IND vs ENG T20 World Cup Semi-Final: CHECK DETAILS HERE

India and England can’t stop meeting each other in T20 World Cup semifinals. Now, after splitting the matches in the 2022 and 2024 editions, a spot in the finals is once again on the line as the two powerful teams gear up to face off at the Wankhede Stadium.

India rescued their position in the semifinal with a chase against the West Indies in Kolkata that will be remembered as one of India’s most famous in this format. With their backs to the wall chasing 195, Sanju Samson put his hand up and played a hero’s knock of 97*. Suddenly, the ailing Indian team will feel they have some momentum and confidence – enough to continue their surge as they gun for back-to-back trophies with a win at home.

But it won’t be easy. England are also a team who have steadily grown confidence, particularly in the Super 8s. The group stage was a little wobbly with a loss to West Indies and shaky performances against Italy and Nepal, but the wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand to close out the Super 8s on top of the group has shown more of what the England team is about. The bowling stood up, and as did captain Harry Brook – but the MVP of their campaign thus far has been Will Jacks, who has developed into a true all-rounder with dangerous spin and powerful batting as a finisher.

England’s strength lies in the batting, which has been patchy but also has the ability to explode for big runs – and their inspiration might just be the 2022 semifinal in Adelaide, where they successfully brushed aside India with no losses. Phil Salt has scored runs but not been his usual devastating self this tournament, while his opening partner Jos Buttler has looked off-colour and nothing like his usual self – both batters are due, which means the opening spells of Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah to limit their performances will be key.

India will know what their style is – they won’t make too many changes to a plan that has been working, with hard-hitting batters at the top of the order and plenty of bowling options to filter through and take control in the middle overs. Those are the phases where India can dominate England, and it is there that this match could be settled. It will be a big day for Abhishek Sharma – the best knock of his young career was arguably the one he played against this opposition at this very ground, scoring a memorable century last year. After a quiet tournament, this could be what brings him alive.

It should be a thrilling contest with plenty of prestige and significance on the line.

Squads:

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar

England: Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Rehan Ahmed, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Jamie Overton