A place in the T20 World Cup final will be on the line when co-hosts India cross swords with England in Thursday’s semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The two sides have not been entirely convincing with their performances, but both are stacked with quality players in every department and will fancy their chances for making it to the final.
Match Preview
India’s performances were almost impeccable in the group stage, as they won against the United States, Namibia, Pakistan and Netherlands.
But they were stunned by South Africa in their opening Super Eight game at the Narendra Modi Stadium, losing by 76 runs.
The Men in Blue bounced back against Zimbabwe with a comprehensive success, before confirming their place in the semi-finals by beating West Indies by five wickets.
India are hot favourites to defend their World Cup crown, despite being well beaten by South Africa and given a scare by the US.
Between the end of the last World Cup in 2024 and the start of this, the defending champions won 33 of their 41 matches.
England made an unconvincing start to the tournament, losing their second group game to West Indies.
However, they qualified for the second round after breezing past Scotland and Italy.
The Three Lions topped Group 2 in the Super Eights by defeating Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.
England will fancy their chances against India, with Will Jacks in the form of his life and Adil Rashid also at the peak of his powers.
Team News
India are unlikely to tinker with the side that won the crucial match against West Indies.
Abhishek Sharma’s form has been a concern, with the opener scoring three ducks and just one half-century in the tournament.
As for England, Rehan Ahmed impressed in his first World Cup appearance, and he may feature again on Thursday.
Jos Buttler will likely keep his place in the team, despite scoring a duck in Friday’s win against New Zealand.
India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
India vs England prediction
India’s performances haven’t been consistent in the tournament, but we think they will come out on top against England.
The Men in Blue are stacked with quality players in their ranks plus they will be playing in front of their home crowd.
