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Rain significantly impacted many of the tournament's warm-up games. But in humid and sweltering Ahmedabad, none of it should be happening today. The players are warming up as the sun beats down on a freshly painted stadium. Starting off this event will be England vs. New Zealand. Many of the athletes who participated in that historic game at Lord's will be on the field today. Kane Williamson, who participated in the warm-ups but won't play in the first game, is one of them. Tom Latham will be in charge of New Zealand. Additionally, there are concerns about Ben Stokes' physical condition. Will he too be left out?
Having said all of that, "pressure" seems to be the term surrounding these competitions. Throughout yesterday's briefing, the media frequently reminded the captains of this. Unsurprisingly, Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam were given the majority of the questions, if not all of them. As a result, it was necessary to ask that the questions be spread out a bit more. Around this time, you can see former athletes discussing how they handled the pressure of a major game on TV, digital platforms, and print media. It's one of those intangibles that might or might not have a significant impact on performance, but it just increases your admiration for the display put on by these teams.
Many of the games preceding up to this tournament may have been a good indicator of how the teams are doing. India, the tournament's hosts and defending champion, enters the competition as one of the favorites. Not to mention that they set the precedent for host nations winning the World Cup back in 2011. Will it finally come full circle after 12 years? The reigning champs, England, may have some things to say about that. The strategies that helped them win the title in 2019 are still very much in effect, as they just demonstrated against New Zealand. They are bursting with batting depth and hitting skill.
That doesn't negate New Zealand's chances, though. They've been semifinalists in 2011 and 2007 and runners-up in 2019 and 2015, so you know they'll bring their best cricket. The same holds true for Australia. Can you say the same thing about South Africa? Let's observe and wait. Pakistan is still present and equally unpredictable. The other three—Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka—don't appear on many top-four lists compiled by experts, but they can still come up with a few surprises.
Vikas Rana: NZ is already 80-20 in favor of England without Williamsom. I'm still hoping for a close encounter.
Sad to learn that Stokes, the star of the 2019 World Cup, is questionable for the opening match after returning from retirement, says Shabbir Hamdulay
Kishore: It would be fantastic if we could watch a grueling game today to get the World Cup started and drown out the noise given all the chatter surrounding the format itself.
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