Last time on 2 November, in the match against Bangladesh, despite a good score on the cards, rains played a spoilsport and India only managed to win the match by just 5 runs.
With Pakistan having secured their place in the finals after defeating the Kiwis at the Sydney Cricket Ground by 7 wickets, the tournament became more interesting. Also, if India beats England on 10 November, it will be a dream World Cup final match between India and Pakistan, like 2007.
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India had already defeated Pakistan in the Super 12 match, by four wickets on 23 October. This time, Pakistan looks ready and in full momentum.
However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has some good news to share. India’s opening batsmen KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav are in form, while key bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Mohd Shami will look to manage any conditions.
Before talking more about the India vs Pakistan match, let’s see how the Indian and England teams are trying to swing the pendulum towards their side.
England: The English side saw Captain Jos Buttler and Alex Hales source most of the runs for the team, as they both hit fifties each.
The bowling attack of pacers Mark Wood and Sam Curran could promise a tough start to the Indian batters. But fielding seems to be an issue for the English side.
India: For India, the return of KL Rahul’s opening form has been a boon. Plus, Virat Kohli’s consistently strong knocks have been a major turning point. Suryakumar Yadav has been phenomenal with his ferocious batting and Arshdeep Singh has shown some promising spells. Also, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohd Shami also did their job.
Considering India’s weakness is its fielding and middle order bowling. Its spinners were less effective, though managed to take wickets. However, their economy has become expensive. So, there seems to be concern.
Weather conditions:
According to experts, the weather at Adelaide Oval will be partly cloudy in Adelaide on Thursday, however, without rain, there will be a full game without any interruption. Temperatures will hover between 22° C to 13° C.
Pitch report:
The pitch at Adelaide Oval is bouncy and the batting is good and the short square boundaries will tempt the hitters to go big. Despite the bouncy pitches, the spinners will also get favours.
India vs England (Head to Head):
In total, India have played 22 matches against England in the T20 World Cup so far, with India winning 12 and England 10.
Possible XIs:
India possible XI:
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik/Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel/Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
England possible XI:
Jos Buttler (c and wk), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Where to watch:
The India Vs England T20 World Cup, Semi Final match will start at 1:30 PM IST. In India, the match will be telecast on Star Sports Network. Online viewers can follow the live action via Disney+Hotstar.
All told, this is not just a decisive match for India, it is also a chance to get one last step closer to bring the ICC T20I World Cup back to India after a gap of 15 years. Will India beat England or the T20I World Cup trophy will remain a dream for another year, time to tell.
