IND v ENG: T20 WC SEMI FINAL PREVIEW

It has been one year since India lost a World Cup and since then, they have played some outstanding, ruthless cricket. They have won 31 t20 matches in the past year, and 8 bilateral series. Only failure came their way in the Asia cup, when they lost back to back against Pakistan & Sri Lanka. Major concerns centered on the middle order and death bowling, particularly in the 19th over in that tournament. The team has addressed these concerns and although Suryakumar Yadav is in the form of his life, Hardik, Pant, and DK are still in a state of blow hot, blow cold form.

As for ENG, they have improved lately in the white ball format. They started the year with a loss to WI, then lost at home against IND and SA. IND have been their achilles heel, since they have lost seven out of eight bilaterals since 2017. The team beat PAK 4-3 and AUS 2-0 before the WC started, but has struggled in the tournament, and their batting, except for the game against New Zealand, hasn't been up to expectations.

There are too many factors which favor India in this contest, namely their head-to-head record in the last five years, the threat that India's opening bowlers pose to Buttler and Hales, and the possibility that Mark Wood will be absent. There is no Boult, Afridi, or Amir to help England run through India's top order, which has been one of the major reasons for India's losses in recent knockouts.
In a tournament where India's openers have struggled, Woakes and Stokes would be the easiest matchups for them. India has the lowest scoring rate in PP.

11 times the team that has won the toss at Adelaide has ended up on the losing side. It would be interesting to see if Ind leave out Axar since there are few left handers in ENG's middle order and sneak in an extra batter in Hooda or DK.

Probable XIs

India

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh

England

Jos Buttler (c, wk), Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark wood/Chris Jordan

Venue

Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

Total matches 14

Matches won batting first 7

Matches won bowling first 6

Average 1st Inns scores 155

Average 2nd Inns scores 143

Highest total recorded 233/2 by AUS vs SL

Lowest total recorded 117/10 by ZIM vs NED

HEAD to HEAD

Both teams have faced each other 22 times in t20is

Overall: IND leads by 12-10

Batting 1st: IND leads by 8-3

Batting 2nd: ENG leads by 7 -4

In T20 WCs: IND leads by 2-1

Last 5 matches: IND leads by 3-2

Most runs: Virat Kohli (589)

Most wkts: Chris Jordan (18)

Recent Form

(Last five matches)

IND: W W L W W

ENG: W W NR L W

Match Ups

Buttler v Bhuvi: 66(69), 5 outs

Stokes v Bhuvi: 29(18), 1 out

Hales v Ashwin: 43(28)

Moeen v Ashwin: 51(35)

Buttler v Shami: 79(55), 2 outs

Stokes v Pandya: 14(14), 3 outs

Buttler v Pandya: 84(54), 2 outs

Kohli v Curran: 59(42), 2 outs

SKY v Curran: 13(8), 2 outs

Kohli v Rashid: 63(59), 2 outs

SKY v Rashid: 37(13)

Kohli v Moeen: 26(18), 2 outs

Pant v Moeen: 53(40), 2 outs

Rahul v Moeen: 55(27), 1 out

Rahul v Stokes: 45(39), 3 outs

Kohli v Jordan: 89(69), 2 outs

Pandya v Jordan: 78(43), 2 outs

Form Update
(last 5 innings)

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

Virat Kohli

By the looks of it, Virat Kohli will win his 3rd man of the tournament award in t20 wcs this time. He has scored 8 50s in Australia in just 15 innings. His average in t20 wcs is in excess of 80s. He is your go to man to trust in the fantasy 11 and will fetch you good points just like every time.

Suryakumar Yadav

Purple patch would be an understatement to describe Surya’s run of form in t20is. He is by far the best t20i batter at present. Since the start of the year he has scored close to 750 runs at a SR of 180+. In his last 8 innings, he has scored 6 50s. Must must pick in your fantasy 11

Alex Hales

He resumed his intl career with a bang in Pakistan and also made a quickfire 50 against Aus in bilateral but hadn’t made any mark in tournament so far. He has come into his own league by scoring back to back 50s and gives ENG a solid start. Should prefer him ahead of Buttler since he has a very abysmal record against India and Bhuvi. Your preferred opener’s choice in fantasy 11

Mark Wood (subject to availability)

Almost every time he has played since returning from injury, whether it was in the Pakistan series, Australia series, or World Cup, he has breathed fire. Since September, he has picked 18 wkts in 7 games and is clocking 150+ every now and then. One thing that goes against him is his H2H record against Batters like Virat Kohli and his availability due to injury concerns.

Sam Curran

He has picked 22 wkts in last 12 games. Bowls at the death and is more than capable to use the long handle in the end overs. He is a wkt taking machine in death overs with good economy. A near to perfect candidate in any fantasy 11

Wild Card

Hardik Pandya

Since his return from the injury, he has put a brilliant case for being one of the finest all rounders in the t20 format. With captaincy and leading his IPL team to a title victory he has emerged as a more mature player. 487 runs in 2022 IPL and Man of the match performance in the final with the ball. Over 550 runs at a SR of 145 in last 24 t20i innings and 18 wkts including a 4 fer against Eng in July, a 3 fer against Pak in this tournament makes him one of the most utility players in the format. But he hasn’t been consistent with the bat and has struggled in the death overs.

Fantasy XI