Pressure will be on defending champions India on home ground. England leg spinner Adil Rashid has looked sharp. Indian batters will have to handle his flight and turn confidently without rushing their strokes.
Knock-out matches in a World Cup are all about handling the pressure that comes with the big occasion. South Africa wilted under intense pressure at the cauldron of Eden Gardens against New Zealand. Finn Allen demolished the South African attack with a clinical assault, smashing a 33-ball century.
New Zealand in final
In doing so, New Zealand cruised to the 170-run target in just 12.5 overs to make it to the final. That is how quickly the game can slip from a team’s grasp in the Twenty20 format.
Wankhede Stadium
When India take on England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the evening, the players will have to absorb the pressure that comes with playing at home with a full stadium roaring behind them. To say the least, Suryakumar Yadav’s team is used to delivering in such an atmosphere, which can either push performance levels several notches higher or turn intimidating depending on the situation and a player’s mind space.
Under pressure
India performed extremely well under pressure against the West Indies, which was again a must-win game for the home side. By far, it was their best showing with the bat. Chasing for the first time in the tournament, India confidently crossed a challenging total of 196 in 19.2 overs with five wickets in hand.
Sanju Samson
Much of the credit goes to Sanju Samson, who blazed his way to an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, displaying his full potential when the team needed it the most. The team will hope Sanju fires again today against England. The big question for the Indian think-tank would be whether to drop Abhishek Sharma and possibly replace him with Rinku Singh.
Solid opening partnership
That would mean handing the opening role to Sanju and Ishan Kishan, both of whom are in good touch. Abhishek is woefully out of form with the bat, and the loss of confidence was evident in his fielding as he dropped easy catches against the West Indies. India need a solid opening partnership to provide the launch for a good total.
Jasprit Bumrah
The bowlers also need to get their act together. Jasprit Bumrah was exceptional against the West Indies, taking two wickets while conceding just 36 runs. India would be looking for valuable contributions from Varun Chakaravarthy and the rest of the bowling unit. Varun is still among the wickets but has not been able to produce the impact expected of him. West Indies were 119/4 in 14.1 overs before Rovman Powell and Jason Holder powered the total to 195 with some big hitting in the death overs.
Scraped through a few wins
England have not had the best of tournaments so far and scraped through a few wins. They lost to West Indies in the group stage and barely survived against less-fancied Nepal. Even Italy gave them a scare. But all that would hardly matter when they take on India on Thursday, knowing the defending champions are playing at home. England will be looking to put India under pressure early. Leg spinner Adil Rashid has had a good tournament and looked sharp. Indian batters will have to handle his flight and turn confidently without rushing their strokes.
England’s batting
England’s batting has not exactly fired. Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have been unable to provide solid starts. Captain Harry Brook scored a brilliant century against Pakistan on a slow surface, while Will Jacks has produced quality knocks lower down the order, stepping in with crucial rescue efforts for his team with both bat and ball. The stage is set for a gripping contest, and it will all come down to seizing key moments and stepping up under pressure.
EOM
