England take on India in the semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup for the third consecutive tournament at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Harry Brook’s team are yet to put in a complete performance, but were the first to qualify for the last four and maintained their 100 per cent record in the Super Eight stage.
Brook says: ‘I don’t believe we need a perfect game to win the tournament, to be honest.’ While Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, called the contest between T20’s No 1 and 2-ranked sides a ‘shootout’.
So, what are the things England need to do to repeat the 2022 result in Adelaide – and avoid the 2024 outcome in the West Indies – and oust the reigning champions? Here, Daily Mail Sport examines the blueprint for success…
Harry Brook trains ahead of England’s T20 World Cup semi-final showdown with India on Thursday
SILENCE THE CROWD
It was bedlam here last year when Abhishek Sharma was pummelling the ball all over Mumbai in an innings of 135 from 54 balls, plunging England to a record 150-run defeat.
So, the first challenge for England will be to quieten a 32,000 full house. Brook said the atmosphere cannot be replicated ‘unless you have a thousand speakers around’ when discussing how to prepare for a match here.
According to Sam Curran, a veteran of Indian Premier League cricket: ‘If it’s silent, we’re probably doing well.’ Indeed, there were pin-drop moments in Sunday night’s chase of 196 in Kolkata, in what was effectively a quarter-final with West Indies, whenever India lost a wicket.
GAMBLE ON JACKS
India have struggled against off-spin throughout the tournament, scoring at a rate of just 6.23 an over against it across their first five matches. They then took Zimbabwean part-timer Brian Bennett for 16 runs off two overs and the Windies’ all-rounder Roston Chase returned figures of 2-0-18-0.
With left-handers Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma all in the top six and five lefties expected to be in India’s top eight, England should challenge their outside edges by making early use of right-arm off-spinner Will Jacks, a player who has four man-of-the-match awards in three weeks.
Jacks knows the ground, as he plays for Mumbai in the IPL, and has experience of how mis-hits can go for six given its small dimensions, but he returns here on the back of five wickets in the Super Eights.
England should use Will Jacks’ off-spin to trouble India’s left-handed batsmen
NEGATE BUMRAH
The statistics tell you that runs will be in limited supply whenever Indian superstar Jasprit Bumrah comes on to bowl, so the way to hurt India is to deny their partnership-breaker wickets.
Accept that this freak of a fast bowler never travels at much more than six an over – he entered the competition with an economy rate of 6.54 and it’s now 6.53 – while targeting some of the rest.
As India coach Gautam Gambhir points out – ‘Bumrah is a banker and we’ll continue to use him in different ways’ – he has no preferred periods of an innings in which to operate.
Instead, India use him as a pre-emptive strike, targeting opponents’ best players, so expect a fascinating battle when Brook walks in at No 3.
England have to accept that runs will be in short supply when India’s Jasprit Bumrah comes on to bowl
GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE
England’s extreme pace was turned against them during the 4-1 bilateral series defeat here last year but they now possess a much more versatile attack, with Jofra Archer, Curran and Jamie Overton all able to go up and down the gears.
Curran’s ‘moon ball’ has proved particularly effective in white-ball cricket. The Surrey all-rounder is able to befuddle batters by bowling out of the back of his hand and slowing his pace down to around 43mph in what looks to the batsman like a normal fast delivery.
They will have noted the modus operandi of South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi in helping to inflict the 76-run loss on the co-hosts in Ahmedabad last week: his full slower-ball repertoire from an action that barely changes from his stock delivery of around 86mph totally flummoxing the Indian batsmen and providing him with an analysis of 4-0-15-0.
Sam Curran’s ‘moon ball’ could be used to good effect against India’s batsmen
CATCHES WIN MATCHES
West Indies put down three straightforward chances offered by Indian batsmen at Eden Gardens, leaving them to think about what might have been.
England’s catching has been up and down throughout this competition, but they are a superior fielding unit to India and making the most of opportunities coming their way is always a vital aspect of knockout cricket.
