The eagerly awaited Cricket World Cup is finally underway. The eleventh edition of the World Cup started off with joint hosts New Zealand taking on Sri Lanka. In the other game co hosts Australia played England. New Zealand and Australia both got off to winning starts and cemented their status as the tournaments favorites.
This World Cup is however a rarity in a sense that there is no team with a clear edge over the others. Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa and are all heavy favorites. All three teams are equipped with lethal pace attacks and have quality batsmen in their lineups. New Zealand and Australia also have the added advantage of playing in home conditions in front of home crowds.
The three South Asian teams India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England can also not be ruled out as all these teams have quality players albeit the fact that they are out of form. Pakistan will be hoping to replicate the form of 1992 when the country last won the mega-event. The 1992 World Cup was also held in Australia and New Zealand.
Among the lesser known teams Zimbabwe and Ireland are expected to be the surprise package. Both teams have been in excellent form in the warm-up matches and are more than capable of causing an upset. Both teams are in Pakistan’s pool. Pakistan needs to be extra wary of Ireland as they were the team who knocked out Pakistan in the ill-fated 2007 World Cup.
The 45-day mega event promises to be an enthralling spectacle for cricket fans around the globe. This World Cup is also expected to be the most watched Cricket World Cup in history with the match between Pakistan and India alone predicted to have a television audience in excess of one billion.
