ICC World Cup 2015: Former Captain is Surprised with Indian Bowlers' Performance

The Indian team have always possessed one of the best batting line-ups for more than a decade now, but it is the bowlers who have often let the team down.

This World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has rather been a fairy-tale ride for Indian bowlers, where they have been performing consistently. All the bowlers have been putting up an amazing display to help the Indian team receive the favourite tag. 

Bowlers such as Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami have been very impressive in the tournament so far with their tight line and length. They have made life miserable for most of their opponents.

But one should also give credit to Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has delivered and with each passing game, the spinner has only impressed.

Even former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been left surprised with the bowlers' performance. "Honestly, it has come as a surprise to me. I didn't expect this bowling line-up to deliver the way they have done so far," The Times of India quoted Ganguly. 

Prior to the World Cup, the Indian team were worried about bowlers' fitness, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not fully fit and Ishant Sharma could not even make it to the team due to injury concerns. But Ishant's replacement, Mohit Sharma has been very impressive in the tournament taking wickets at crucial intervals.

"The Indian bowlers have surpassed everyone's expectations. Shami has been consistent and Umesh has worked up great pace. Mohit, too, has surprised me, he has improved with each match and is making the team look all the more powerful."

With India already having progressed into the knock out stages, they should not get carried away by recent performances. They need to take one game at a time, as a single off day in the knock outs stages could prove costly.

Along with Indian bowlers, the batsmen have also done their job fairly well, so it is no surprise when many experts and former cricketers believe that the team is capable of  defending the title, which they won in 2011.

"The way these guys are playing, I won't be surprised if they go on to win the World Cup."

But it is rather surprising that people are talking about India as favourites now, for the men in blue had a disastrous Test series and the tri-series in Australia, prior to the World Cup.

How well have they come back to form is what the cricketing world has been talking about.