Former Indian middle-order batsman VVS Laxman has predicted the finalists of the ongoing 12th edition of the showpiece event in England and Wales. According to the 44-year-old, India and Australia will play the summit clash of the 10-nation tournament on July 14 at the Mecca of Cricket.
In an exclusive interaction with Times Now, Laxman revealed, “India versus Australia is going to be the World Cup final.” To back his claims, the defending champions Aaron Finch-led Australia are, so far, the only side to have secured a place in the semifinals. They are currently at the top of the table with 12 points from 7 encounters. They are yet to play New Zealand and South Africa.
However, Laxman had reservations on MS Dhoni’s style of play, especially in the middle overs. In the game between India and Afghanistan, the former skipper stayed in the middle for an unimpressive 52-ball 28 and failed to rotate the strike as well as go for the big shots.
The same was the case in the India-West Indies tie. However, Dhoni remained in the middle till the end and rescued the innings with Hardik Pandya before launching the aerial strokes in the end overs. Nonetheless, the former Hyderabad cricketer feels Dhoni needs some improvement in the middle.
“MS Dhoni needs to improve on rotating the strike. He is a remarkable player but needs to rotate the strike more,” added the former right-hander.
Picking India as favourites for their next challenge versus hosts England at Edgbaston on Sunday (June 30), Laxman pointed out the reason for the team’s success so far in the competition. “This Indian team looks very very sharp, the bowlers are really shining. (Jasprit) Burmah and (Mohammed) Shami and even when Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) was playing so it’s good to see bowlers really shining through,” concluded Laxman.
