England’s semi-final against India in Guyana represents their biggest challenge yet in this World Cup. India have won seven out of seven, and brushed Australia aside in St Lucia.
But England must remind themselves that they, and not India, are the team who have spent the last few years going hard from the start. They, not India, have that approach in their bones.
Make no mistake: India are formidable. Rohit Sharma’s innings against the Australians was indicative of their new mindset of taking more risks. And in that respect they’ve learned from their semi-final defeat by England nearly two years ago in Adelaide, when they plodded along to a middling total, then got blown away Jos Buttler and Alex Hales.
In Jasprit Bumrah, they also have the bowler of the tournament, both in terms of the wickets he takes and the runs he concedes, while the left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has improved a lot, and is bowling slightly quicker through the air than he once did.
But the question India must answer is: can they produce this fearless cricket in a knockout match? Even against Australia on Monday, defeat probably wouldn’t have knocked them out, so the jeopardy wasn’t quite there. And their failure to win a World Cup in either format since 2011 has been hanging over them for a while.
Jos Buttler’s England side won’t panic though they will need to be at their best to beat India and reach the T20 World Cup final
In Jasprit Bumrah (centre) India have the bowler of the tournament, both in terms of the wickets he takes and the runs he concedes
Rohit Sharma’s innings against the Australians was indicative of India’s new riskier mindset
They’re a hell of a side, but it’s only fair to point out that they have not translated their vast talent into silverware.
England have had a less smooth path to the last four, but they’ve spent almost a decade now playing aggressive white-ball cricket, and in that time they’ve reached semi-finals and finals on a regular basis.
Yes, the 50-over World Cup in India last year did not go well, but they went into that competition as double world champions, and they’re only two games away here from defending their T20 title. For me, Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott are doing just fine.
I believe, too, that they’ve got better as this tournament has gone on, despite losing to two of the three Test sides they’ve faced. And because they have players with plenty of IPL experience, they are unlikely to be fazed if the Providence Stadium in Guyana throws up a slow, low track. A decade ago, we wouldn’t have been able to say that.
England thrashed India by 10 wickets at the last T20 World Cup in 2022 and will need another strong display
Their challenge will be to stay in the game for as long as possible, because India have only been tested once so far in this World Cup, by Pakistan. They may also have to adapt to conditions, and decide that going for hell for leather isn’t the way to play.
Don’t forget that they’ve been honing their approach for a long time, while India have only belatedly decided to hit out at the top.
If Rohit gets India off to a flyer, and Virat Kohli – who’s been short of runs – rises to the big occasion, England could be in trouble. But whatever India throw at them, Buttler’s team won’t panic. And that alone gives England a chance of reaching another World Cup final – even though they’ll need to be at their absolute best to win.
