On Thursday, the storied Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host a thrilling face-off as England and India meet in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Under the leadership of Harry Brook, England has yet to deliver a flawless performance, but they were the first to secure a spot in the semi-finals, maintaining an unblemished record through the Super Eight stage.
Brook remarked, “I don’t think a perfect game is necessary for us to clinch the tournament.” Meanwhile, India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, described the match as a “shootout” between the world’s top-ranked T20 teams.
Harry Brook trains ahead of England’s T20 World Cup semi-final showdown with India on Thursday
QUIETING THE CROWD
Last year, the stadium erupted in chaos when Abhishek Sharma unleashed a blistering innings of 135 runs from just 54 balls, leading to England’s heaviest defeat by 150 runs.
Thus, England’s initial task will be to dampen the spirits of the 32,000-strong crowd. Brook noted the electric atmosphere, saying it’s hard to replicate “unless you have a thousand speakers around” when discussing match preparations at this iconic venue.
According to Sam Curran, a veteran of Indian Premier League cricket: ‘If it’s silent, we’re probably doing well.’ Indeed, there were pin-drop moments in Sunday night’s chase of 196 in Kolkata, in what was effectively a quarter-final with West Indies, whenever India lost a wicket.
GAMBLE ON JACKS
India have struggled against off-spin throughout the tournament, scoring at a rate of just 6.23 an over against it across their first five matches. They then took Zimbabwean part-timer Brian Bennett for 16 runs off two overs and the Windies’ all-rounder Roston Chase returned figures of 2-0-18-0.
With left-handers Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma all in the top six and five lefties expected to be in India’s top eight, England should challenge their outside edges by making early use of right-arm off-spinner Will Jacks, a player who has four man-of-the-match awards in three weeks.
Jacks knows the ground, as he plays for Mumbai in the IPL, and has experience of how mis-hits can go for six given its small dimensions, but he returns here on the back of five wickets in the Super Eights.
England should use Will Jacks’ off-spin to trouble India’s left-handed batsmen
NEGATE BUMRAH
The statistics tell you that runs will be in limited supply whenever Indian superstar Jasprit Bumrah comes on to bowl, so the way to hurt India is to deny their partnership-breaker wickets.
Accept that this freak of a fast bowler never travels at much more than six an over – he entered the competition with an economy rate of 6.54 and it’s now 6.53 – while targeting some of the rest.
As India coach Gautam Gambhir points out – ‘Bumrah is a banker and we’ll continue to use him in different ways’ – he has no preferred periods of an innings in which to operate.
Instead, India use him as a pre-emptive strike, targeting opponents’ best players, so expect a fascinating battle when Brook walks in at No 3.
England have to accept that runs will be in short supply when India’s Jasprit Bumrah comes on to bowl
GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE
England’s extreme pace was turned against them during the 4-1 bilateral series defeat here last year but they now possess a much more versatile attack, with Jofra Archer, Curran and Jamie Overton all able to go up and down the gears.
Curran’s ‘moon ball’ has proved particularly effective in white-ball cricket. The Surrey all-rounder is able to befuddle batters by bowling out of the back of his hand and slowing his pace down to around 43mph in what looks to the batsman like a normal fast delivery.
They will have noted the modus operandi of South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi in helping to inflict the 76-run loss on the co-hosts in Ahmedabad last week: his full slower-ball repertoire from an action that barely changes from his stock delivery of around 86mph totally flummoxing the Indian batsmen and providing him with an analysis of 4-0-15-0.
Sam Curran’s ‘moon ball’ could be used to good effect against India’s batsmen
CATCHES WIN MATCHES
West Indies put down three straightforward chances offered by Indian batsmen at Eden Gardens, leaving them to think about what might have been.
England’s catching has been up and down throughout this competition, but they are a superior fielding unit to India and making the most of opportunities coming their way is always a vital aspect of knockout cricket.
