🏏ICC T20I WC 2024: Semi Final 2 - M54: India vs England@ 8:00PM IST🏏

2nd

In a replay of 2022 semifinal, India will take on England in the semifinal of World Cup 2024. While the former has been unbeaten in the tournament, the latter have thrashed oppositions whenever their backs were pushed against the walls.

Though India has been unbeaten, there are a few issues that need sorting out, especially the form of Virat Kohli. 

It has been a silent tournament for him after a fruitful Indian Premier League campaign. The other concerning factor would be Ravindra Jadeja who is yet to make a significant contribution with bat or ball.

Guyana has been a wicket that has been conducive for spinners and India’s Kuldeep Yadav has made it a habit to pick wickets in the middle overs regularly in this tournament, hence given the conditions it will be a fascinating battle between the power-packed England line up and the Indian wrist-spinner.

 Jos Buttler with his innings in the final group game against the USA has reminded everyone what he can do when he is full flow. 

Also, he was the destruction in chief when India was thrashed by England in Adelaide. Hence his contribution might tilt the balance of the game.

The greatest enigma, however, is the Providence Stadium pitch - will it play true or be unpredictable? A brief glance at the numbers reveals intriguing details: the highest PowerPlay run rate is 6.4, in the middle overs it drops to 5.5, and in the death overs, it peaks at 7.6. The boundary percentage stands at approximately 50 percent for the World Cup matches here - all numbers pointing to a low-scoring contest.

Notably, it was on this ground that Afghanistan sensationally defeated New Zealand by 84 runs, restricting them to a mere 75 in a first round clash. The venue has not been kind to the favourites. But then, who really is the favourite in this last-four clash - the top-ranked India or the defending champions England?

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The two clashed in the semifinal of the last edition too - in Adelaide in 2022 - and India were given a sound 10-wicket hiding by England. 

But much water has flowed under the bridge since. While India have remained unbeaten in the championship so far, England have beaten only one Test side - West Indies - en route to the semifinal.

India vs England pitch report

The pitch in Guyana will be favorable to spin and since it is a day game the wicket might continue to get slower as the game progresses. It will be one of those wickets where scoring in Powerplay might be crucial as once the ball gets older the batters might struggle with powerhitting and strike-rotation in the middle overs.

What to expect: Roger Harper, who is from Guyana, says it's a clash of titans and hopes to see high quality cricket on Thursday morning. The former West Indies spinner's wish is likely to be fulfilled as there is very little to differentiate between the sides. The pitch is likely to aid spinners and teams batting first have won three of the five encounters at this venue during this World Cup. Again, very little to cede advantage one way or the other.

T20I World Cup Head to Head:India 2 - 2 England. India hold a slight 12-11 edge in all T20Is between these sides.

India vs England weather report

According to the Accuweather app “Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a couple of showers, mainly early in the day.” There is no reserve day for the game and it can be extended to late evening. And because of the rain forecast, the team winning the toss might opt to bowl first.

Time for Kohli to fire

This being a knockout game, it may be time for the big guns to step up, and all eyes will be on Virat Kohli, known for dictating the narratives in high-stakes matches. Kohli has been uncharacteristically underwhelming in this World Cup, scoring just 65 runs in five games, including two ducks. These are not the numbers typically associated with him. It might be time for him to repay the faith the team management has placed in him at the top of the batting order and a World Cup semifinal is as big a stage as any for him to stamp his influence on the contest.

Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma will have to contend with the highly competitive Jofra Archer, who raises the bar in the big games. Additionally, if Reece Topley is included in the England XI, his movement with the new ball could be an irritant for the Indian batters. Both Kohli and Rohit are not exactly known to relish his line of attack.

Despite the infamous loss in the semi-finals last time, India boast of a good record against England. The men in blue have won 12 matches and suffered 11 losses in the 23 T20I encounters against England. 

India has suffered losses in two consecutive semi-finals of the T20 World Cups, in 2016 and 2022. Meanwhile, England have won all three semi-finals of the T20 World Cup and went on to win the final in 2010 and 2022.

Ultimately, the outcome may depend on how the Indian middle order handles England's three spinning options: Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone. Hardik Pandya could be crucial in the latter half of the game, as demonstrated by his performances in the last two Super 8 matches.

While much faith has been placed in Shivam Dube to take on the spinners, Pandya might once again be the central figure in the middle order. With Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel struggling to make an impact with the bat, Pandya's role becomes even more critical in the decisive stages, where most games are won and lost.

The English dilemma

England have tactical calls to make with their selection. For starters, do they prefer the experience and death-bowling nous of Chris Jordan or the extra pace of Mark Wood? 

Meanwhile, Moeen and Livingstone (more latter than the former) should be pressed into action against Rishabh Pant and Dube, a trick Australia may have missed by not using Glenn Maxwell. Rashid, with expected aid from the surface, will be England's main wicket-taking option.

Livingstone is often mentioned as a part-time spinner but when there is assistance from the track, he can be more than handy with his leg breaks against the right handers and off spin against the lefties. 

All other bowlers bowling to par, his bowling might end up being the difference in how England fare.

Buttler, the dangerman

In batting, Jonny Bairstow and Phil Salt have posed sporadic danger to opposition's bowling, but the biggest threat comes from skipper Jos Buttler. Unless he is stopped early, he can be devastating in the end. If Buttler bats past the PowerPlay, he becomes even more dangerous, with his ability to handle spin and lay waste to the others in the death overs. With the ball less likely to move in that phase, he can aggressively clear the boundary or deftly scoop deliveries over fine leg. This tactic often forces the opposition to set a fine leg fielder, bringing mid-off into the circle and providing more opportunities for Buttler to hit through mid-off and the cover regions, his strong areas.

The onus thus falls on Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and potentially Hardik Pandya too, to dismiss the English skipper early before he takes control of the game.

Captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have been India’s key performers in the tournament so far but Virat Kohli has struggled for runs.

England, on the other hand, narrowly scraped through the group stage. They began the Super 8 on a strong note with a comfortable win over the West Indies, but a defeat to South Africa halted their momentum.

They needed a big win against the USA in their final match and a comprehensive all-round performance produced exactly that. They beat the co-hosts by 10 wickets and 62 balls to spare, which boosted their net run rate significantly and confirmed their place in the semi-finals.

The English challenge in the Americas has been spearheaded by Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer have been amongst the wickets. 

India and England have faced each other 23 times in T20 Internationals and have a very even record. The Men in Blue are marginally ahead, winning 12 while England have 11 victories.

In the T20 World Cups, there have been four meetings between the teams with both winning two a piece.

In their first meeting at the T20 World Cup in 2007, Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes propelled India to a famous win in Durban. They also picked up a 90-run win against the Three Lions in the 2012 edition, where England were bowled out for 80 while chasing 171.

England’s two victories against India in this event came in 2009 and 2022.

Team Watch

India

India are expected to go in with the same XI that has been playing since their arrival in the Caribbean but there is still some speculation over Rohit Sharma's past comments about why the team management has packed the side with four spinners. Whether they will consider bringing in second wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal into the mix is a point of interest. And should that happen, who will make way - a finger spinner or a pacer? The opening combination is likely to remain the same.

Tactics & Matchups: Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Buttler twice, giving away just 3 runs in 10 balls bowled at the England captain in T20Is. In all T20s, Buttler has been dismissed four times by Bumrah and strikes at a paltry 86.6 against India's talisman. This battle could set the tone for the contest.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav

England

The big dilemma before skipper Buttler will be whether to continue with Chris Jordan, who claimed a hattrick recently, or bring in Mark Wood. The extra pace of Wood would be a good choice but the England management is expected to stick with Jordan.

Tactics & Matchups: Adil Rashid potentially produced the game defining spell (1 for 20) in the Adelaide semifinal two years ago. He will hold the key to England keeping a leash on India's scoring through the middle in what is expected to be a surface conducive to his craft. Rashid has dismissed Kohli twice in T20Is and has conceded just 72 runs from 68 balls. Rashid has also dismissed Suryakumar twice although this battle has been more evenly contested, with Suryakumar scoring at a strike-rate of 229.4 in this match-up.

Probable XI: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c&wk), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, Adil Rashid

Did you know?

-Virat Kohli has played three T20 World Cup semifinals. His scores in them read: 72* (44), 89* (47) and 50 (40)

- Phil Salt averages 52.2 and strikes at 180 in T20Is in West Indies

- Four of Rohit Sharma's five dismissals in this World Cup have come to left-arm pace.

- No team has won a T20 World Cup going undefeated in the previous 8 editions. The last instance of a team going undefeated in an ICC Men's tournament was India in the 2013 Champions Trophy.

- India have lost two consecutive semifinals (2016 vs WI and 2022 vs England) after winning the previous two in 2007 and 2014 editions. And England have won three T20 WC semifinals, all while chasing. Of these, they have gone to win the trophy twice, including in the 2010 edition which happened in the West Indies.

Here, though, is an appetising acid test of India's new methods. At some stage, it seems inevitable that their decade-long drought at ICC events will have to come to an end, but then again, they probably assumed it was already over after coasting through to last year's 50-over final in Ahmedabad. Much as Ben Stokes' experience in Kolkata in 2016 was a vital factor in England's subsequent glory, the trauma of that loss to Australia will surely have hardened India's resolve as they encounter the sharp end of another global tournament. No one should expect an easy ride in a knock-out scenario, especially when the desire for victory has been allowed to consume the process of achieving it.

England, on the other hand, have been consumed of late by an entirely different emotion. The fear of failure hadn't been a particularly familiar bedfellow throughout their years of white-ball bottom-feeding, but with so much silverware there to lose, they seemed paralysed by anxiety throughout the 50-over World Cup, and again in their formless group-stage loss to the now-absent Australians in Barbados.

Now, however, you wonder if the fulfilment of the bare minimum of the squad's expectations - a fourth consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final - can unleash something different in the psyche of a group of players who clearly know what it takes to get across the line.

 India haven't won a World Cup since 2011; South Africa and Afghanistan on the other side of the draw have never won one at all. England could yet be in the running for a third title in five years.