T20 World Cup Semifinal, IND vs ENG: England Win Toss, Opt to Bowl First; Check Playing XIs

Guyana: The enthusiasm around T20 World Cup 2024 has reached fever pitch as India is set to face defending champions England in a high-stakes semi-final clash at Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday.

Two years ago, England crushed India’s World Cup dreams with a dominant 10-wicket win in Adelaide. Now, India have a chance to avenge that defeat and knock the defending champions out of the tournament.

India have embraced a more fearless approach in T20 cricket, particularly with their batting strategy. Unlike their encounter two years ago, where they were restricted to 168 runs, India now show resilience when batting first. This was evident in their last Super Eights clash against Australia, where Rohit Sharma’s aggressive innings of 92 runs off 41 balls propelled India to a formidable total of 205 runs.

England, on the other hand, have established themselves as proponents of aggressive T20 cricket, exemplified by their victory in the 2022 World Cup under Eoin Morgan.

India hold a slight edge over England in T20Is, winning 12 out of their 23 encounters. However, in T20 World Cup history, the teams are evenly matched with two wins each, including England’s dominant performance in their last meeting, securing a 10-wicket victory.

The pitch at Providence Stadium has favoured both spinners and pacers, with notable performances from Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi and West Indies’ Akeal Hossein.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w/c), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley