T20 World Cup 2022: India, England face off in semifinal, winner to play Pakistan in final

India and England square off in the second semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval ground. The winner will secure their ticket to the tournament final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to play against Pakistan on November 13, 2022.

Given the stakes, familiarity will breed competition in this situation. These two teams engaged in a focused fortnight of combat just a few months ago, with India winning the T20I leg with a rather comfortable 2-1 series victory.

Also read: India vs England T20 WC semifinal: Records, stats, weather, and pitch report

However, things have changed much for the better recently. A more seasoned captain, Jos Buttler is comfortable with the rigours of the position and his strategies. Virat Kohli has meantime found his rhythm again.

With two games against Sri Lanka and New Zealand that must be won for them to advance out of Group 1, England will feel like they have some sort of advantage. After years of chasing, they now have a restored confidence in their ability to set, so much so that, if nighttime dew isn’t too heavy, the toss might not even be necessary.

Also read: T20 World Cup 2022: Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik? India’s pick vs England

The pressure to advance to a rematch with Pakistan at the MCG in Sunday’s final will be immense for India, the only side to have won four matches in the Super 12 stage, but it won’t be any bigger than what their players often deal with.

Apart from their evident strength, they have a distinct advantage over rivals even before they enter the field because of their analytical approach to T20 practise. The majority of England’s preparation has focused on emphasising this while secretly devising strategies to bring them down a few notches.

Also read: T20 World Cup 2022 India vs England: When and where to watch

The fact that no Englishman has scored more than one six in the competition, other from the openers Buttler and Alex Hales, indicates that the middle order hasn’t quite shown up. Although it would be easy to say that they are ‘due,’ India will undoubtedly be concentrating on keeping them quiet. One anticipates that against a team that is scoring at 11.90 at death, Sam Curran‘s ascension to Buttler’s preferred death bowler will also undergo its toughest test.