IND vs ENG T20 World Cup Semifinals Preview: Two strong T20 sides at this big stage will be a treat to watch

Even before the T20 World Cup 2022 had started, one knew that India and England would meet at some stage. Cut to November and they play each other in a semifinal tie at the gorgeous Adelaide Oval. It promises to be a treat as two of the best T20Is sides in the world clash here. Many of us felt that England were favourites to lift the trophy because of the balance that they have got in their squad. But their road to semis was not that smooth. Their campaign began with a couple of injury blows. They lost Reece Topley early due to injury. He was in some form leading into the World Cup. But despite this injury, they had an all-round unit. They looked rusty at the start but as the semis approached, England begun to find some rhythm. They tick a lot of boxes currently.

Jos Buttler has been getting runs. He had a good match against New Zealand at The Gabba. Alex Hales can be very destructive. Dawid Malan is going to miss out due to a groin strain. In my view, it is not a bad thing. He starts off a little slowly and unless he gets in early, he fails to make a massive impact in the game. In place of Malan, they have got left-handed Ben Stokes as an
option to go up. He is quite capable and can do a good job at No 3.

I really do like Moeen Ali in the middle order where he comes in and adds to the run flow if there are couple of wickets lost early. He is also a class act it terms of milking it around and working the ball around nicely. England have got a very powerful middle and lower order. These are guys who can hit the ball hard and long. They proved their worth by getting over a tricky total against Sri Lanka. They will be exciting to watch if they bring their A game.

England’s bowling is in great shape as well. Sam Curran is in good form. Ben Stokes always wants to bowl. Adil Rashid and Moeen, in tandem, are very good. The only question in that starry bowling lineup is the form of Chris Woakes. Will he get a place in XI for the semis is a big question mark. He has been off the radar recently. But he can swing the ball. And is more than a
handy batter.

Overall, England are quite a strong group in T20s and they have been winning together for some time now. They are up against an equally strong Indian side.

Will there be changes made in Indian playing XI?

The talent on offer in the Indian top order is quite extraordinary. Suryakumar Yadav is a freak. The way he is batting in this tournament, it is as if to prove his worth at the world stage. He excites me a lot along with Virat Kohli. KL Rahul got back in touch with back-to-back halfcenturies. However, skipper Rohit Sharma needs to click. Very surprisingly, almost all captains in this World Cup have struggled to get going. They are lucky that others in the team have done the job.

Indian pace attack cannot be counted out. Arshdeep Singh has been in terrific form in the World Cup. Mohammed Shami is no slouch. Brings a lot to the table. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is smart, can swing the ball both ways and is equally dangerous to both right and left-handed batters.

It will be interesting to see what playing XI India goes for. R Ashwin with his guile and smartness is a very fine bowler. But will India be tempted to play Yuzvendra Chahal against England? The wrist spin of Chahal has done well against England batters in the past and he could be introduced now in this big semifinal to tackle the England power hitters. One thing with Ashwin in the playing XI though is that he provides a nice balance as he can bat better than Chahal. I know you cannot pick Ashwin just for his batting but you have to consider it in such a crucial game. He has won you a game already with his batting against Pakistan. If there is a tense situation in a chase again, and Ashwin comes in, he could be handier than Chahal.

Then there is a Rishabh Pant. He got a game vs Zimbabwe but got caught in the deep, returning with a low score. Dinesh Karthik might still get a go if he is fit. However, I feel the captain and team management should go with Pant in this game for he is a match-winner and raises his game in big matches. Pant could turn out to be masterstroke and let’s see whether Rohit takes that
route.

Pitch talk!

When I was leaving Adelaide Oval, the ground staff was watering the other pitch. That was not the same pitch on which Pakistan and Bangladesh played. The match will be played on another pitch. Ground staff has faced challenges from weather gods but now in the new week, the weather has been clearer. The ground staff will have better weather to prepare a slick, pacy wicket which has good carry and consistent bounce for this very exciting semi-final.

Let’s see who makes it to MCG for the big final.