ADELAIDE, Nov 9:
Only two steps away from the ultimate glory, India cannot afford to put a foot wrong as they square off against a formidable England on a tricky Adelaide Oval track in the T20 World Cup semifinal tomorrow.
While India have had better performances in the group stage compared to England, a high stakes, ‘winner takes it all’ contest like this always starts on an even keel.
England’s premier all-rounder Ben Stokes has already admitted that they have not play their best cricket and the Indian team needs to ensure that a Jos Buttler and Stokes himself don’t choose the semifinal to bring their A game to the fore.
History is also a bit against India when it comes to results at the business end of the ICC events.
Post 2013, Indian teams have struggled to cross the final two hurdles on multiple occasions — 2014 T20 World Cup final, 2016 T20 World Cup semifinals, 2017 Champions Trophy final and 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal.
Even though Rohit Sharma played in all those games, he wasn’t leading the side back then and hence doesn’t carry any baggage of disappointment as he enters the most critical phase of his full time captaincy.
Rohit (89 runs in 5 games) would like to forget the physical pain of being hit in the forearm as he wouldn’t shy away from playing one pull shot too many if a fit Mark Wood or his likely replacement Chris Jordan digs it short.
The India skipper needs an innings of substance in the competition and there couldn’t be a bigger match than a semifinal to shut his detractors.
Virat Kohli would have a battle at hand against his old nemesis Adil Rashid, while Suryakumar Yadav’s skills against Sam Curran’s cutters will be an enticing match-up.
Stokes’ all round abilities will find its match in Hardik Pandya, who has done his bit with the bat and ball in various games.
The intrigue of sub-plots embedded in the main narrative makes up for a heady build up as world No.1 India meets its ideal match in second-ranked England.(PTI)
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