As they face battle against England in the T20 World Cup semifinal on Thursday at the challenging Adelaide Oval pitch, India cannot afford to make a mistake because they are only two steps away from the ultimate glory. England is a strong opponent.
A competition with such high stakes and a “winner takes it all” mentality as this one always begins on an even keel, despite the fact that India has performed more admirably in the group stage than England has.
Ben Stokes, England’s finest all-rounder, has already conceded that his team has not played their best cricket, thus the Indian squad needs to make sure that Jos Buttler and Stokes do not select the semifinal to bring their A game to the fore. Stokes is England’s best all-rounder.
When it comes to the results at the business end of ICC events, history has shown to be quite unfavourable for India.
Since 2013, Indian teams have had trouble clearing the final two obstacles on many occasions, including the final of the T20 World Cup in 2014, the semifinals of the T20 World Cup in 2016, the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017, and the semifinal of the ODI World Cup in 2019.
Even though Rohit Sharma participated in all of those games, he was not leading the team during that time; as a result, he does not carry any baggage of disappointment with him as he approaches the most vital phase of his full time captaincy.
Rohit has scored 89 runs in five matches, and he would like to forget the physical discomfort of being hit in the forearm. However, he wouldn’t shy away from playing one pull shot too many if a fit Mark Wood or his likely replacement Chris Jordan digs it short.
The captain of India needs to have a meaningful innings in this game, and there is no greater match that he could play in order to silence his critics than a semifinal.
Virat Kohli would have a battle on his hands against his old adversary Adil Rashid, while the match-up between Sam Curran’s cutters and Suryakumar Yadav’s talents will be an intriguing one to watch.
Hardik Pandya, who has contributed with both the bat and the ball in a variety of games, will be able to match the all-around qualities that Stokes possesses.
As the number one team in the world, India, faces the ideal opponent in the second-ranked team in the world, England, there is a heady buildup as a result of the fascination of subplots that are embedded in the main narrative.
Fans from all around the world are hoping for an India vs. Pakistan final match at the MCG on Sunday, but critics are quick to point out that in the 1987 World Cup, both India and Pakistan were eliminated in the semifinals of their respective one-day international competitions.