GEORGETOWN (GUYANA), June 26: With a refreshingly aggressive batting approach, India would look to avoid the knockout stage jitters plaguing them for over a decade when they take on defending champions England in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
The last time these two teams met at this stage, it turned out to be a no contest as England outplayed an outdated India in the 2022 edition’s semifinal.
However, India have finally been able to shed their conservative approach at the top of the order since that 10-wicket hammering in Adelaide and have become the team to beat in this competition.
On paper, Rohit Sharma and his men look the stronger bunch for the conditions expected at the Providence Stadium and look primed for revenge.
The spinners have enjoyed bowling here since the opening game and the likes of India’s Kuldeep Yadav and England’s Adil Rashid would be itching to flaunt their skills in the knock-out fixture.
Spinners are not the only ones who will come into play, the pacers too have got success at the venue with Afghanistan speedster Fazalhaq Farooqi producing a match-winning spell against New Zealand at the start of the competition.
Interestingly, no match has been staged here since June 8 when the West Indies breezed past Uganda in a day game, giving the curators extra time to prepare a suitable pitch for the high-profile game.
India were clinical in the Super 8 stage but the extreme pressure of a semi-final tends to produce unforced errors.
At the top of the order, India will be hoping for runs from the bat of Virat Kohli, who has had an underwhelming tournament by his high standards.
On the contrary, his opening partner and skipper Rohit has set the benchmark for other batters when it comes to fearless cricket.
His blazing 41-ball 92 against Australia is the sort of knock that won’t be easily forgotten for some time to come.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Match starts 8 pm IST. (PTI)
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