In the last 11 years, India has consistently made it to the semifinal and final of the big ICC events. But the Men in Blue haven’t been able to cross the last hurdle in any of the biggest stages in the three formats. Once again, they are in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, and in front of them are the reigning champions – England, who had knocked them down in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal.
In that game, there was no contest. India had posted 168 runs but England had chased down the target in only 16 overs, without losing a single wicket.
Meanwhile, India’s Achilles Heel in the big matches of the major events has often been their timid batting approach. However, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has addressed that issue and has given a free hand to his batters to go and play aggressively.
Rohit led from the front against the mighty Australians, clobbering 92 runs off just 41 balls to play one of his most flamboyant T20I innings. But the form of Virat Kohli remains a concern as he has amassed only 66 runs. However, Kohli is a big match player and it would be great for the team if he can find his mojo at the right time.
On the other hand, England has been convincing since losing the group-stage match against Australia. The Three Lions has a potent batting unit and one expects them to go all guns blazing against India. Furthermore, Adil Rashid has been in fantastic form and he is going to hold the key.
Match Prediction: India will start as favorites against England but only marginally.
England squad: 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
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, Mohd. Siraj.
