And as India face Pakistan in the Super Fours match in Colombo on Sunday, we ran a poll asking fans a series of questions:
The first question was: Should India make changes to their top order?
And the options were:
Yes, Ishan Kishan, if he plays, should bat higher up, maybe at No. 3, with Virat at No. 4.
No, stick to the same order, no need to change anything.
Can’t say, Ishan Kishan best as a floater batter.
In this, the second option got the maximum votes – 759 – with fans not wanting any change in the Indian batting order.
In their match on September 2 in Pallekele, India were reduced to 66/4 by Pakistan till Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya save India the blushes with a 138-run stand.
The first option got 586 votes and the third 164.
The second question was: If KL Rahul comes into the playing XI, who should he replace?
And the options were: Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur and Someone else.
Not sure of whom KL Rahul should replace the option of Someone else got the maximum – 736 votes.
But 605 fans wanted Rahul to replace Shardul Thakur in the playing XI. Shardul Thakur was dismissed for 3 in the last game against Pakistan.
The option of Rahul replacing Ishan Kishan got 168 votes.
The third question was: With reports that Jasprit Bumrah is back in SL, should India play Md. Shami regardless?
And the options were:
Yes, he should replace Shardul Thakur
No, Shardul should stay in the playing XI because he is also in the WC squad
Can’t say, ideally the team should play Md. Shami, but not sure who he should replace
Here, the first option got the maximum votes with 948 fans wanting Shami to replace Shardul Thakur in the playing XI.
321 votes were polled in the favour of the third option and the second option got 240 votes.
The fourth question was: Should the Indian top order look at adopting a more aggressive strategy to counter the Pak pacers?
And the options were:
Yes, attack is the best defence.
No, play it safe, go through the initial overs and then build the innings.
Can’t say, this will depend on overhead and pitch conditions.
Pakistan boasts probably the best pace attack in the world. In Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, they have fast bowlers who can run through any batting line-up in the world.
Rohit Sharma was going great guns against Afridi in the last game with a couple of boundaries but a rain break seemed to break his momentum. Afridi altered his length after the rain break, the Indian captain went on to the defensive and lost his wicket.
Perhaps this is why 859 fans want the Indian top order to adopt an aggressive strategy to counter the Pakistani pacers.
476 votes were polled for the second option and the third option got 176 votes.
The fifth question was: Will team performances in the Asia Cup be accurate representations of how well they are prepared for the WC?
And the options were:
Yes, Indian conditions are not very different from SL and Pak conditions.
No, level of competition very different so difficult to say how well these teams are prepared.
Undecided.
Here the first option got the maximum votes with 974 fans looking at the Asia Cup as a perfect barometer to gauge World Cup preparedness.
The second option got 459 votes and the third option got 75 votes.