Mumbai, March 4 India, despite not reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals, now face a formidable spin threat from England in a crucial knockout game on Thursday at the Wankhede Stadium. Both teams are aiming for perfection.
India, despite being strong favourites at the beginning of the tournament, have struggled to maintain consistency against stronger teams.
However, they have made a strategic move by bringing back Sanju Samson to address the predictability of the left-handed top order. This move has proven highly effective.
Sanju Samson, after more than 10 years since his debut, delivered a career-defining 97 not out against the West Indies in a near-quarterfinal, boosting his confidence. India hopes this will translate to Abhishek Sharma's opening partner.
This is the nature of the game. Abhishek was in top form leading up to the ICC event, while Samson had a disappointing performance against New Zealand.
England will likely focus on short-ball tactics against Samson, who has struggled against Jofra Archer in the past. Will Jacks could also trouble Sharma with his off-spin during the powerplay.
Liam Dawson, a left-arm spinner, will also be a key player. The hosts need to be at their best against Adil Rashid in the middle overs. The Indian batters had prepared for these challenges during a three-hour practice session on Tuesday.
Ishan Kishan has had a good start to the tournament but needs to regain his form at his former IPL home ground.
The same goes for the current Mumbai Indians stars in the national team – captain Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya – who batted for more than two hours in the main net session before the semifinal.
Tilak Varma has impressed everyone with his batting in the middle order, despite not having the same fluency at number three earlier in the competition.
At a ground with short boundaries, the spin duo of Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy will have no room for error. The mystery spinner needs to maintain consistency after a slightly expensive performance against the West Indies and South Africa.
Jasprit Bumrah has been phenomenal, but the bowlers need to improve their performance in the last five overs. It will be interesting to see how Surya utilizes his resources, especially with Shivam Dube as a risky sixth bowling option.
Playing against Kuldeep Yadav is always a tempting prospect, but India is unlikely to make significant changes to their playing eleven.
India played their tournament opener here a month ago and were troubled by the medium pace of Shadley van Schalkwyk on a two-paced surface.
The pitch reserved for the semifinal has been used twice in the tournament – when West Indies defended 196 against England and Italy won by 10 wickets against Nepal after bowling them out for 123.
Both India and England find themselves pitted against each other for the third consecutive T20 World Cup semifinal. England had defeated India on their way to the title in 2022, before India got their revenge in Guyana in 2024.
In the latest edition, England has relied on the individual brilliance of Harry Brook and Jacks to bail them out of tricky situations. All-rounder Sam Curran has also played his part well.
The focus has been on the out-of-form Jos Buttler heading into the contest, and it remains to be seen if the England white-ball great can regain his rhythm in a crucial game.
The sides are quite familiar with each other, as Curran said on Tuesday, there will be no secrets to throw at each other.
Curran had a pragmatic view on the team's up and down run thus far.
"It doesn't really matter now; it comes down to the World Cup semifinal. If there's ever a time we want to play our perfect game, it's probably Thursday night," he said.
Teams:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
England: Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.
Match starts 7 pm IST.
