In Bengaluru, March 3, legendary Sunil Gavaskar expects the T20 World Cup semifinal between India and England to be a thrilling match, with India having a slight advantage due to their flexible batting lineup and the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, a difficult-to-read pace bowler.
India, the defending champions, will face England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, a repeat of the semifinal matches from the 2022 and 2024 editions.
In 2022, England defeated India by 10 wickets at Adelaide, while Rohit Sharma's team defeated the Three Lions two years later at Providence, West Indies.
"Both teams are evenly matched. They have strong batting and bowling. They have a strong middle order, and a finisher. Both teams have variety in their bowling," Gavaskar said.
"I think it will be a very exciting match," he added.
However, Gavaskar said that the battle between pace star Bumrah and England batters like Harry Brook will be crucial in determining the outcome of the match. He suggested that Bumrah should be introduced early in the powerplay.
"I believe that he (Bumrah) should bowl at least two overs in the powerplay because as a new-ball bowler, if he can get those early wickets – Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, and Harry Brook – he will have effectively neutralized England's batting," the former captain explained.
"So, if Bumrah bowls the fifth over, after four overs have already been bowled, and the batters have about 20 deliveries, it would be ideal if Bumrah bowled to them first and got them out," he wondered.
So, what makes Bumrah such a formidable bowler across formats? Gavaskar cited his ability to be unpredictable as a major factor.
"If you have read Andre Agassi's autobiography (Open), how did he pick up where Boris Becker was going to serve? He wasn't able to pick his serve the first few times, and then he realized that if he had his tongue on the left as he tossed the ball up, then he would be serving wide. If he had his tongue on the right, then he would be serving on the center line."
"But in Bumrah's case, he doesn't give you anything away. Therefore, it's very difficult to read him. And because he sort of goes wide and then delivers the ball, you often tend to think it's going to basically come in. But he can get the ball to move away. So that's why he's been such a devastating bowler in all three forms," he noted.
Another advantage for India, according to Gavaskar, is their highly flexible batting lineup. He gave the example of Tilak Varma batting in various positions in this ICC tournament.
Tilak initially batted at No. 3, but moved down to No. 5 and 6 after the team management drafted in Sanju Samson into the eleven.
However, the left-handed batsman made significant contributions in the Super Eight matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, helping India reach the semifinals.
"I have always thought of Tilak Varma as a very smart cricketer, somebody who assesses the situation well and then plays accordingly. I think down the order at No.5 or 6, he really can see what is the need of the hour. I think the way he batted (vs Windies), he really took the pressure off Samson," he added.
Veteran batter Jos Buttler might be struggling a bit in this tournament, but Gavaskar reminded India of the dangers of taking the Englishman lightly.
"He can be the kind of dangerous player that Abhishek Sharma is. So, I think getting Buttler's wicket early is going to be ideal. He can be, as we've seen in the IPL and in the ICC events, such a destructive batter."
"He's going through a lean patch, just like, you know, Samson went through or even Suryakumar Yadav was going through for some time. So, let's keep our fingers crossed that, you know, he doesn't find firm on Thursday," he said.
