The ICC World Cup 2019 kicks off from May 30 (Thursday) wherein hosts England will lock horns with South Africa at Kennington Oval, London. Ahead of the mega event, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir mentioned his top four but revealed the one factor that will be key to Team India’s chances at the upcoming showpiece event.
The former left-hander and current MP from East Delhi wrote in his coloumn for TOIÂ that India, England, South Africa, and Australia are his four semifinalists.
“I am not sure if Madame Tussauds, London has a statue of Virat Kohli. The one in New Delhi has him. It’s a brilliant job but it misses Virat’s intensity; the energy in his pose is not there. India are one of my four semi-finalists. But for that to happen, Virat’s intensity is key,” said the former Indian opener.
Team India commenced their World Cup preparations with two warm-up encounters ahead of the marquee event. They first locked horns with Kane Williamson-led New Zealand at Kennington Oval, London but lost convincingly by 6 wickets. The famed batting lineup were reduced to tatters for a paltry 179 in 39.2 overs. However, they made up for it with a stunning display versus Bangladesh courtesy KL Rahul and MS Dhoni’s respective tons. As a result, India trounced their Asian neighbours by 95 runs and finally got their No. 4 batsman in the form of Rahul.
