both Adam Milne and Corey Anderson are yet to bowl to rampaging batting line-ups like India, especially on good decks. Their response to an onslaught remains to be seen.
• New Zealand’s greatest strength, the aggression of their skipper, could also be their greatest drawback. Playing with freedom has its benefits as New Zealand have shown. But, like it was revealed to a certain extent against Scotland and against Australia, a sensible and conservative approach in some scenarios, like a tricky chase, will be better than all-out aggression.

#2 South Africa

The South African side looked really good in their big wins against West Indies and Ireland. Yet there are some glaring issues they still have to address, come the knockout stage. It remains to be seen whether they cross the first knockout hurdle in their seventh appearance. Here are some of their weaknesses:

• Quinton de Kock is not firing at the top. Against stronger opponents, that’s the smell of blood very early on putting Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis on the back foot right at the start.
• AB de Villiers faces the risk of suspension, thanks to the poor over-rate against India that got him a warning. South Africa, like Shaun Pollock put it in the commentary box, simply cannot afford to play without him. Yet he cannot give up the armband as he was the nominated captain for the tournament.
• Philander and Duminy’s injuries have given South Africa some cause for worry. They will miss good games and risk looking rusty come the quarter-final, even if they are fit by then.
• South Africa have a brittle middle order that relies heavily on AB de Villiers. David Miller and Rilee Rossouw are talented and skilled, but it is one thing to tonk the ball in slog overs batting first and a completely another to see through good bowlers in a tough chase under lights in a knockout situation. That needs temperament and experience.
• Lack of a genuine all-rounder will bother South Africa. While Duminy can bowl a little off-spin and Vernon Philander and Wayne Parnell can both bat, none of them are all-rounders in the purest sense. For a team that thrived on excellent all-rounders adding depth to their batting, this should feel like a travesty. The selectors might have missed a trick picking Farhaan Behardien ahead of seam bowling all-rounder Ryan McLaren.

#1 Australia

They have terrific batting and bowling line-ups without a shade of doubt. But here are some of their weaknesses:

• Steven Smith has failed twice and Michael Clarke’s only outing was cut short very soon. If this continues to be the case, it will expose the lower middle order and Glenn Maxwell earlier than they should be, especially in pressure games and against high-quality swing bowling. Clarke also needs match practice and a couple of big innings to prove his fitness to last long in testing conditions.
• If Mitchell Johnson has a bad day, especially on a flat deck, Australian bowling is exposed. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh are still inexperienced in big games and could leak runs, as was the case in New Zealand’s aggressive chase of 151.
• Shane Watson, their No.3 is as unreliable as they come. He could make pretty 20s and 30s, but it is hard to remember when he showed an appetite for big innings. Australian top order was exposed even against England, only for George Bailey to bail them out in partnership with Aaron Finch.
• The bowling is extremely one-dimensional. Australia don’t have a genuine spinner. On a sluggish track, they could play right into the hands of opponents like Sri Lanka or India.