CWC 2019: Analysing the 6 venues India will play at

Touted as the game's fiercest battle, the first ever limited-overs cricket ICC World Cup started in 1975 and had eight participants each of which fought their heart out to reach the ultimate glory.

As the years passed by, the dynamics of the game kept changing and today 44 years later, as the fans of this beautiful game eagerly wait for another edition of ICC Cricket World Cup to kick off, the sport appears to have changed completely - it has become more intense, more data-oriented, more technology driven, more fitness driven, slightly less technique driven, more innovative, more entertaining and of course richer in terms of money as well.

Having said that, there are certain core factors of the game which were relevant back in 1975 and are relevant even today.

Pitch, weather conditions, outfield and ground dimensions always have an impact on the outcome of the game.

The CWC 2019 is to be played in cricket's place of origin - England and Wales from 30th May - 14th July 2019 and the men in blue - team India will play its first match on 5th of June.

Let us have a look at the venues hosting India's matches in the first stage of the tournament, keeping in mind the above core factors.

#1 Venue - The Rose Bowl, Southampton

The Rose Bowl, Southampton

Matches - India Vs South Africa (5th June), India Vs Afghanistan (22nd June)

Weather forecast - Weather on the 5th of June is expected to be sunny the whole day with temperatures in the range of 18 - 20°C but 22nd June might see some showers.

Pitch - The pitch at Southampton has been mostly dry with teams scoring a bucket load of runs in ODIs since a year or two. Having said that, as it is dry it does grip a bit and spinners could play an important role.

All in all, it should be a high-scoring venue for teams playing spin well unless rain gods interrupt and pitch gets slow and sticky.

Average first innings score - 262, Average second innings score - 213

Last ODI - England Vs Pakistan

Eng 373 - 3 (50), Pak 361 - 7 (50)

#2 Venue - Kennington Oval, London

Kennington Oval would be a tough wicket to bat on

Matches - India Vs Australia (9th June)

Weather forecast - On the 9th of June, the conditions are expected to be chilly with temperatures in the range of 17-19°C. There could be short spells of rain in the morning that day but the venue would receive a reasonable amount of sunshine in the latter half of the day.

Pitch - The Oval is a pretty tough wicket to bat on. The grass covering and expected weather conditions will ensure that pacers have a big role to play especially in the first innings as it did in the warm-up match against New Zealand where the Indian batting lineup crumbled against pace.

Average first innings score - 247, Average second innings score - 213

Last ODI - England Vs Australia (June 13, 2018)

Aus 214 - 10 (47.0), Eng 218 - 7 (44.0)

Note: The last match held here between England and Pakistan was called off because of rain.

#3 Venue - Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Trent Bridge pitch will be an absolute belter and the teams may easily end up scoring 300 plus

Matches - India Vs New Zealand (13th June)

Weather forecast - The weather in Nottingham is expected to be chilly, overcast and slightly windy with the temperature close to 20°C.

Pitch - The Trent Bridge pitch in recent times has been an absolute belter with teams scoring a plethora of runs in recent times. Astonishingly, England has crossed the 400 runs mark twice on this wicket. Shorter boundaries make it even more difficult for the bowlers.

The overcast conditions expected on the 13th of June could prove to be boon for the pacers on an otherwise nightmarish pitch.

Average first innings score - 252, Average second innings score - 219

Last ODI - England Vs Pakistan (May 17, 2019)

Pak 340 - 7 (50.0), Eng 341- 7 (49.3)

#4 Venue - Old Trafford, Manchester

Old Trafford is all set to host the India Vs Pakistan match

Matches - India Vs Pakistan (16th June), India Vs West Indies (27th June)

Weather forecast - India will meet arch nemesis - Pakistan, at Old Trafford for the biggest match of the tournament on the 16th of June.

The fans of both the cricket-crazy nations will have to pray hard to ensure an uninterrupted sumptuous dose of cricket as short spells of showers are expected in the morning and afternoon on 16th June.

It would be a chilly morning with temperatures dropping to around 15°C.

The weather would remain almost the same on 27th June as well when India plays West Indies.

Pitch - Both the encounters could well prove to be low-scoring nail-biters as the Old Trafford pitch normally has something in it for the spinners and the pacers too would get the ball to move in overcast moist conditions.

Average first innings score - 214, Average second innings score - 192

Last ODI - England Vs Australia (June 24, 2018)

Aus 205 - 10 (34.4), Eng 208 - 9 (48.3)

#5 Venue - Edgbaston, Birmingham

The weather at Edgbaston is expected to be perfect for the game of cricket

Matches - India Vs England (30th June), India Vs Bangladesh (2nd July)

Weather forecast - The climate would be the most pleasant during this period with almost perfect playing conditions - abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 20-22°C range.

Pitch - India will play two back to back matches at Edgbaston, against the host England and the eastern neighbors Bangladesh on June 30th and July 02 respectively. Given the sunny weather, it is expected to be a dry pitch and an absolute gem of a wicket for the batsmen. Expect a few fireworks by batsmen from all the three teams.

The dry pitch could help spinners to turn the ball a bit.

Average first innings score - 227, Average second innings score - 179

Last ODI - India Vs Bangladesh (June 15, 2017)

Ban 264/7 (50), Ind 265/1 (40.1)

#6 Venue - Headingley, Leeds

At Headingley, runs come thick and fast due to the nature of the wicket and smaller boundaries

Matches - India Vs Sri Lanka (6th July)

Weather forecast - 6th of July is expected to be a bright sunny day making it a perfect day to play and watch cricket. The mercury levels would reach the 20 degrees mark.

Pitch - India will play their final match of the first stage of World Cup against its southern neighbors Sri Lanka. At Headingley, runs come thick and fast. With the climate mentioned above and a pitch similar to that in India and Sri Lanka, we could expect batsmen from both sides plundering runs especially in the first few overs.

Average first innings score - 226, Average second innings score - 207

Last ODI - England Vs Pakistan (May 19, 2019)

Eng - 351/7 (50), Pak - 297/10 (47.5)