World Cup 2019: Three reasons why England can beat India

England will take on India on Sunday, in a match which will decide how the standings will shape up at the end of the league stage. India is the only unbeaten team in the tournament and the two-time world champions would want to continue this run when they take on England.

The hosts and pre-tournament favourites have lost two matches in a row after a bright start to the tournament. These two losses have hurt England's chances of qualifying for the knockouts, and a loss against India would put them in deeper trouble. The hosts would be under a lot of pressure as there is a lot at stake when they meet India on 30th June.

While India is looking like the team to beat in the tournament, there is no reason for England to give up hope against the Men in Blue. The hosts have played a lot of quality cricket in the last 12 months, and few bad matches don't make them a weak team. Let us look at the reasons why England can beat India in Birmingham.

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#1 India's fragile middle-order

Vijay Shankar

There were a lot of speculations about who will bat at number four for India at the 2019 World Cup. The search for the perfect batsman to bat at the crucial seemed to come to an end when KL Rahul looked to be a good fit for the role.

An injury to Shikhar Dhawan meant that Rahul had to be promoted to the top of the order. This brought the team management to square one as they had to look for another batsman who could play at number four.

Vijay Shankar has played at that position for three matches but he has failed to inspire any confidence. Both MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav have also looked out of touch which means that England will have an opportunity to put pressure on them if they can dismiss the top-order early.

#2 A strong English batting-line up

England Team

England has got arguably the best batting line up in the tournament. The hosts have a lot of quality batsmen who have the ability to singlehandedly win the match for their team. England is blessed with enviable depth in the batting, as almost every player in their eleven can contribute with the bat.

The batting line-up has failed to chase modest totals in the last two matches, but it would not be a smart move to bet against them returning to form against India. England recently became the first team to post a score of more than 300 for the 7th consecutive time.

India has a brilliant bowling line up and they have proved their mettle in the last two matches versus Afghanistan and West Indies. If the English batsmen are on song, it would be very difficult for even the brilliant Indian bowling attack to stop them from posting a big score.

#3 Jofra Archer could be a threat to Indian batting

Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer is so important to England, that the English and Wales Cricket Board curbed their qualification rules to make Archer available in time for the World Cup. The right-arm fast bowler has genuine pace, which can make life uncomfortable for any batsman in the world. He can be useful during all phases of the innings, which makes him a great asset for any team.

The Barbados born fast bowler only made his international debut in April 2019, but he has soon become a pivotal part of the team. Archer has been brilliant throughout this World Cup as he is the second highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps to his name.

The Indian batting line-up is bit top heavy if Archer can pick some quick wickets at the start of the innings, it would put pressure on Indian middle-order. The fast bowler can then come back in the slog overs to pull the plug on the scoring.