🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022 - India vs England: Second Semi-Final🏏

At Adeliade Oval, Adelaide on 10/11/2022 at 1:30 PM IST

Hello and welcome to the second semi-final of T20I world cup 2022

Each team faced ups and downs, shown some resilience and finally got here on their own merit. No one can take that away.

The self-anointed big boys of world cricket are going at it at the Adelaide Oval. The neutrals may struggle to pick a side, but one thing is certain - it will be a blockbuster occasion.

Landscape gazing from an aircraft window can make for a fun exercise. Because each city, when viewed from an elevation, has a story to tell. Those with a window seat on the way to Adelaide get a great sight of The Oval. Even from a thousand feet up in the air, it's hard to miss the stadium nestled in a leafy part of the South Australian capital just north of the city centre. It is three parts modern mega-structure with its bulbous white canopies and one part grass bank at the northern end housing the old scoreboard. A great blend of the new with the old. The architectural revamp was mostly well received in 2014, which is not always a given, for it risked tampering with charm and history that traverses back to the Chappells, Bradman and beyond.

Like the venue of their semi-final, India is a country that maybe moving forward by way of disposition, but loves tethering itself to history. It's also reflected in the country's T20 game. For long it was characterised by a sense of pragmatism that didn't quite do justice to the available talent pool. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid had little choice but to consider the alternate theory after the muddle that engulfed the team's campaign last year, and their project redesign gathered momentum through several bi-laterals. Until they landed in Australia, where early-season conditions flipped that narrative on its head.

But India have had little trouble tapping into their history and playing a brand of cricket that, like the Oval, is part modern and part antique. Surya Kumar Yadav and Arshdeep Singh have brought freshness to their game while the enduring class of Virat Kohli has kept them afloat when the going has encountered the rough sea. This journey now faces its moment of truth against England, for whom Adelaide was a major line in the sand with regards to their white-ball cricket.

The first men's World Cup knockout encounter between these two sides in 35 years therefore has the potential to produce a seismic collision. In one corner are cricket's big boys who haven't won the big prizes in a while. The last of them, incidentally, came against England in a 20-over game. For Jos Buttler and Co., the semi-final is an opportunity to both get to a third final in five straight ICC events as well as prove they are ahead in the white-ball evolutionary curve. The journey to this point may have been different for these sides but the intended destination is the same. The format is short and fickle enough for either team to explain a defeat at this stage, but the invitation to climb back up to the top of the world is so richly gold-embossed that nobody will play down the importance of winning.

Team Watch:

India

Injuries/Unavailable: Rohit copped a blow to his right forearm while batting in the nets two days out from the game but batted without discomfort thereafter. He confirmed it was a minor bruising and that he is fit for the game.

Tactics & Matchups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has an outstanding record against the England captain, Jos Buttler, who he has dismissed five times in 30 balls bowled at him in T20Is. Bhuvneshwar effectively decided the course of these contests with his Power Play spell in the last series between these sides.

India have one selection call to make for the semi-final and that is the identity of their keeper-bat. While Karthik batted two days out from the game, Rishabh Pant had a long net session on the eve of the match and followed that up with a conversation with head coach Dravid. India are likely to favour the southpaw to quell the Adil Rashid challenge.

Probable XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant/Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

England

Injuries/Unavailable: England are sweating over the fitness of both Dawid Malan (groin) and Mark Wood (stiffness). Buttler said the team was willing to give the pair until the morning of the game to get fit. The former looks a less likely participant of the two especially with Phil Salt, his likely replacement, put through his paces in a lengthy net session.

Tactics & Matchups: Sam Curran, who has been in excellent form since returning from injury, has a great head to head against Hardik Pandya, who he is likely to come up against in the death overs. Curran has dismissed Pandya twice in eight balls bowled to him in T20Is. The match-up could well be distilled down to the death overs where Curran has conceded just a solitary boundary in 40 balls (7 wickets at 4.80 ER) while India have been the best batting team in this phase, scoring at 11.60 in this phase in comparison to the Super 12 average of 8.66.

Probable XI: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler (c&wk), Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Phil Salt, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood/David Willey

Weather Forecast:

According to weather reports, the temperature of Adelaide city of Australia on November 10 (Thursday) will be 22° Celcius during the day and fall to 13° Celcius at night. The sky will be sunny during the day but will be partly cloudy at night.

The chances of rain are just 17% during the day and 7% at night. Since the match will be played in the afternoon, the match is less likely to be affected by rain. The humidity will be 73% during the day and rise to 82% at night.

Pitch Report and Conditions:

The Adelaide Stadium in Australia is a good-scoring ground in T20Is. The average 1st innings total at the stadium in T20Is is 155 while the average 2nd innings total is 144. The stadium has hosted 8 T20I games so far. The highest-ever total registered at the stadium is 233/2.

The pitch at the stadium is flat and hence will support batters and pacers. While batters will manage to score more runs, pacers are expected to get more success at the stadium.

Yes, this will be a used pitch, but it was last used on November 4 for the match between Australia and Afghanistan. The groundsman has assured Jos Buttler that he has had enough time to prepare what should not behave like a tired pitch. Buttler said: "I think having talked to the groundsman, his team is really confident that he's had a lot of time to get some really good work into the wicket. He seems very comfortable that it's going to be a really good surface and a consistent surface. At the moment I have no worries about the pitch."

For what it's worth, the pitch for Australia vs Afghanistan started off slow and inconsistent in bounce, but it skidded on nicely at night. Afghanistan came close to chasing down 168. Chasing upon winning the toss might be a good idea, though much of the week leading up to this match has been quite hot so there might be more pace in this pitch. The forecast is fine, albeit with a morning shower predicted. Nevertheless, this should be an uninterrupted match.

In the spotlight:

In a team of superstars, Suryakumar Yadav strides above them all as the man of this World Cup. No one has had a more profound effect on his team - and opponents - quite like this 32-year-old phenom equipped with more scoring options than Erling Haaland. The numbers he's posted so far - 225 at a strike rate of 193.96 - are remarkable, the stroke play drawing admiration from all quarters, even AB de Villiers who is the only one that springs to mind when it comes to the consistent destruction this man is serving up. Can he be stopped?

Reliable with the ball, the usual excellence in the field and, against Sri Lanka, finally a score of note with the bat. Picking Ben Stokes in this section is as clear as the blue's SKY. But in Dawid Malan's likely absence, the allrounder is the only batter likely to hold the innings together and take things deep in the event of early losses. They say the big moments find him, and few come bigger than this.

Did you know?

- No team has won a men's T20I at the Adelaide Oval after winning the toss in 11 games

- KL Rahul is one six away from becoming the 14th player and third Indian to the mark of 100 T20I sixes

- India's middle order has managed six 50+ scores while none of the England middle-order batters have yet aggregated 60 runs across the tournament.

Quotes

"These guys are quite dangerous. They've played some really good cricket in the tournament as well, which is why they're here. So we've got to be at our best to win the game."

India captain Rohit Sharma is taking nothing for granted.

"Well, we certainly don't want to see an India-Pakistan final, so we'll be trying all we can do to make sure that doesn't happen." Jos Buttler speaks for a nation. Perhaps just one nation.

Thank you Raji for the thread and tag

Thanks for the tag

Thank you for the tag 😊

all the Best !!!

Past winners of T20I World Cup

2007 - India

2009 - Pakistan

2010 - England

2012 - West Indies

2014 - Sri Lanka

2016 - West Indies

2021 - Australia

Who is going to take that coveted trophy this time?

Who ever wins, they will become the second team to win the trophy for the second time along with West Indies.