Team India are in great form and the only unbeaten team in World Cup 2019 so far (AP Photo)

Weeks before the first ball was bowled in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, India and hosts England were firm favourites. India's bowling vs England's batting - one of these two sides were certain to lift the Cup on July 14.

As the World Cup moves into the last week of group matches, India have all but confirmed a berth in the semi-finals but England find themselves in a bit of a spot. They lost to Pakistan earlier in the tournament and then lost back-to-back games against Sri Lanka and Australia.

This is a precarious situation to be in for England. If they lose to India on June 30 and New Zealand on July 3 and Pakistan beat Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Pakistan will make it to the semis and England will not.

England have been dominant in ODIs home and away since the 2015 World Cup. They talked of breaching the 500-run mark but in the World Cup, they failed to chase down middling totals. This has raised questions on their batsmen's abilities to deal with conditions less than ideal for them.

That's not just it. Jonny Bairstow, the explosive England opener, said critics at home want his team to fail.

"People are waiting for us to fail," Bairstow told reporters. "They are not willing us on to win. In many ways they are waiting for you to lose so they can jump on your throat.

"It's just showbiz, they are paid to have an opinion and if they don't have an opinion they get sacked.

"I was in a radio interview and was surprised with a clip of Vaughan's comments. Bloody hell, that's pretty rich. Everyone is talking like we are eighth or ninth in the table. Bloody Nora, chill out... You're panicking," he said.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan did not take too kindly to Bairstow's comments and reasoned the media was not to be blamed for England's defeats in the World Cup.

On the other hand, India despite obvious batting concerns, have worked like a well-oiled machine. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - as expected - have done the bulk of the scoring and they have somehow been able to deal with Shikhar Dhawan's absence after the Australia game.

India's middle order woes have not haunted them yet in the World Cup but MS Dhoni's strike rate is certain cause for concern. Sachin Tendulkar was not particularly impressed with Dhoni's lack of strike rotation against Afghanistan.

"MS Dhoni is a senior player and should show positive intent. Afghanistan's bowling is good but you can't score only 119 runs in 34 overs. He did not show any positive intent against Afghanistan," Tendulkar had told India Today.

But India's greatest talismans - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and the two wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal make up for a large number of match-winners.

When India take on England on Sunday, the Indians will be raring to go. All their boxes (barring that middle order) have been ticked. England, on the other hand, will have to bring their A game to the park and they would want to prove detractors wrong.

It's never easy playing a World Cup at home. India in 2011 and Australia in 2015 were incredible. Can England seek inspiration from these two teams?