3 teams who can defeat India at the ICC World Cup 2019

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 will be an international cricket carnival which will present a battle between the world’s top ten cricketing nations for the supreme accolade in the sport. What will make it more appealing is the round-robin format, which assures that each team clashes against the rest at least once.

This means that the dark horses Afghanistan and an out of sorts Windies will have more opportunities to cause radical upsets.

The Indian team, led by Virat Kohli are one of the favorites to win the trophy for the 3rd time but there will be some huge roadblocks on their way to glory. Out of the 10 teams in the group, three have a strong chance to end India’s dreams-

England

England recently won an ODI series against India

The English team, playing at their home will pose a tough challenge in front of the Men in Blue. With skipper Joe Root leading from the front, the England batting order comprises consistent Jonny Bairstow, hard-hitting Eoin Morgan, and explosive Jason Roy. They also have the best spin-bowling all-rounder in Moeen Ali. Ben Stokes provides the stability to the middle order besides his 10 overs of fast-medium pace. Boasting of pacers like Mark Wood, David Willey, and Liam Plunkett, the three Lions are the team to beat in the one-day internationals.

On their recent tour to the UK, barring an exceptional performance from Kuldeep Yadav in the first game, no other Indian player could step up against the world no.1 England side. MS Dhoni scored runs at a poor strike rate of 63.42 while Suresh Raina struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking.

India will play England on the 30th of June 2019 and may find it difficult to rise against the mighty home team.

New Zealand

Who will stop Trent Boult and Tim Southee in England?

India have won the last two ODI series played by the two teams. But the teams played these series in India and the difference between the two sides was just one game. (3-2 in 2016, 2-1 in 2017) These figures prove that New Zealand have always staged a challenge to the dominant Men in Blue. Captain Kane Williamson, who was outstanding in the IPL will have the support of explosive Colin Munro, World Cup double-centurion Martin Guptill and experienced Ross Taylor in the batting department.

Trent Boult and Tim Southee are one of the most dangerous fast-bowling duos in modern day cricket. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson’s raw pace will test the Indian batsmen in swinging English conditions. Spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi have proven themselves as match-winners in the one-day format.

India will have to perform out of their skins to get the better of this powerful Kiwi side, when they face them on 13th June 2019.

Australia

Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye and rookie Jhye Richardson will form the Australian pace attack at the ICC CWC 2019. The Australian batting will be strengthened with the comeback of swashbuckling opener David Warner and skipper Steve Smith who loves to play against India.

India will have to prepare hard for this huge match-up as they have the worst win-loss ratio against the Aussies at the quadrennial event. In the 2015 edition too, the Kangaroos were the only team to win against MS Dhoni's men.

The current Indian team is unbeatable at home but have unsolved issues when it comes to playing in English conditions. India's results against these three teams ( at any stage of the tournament) will decide how far Virat Kohli's side goes in the 2019 World Cup.