Impressive shots by underdogs

Even for the World Cup this time around, while giants like India, Australia and South Africa are right on top of everyone’s list to win the World Cup, the surprising performances of teams like Ireland, Canada and West Indies have given the cricket fans some nail-biting matches. Metrolife asks fans whether the underdogs will create more upheavals in the ongoing World Cup.

Victor Manoharan
Management professional

“I am sure that India would be winning the World Cup this year. We have a good team and a strong batting line up. The team is playing on its home ground and the pitch conditions are also good. Teams like Ireland may have played well in a match or two but they can’t always play like that.

It’s only once in a while that they can perform really well and they are definitely not the contenders for the World Cup.”

Sandhya Ramaswamy
Student

“I think India’s performance has been pretty decent till now considering our weak bowling and bad fielding. I think we should replace Piyush Chawla with R Ashwin for the team’s benefit. But I don’t think of Ireland as an underdog. They have done quite well and this time around, all teams seem to be doing just about ok. No one is showing the winning streak so I am not sure who is going to win.”

Chetan Mohan
Self-employed

“India has not been performing as well as expected. Everyone was rooting for them during the World Cup in 2003 but it did not work out. Although they won against Ireland this time, they also had a tie with England. I feel the Indian team is under a lot of pressure as they are playing at home. I also think the players are overconfident and should be more serious. Teams like Ireland and England should not be ignored and frankly speaking, I don’t know who will win.”

Kowsik K
Engineer

“I think one can safely assume that the favourites will at least make it to the quarter finals. As for teams like Ireland, they don’t stand a chance to win the tournament. However, they are very dangerous at the same time and capable of crashing a few parties. They play fearless cricket which has earned them a huge fan support here in India. Favourites like India have to fulfill a lot of expectations which may be stopping them from giving their best.”

Kriti Agrawal
Software engineer

“In the current scenario, Ireland has been performing well. They have a strong batting line up and since we were not expecting them to perform, the match was a surprise. They have a lot of potential and should not be ignored. Indian team’s performance has not been as good as expected. The bowling is pathetic and even though the batting is good, I feel the team is overconfident. The performance is good for regular matches but not for the World Cup.”

Sam Jeffrey
IT professional
“I think India will be winning the World Cup. I have no doubt about it. The team has some problems with the bowling but it is up to Dhoni to select a good team. Also I think the team could do without Chawla. Among the other teams, I think Pakistan will surely be making it through, not England or Ireland. Both these teams have had a good match or two but don’t have the chance of winning the tournament.”