ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semis, IND vs ENG: Can Rohit Sharma and co get out of the knockout jinx?
India will be locking horns with England on Thursday in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup semis in Adelaide. The former would be desperate to win this contest and, most importantly, aim at getting out of the knockout jinx.
FollowBy Kushan Sarkar
India cannot afford to put a foot wrong, as it is only two steps away from the ultimate glory. It squares off against a formidable England on a tricky Adelaide Oval track in Thursday's ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final. While India has had better performances in the group stage than England, a high stakes, 'winner takes it all' contest like this always starts on an even keel. England's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes has already admitted that it has not played its best cricket and the Indian team needs to ensure that Jos Buttler and Stokes himself don't choose the semi-final to bring their A-game to the fore.
History is also a bit against India regarding results at the business end of the International Cricket Council (ICC) events. Post 2013, Indian teams have struggled to cross the final two hurdles on multiple occasions -- 2014 T20WC final, 2016 T20WCp semi-finals, 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final and 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final. Even though Rohit Sharma played in all those games, he wasn't leading the side back then and hence didn't carry any baggage of disappointment as he enters the most critical phase of his full-time captaincy.
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Rohit (89 runs in 5 games) would like to forget the physical pain of being hit in the forearm as he wouldn't shy away from playing one pull shot too many if a fit pacer Mark Wood or his likely replacement pacer Chris Jordan digs it short. The India skipper needs an innings of substance in the competition, and there couldn't be a more significant match than a semi-final to shut his detractors.
Former Indian skipper and top-order batter Virat Kohli would have a battle against his old nemesis, leg-spinner Adil Rashid. At the same time, middle-order Suryakumar Yadav's skills versus pacer Sam Curran's cutters will be an enticing match-up. Stokes' all-round abilities will find their match in fellow all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has done his bit with the bat and ball in various games.
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The intrigue of sub-plots embedded in the main narrative makes up for a heady build-up as world No.1 India meets its ideal match in second-ranked England. Fans across the globe want an India versus Pakistan final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. Still, sceptics would immediately point at history, where India and Pakistan lost their respective ODI semi-finals in the 1987 World Cup.
Pant or DK, Chahal or Axar?
The Indian team won four games in the Super 12 stage, but what has looked a bit unsettling to be unable to get optimum performance from wicketkeeper-batters Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant, looking confused about whether to attack or defend while batting at No. 5.
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With shorter side boundaries and presence or Rashid, whose leg-break would turn into a left-hander, Pant looks a more plausible choice, but whether head coach Rahul Dravid's fascination for a designated finisher continues will be interesting to see. Similarly, Axar Patel (three wickets at an economy rate of 9.10) has yet to set the stage on fire.
Still, the Indian team management hasn't shown enough courage to play leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal's presence will be necessary since the match will be played on one of the used tracks, and spin will play an essential role in the game's outcome. If Wood, the tournament's fastest bowler, is ultimately ruled out due to back niggle, it would be welcome news for India, as pacers Jordan or Tymal Mills do not have the ammunition to stop this line-up.
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But pacers Stokes and Curran have been more than impressive for England with the ball and would prefer India batting first and chase down a total in the range of 150. Buttler, Alex Hales, and Liam Livingstone can chase any total on a given day but on a monumental occasion, but a small sum will help decrease the scoreboard pressure.
The par score in Adelaide would be 170 and Rohit along with either Karthik or Pant will have to stand up and be counted as the 'law of averages' could catch up with Suryakumar (225 runs) or Kohli (246 runs) sooner than later.
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Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk & vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Rishabh Pant (wk) and Yuzvendra Chahal.
England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Ben Stokes, Alex Hales, Harry Brook, Phil Salt (wk), Dawid Malan, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey.
Match details
Date and day: November 10, 2022 (Thursday)
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Time: 1.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi & Sports Select (Also available in HD)
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)
