India vs England T20 World Cup Semi-Final Preview

After a hugely entertaining and drama-filled Super 12 stage, all eyes turn towards the business end of the competition as India take on England in the second semi-final at the Adelaide Oval. It’s the first meeting between India and England in a World Cup semi-final since 1987, and both sides are heading into this encounter on the back of some wonderful performances in the tournament.

England forced their way into the final four with two phenomenal victories over New Zealand and Sri Lanka, while India were the only team to win four matches in the Super 12 stage.

Matchups that matter

Suryakumar Yadav vs Sam Curran

Suryakumar Yadav is the number one ranked T20I batter in the world and the second-highest scorer at this World Cup, smashing 225 runs at a strike rate of 193 for the Men in Blue. Yadav has been central to India’s batting might at this tournament, dazzling the fans with his innovative stroke play. Stopping the Indian number four is almost an impossible task at the moment, but England’s best chance of dismissing him is Sam Curran.

Curran has shown remarkable improvement at the death in T20Is this year and has picked up ten wickets in four matches at this World Cup. The left-hander has dismissed Yadav twice in eight deliveries in T20 cricket, and his slower deliveries dug into the pitch might be England’s best weapon to counter Suryakumar Yadav’s explosiveness at the death.

Pitch Conditions

Thursday’s semi-final will be played on a used pitch at the Adelaide Oval, with the same strip previously employed for the matches between Australia and Afghanistan and Ireland against New Zealand. However, while the drier nature of the pitch could offer some assistance for the spinners, Adelaide is generally one of the best batting surfaces in Australia, with some of the shortest square boundaries to offer in the country.

Probable XI’s

Rohit Sharma got hit on the wrist in the nets in the lead-up to this fixture but is expected to be fully fit for Thursday’s clash at the Adelaide Oval. The only selection decision for the Men in Blue is choosing between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the middle order, and the left-hander may get the nod over the 37-year-old to counter the threat of Adil Rashid through the middle.

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

England have some injury troubles to contend with ahead of this semi-final, with Mark Wood and Dawid Malan unlikely to be involved against India at the Adelaide Oval. Chris Jordan is the favourite to replace Wood in the side while Malan is likely to be replaced by top-order batter Phil Salt, who scored an unbeaten 88* off 41 balls against Pakistan last month.

England: Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan

Writer’s predictions

Top scorers: Suryakumar Yadav – India, Jos Buttler – England

Top wicket-taker: Arshdeep Singh – India, Sam Curran – England

Winner – India