When a World Cup is staged in India, it isn't just a World Cup. It's much bigger than that! It's an extravaganza; a festival of cricket where big things are expected from the home team. And if they don't live up to the expectations, there are a lot of people waiting with open swords. Just like 2011, the Indian junta expects the team to go all the way this time around too. And by the looks of it, the team won't disappoint.
India has been playing very good T20 cricket as of late. They white-washed Australia in Australia and recently, won an eight-nation tournament very convincingly. If they continue from where they had left off in the Asia Cup, they'll have a great chance of winning the prestigious trophy.
For the men in blue, surprisingly, the bowlers have impressed time and again in the recent past. The two pacers, Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah, with their unorthodox bowling actions have caused havoc for the opposition batsmen. The spin department looks settled as well, with Ashwin there as the mystery spinner. The batsmen, as has always been the case, are very skilful and dependable. All in all, the team looks really strong and well-balanced.
Although the Indians should fancy their chances, they can't afford to relax as other teams look dangerous as well. Pakistan and Australia, in particular, with their bowling, could give the Indians a run for their money. Moreover, the Proteas have been in red-hot form against India in the last three T20 matches that the two nations have played in India. Hence, as Faf du Plessis rightly said, it's an open tournament.
T20 cricket is really unpredictable and as we have seen before, a single over can change the outcome of the match. Such is the format that declaring a team as favourites before the start of the tournament is actually not right. India have the home advantage, but still, anything can happen. The last edition of the World T20 showed us that!