New Delhi [India], June 27 (ANI): Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final clash between India and England on Thursday, former right-arm seamer Ishant Sharma thinks that the Men in Blue can lift the title this time around as the team is performing exceptionally well in the ongoing marquee event.
It will be a rematch of the semifinal from the 2022 edition of the tournament as a red-hot Team India will meet England in the second semifinal of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup at Guyana on Thursday. The last time these two nations faced off in a Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final was just 19 months ago in Adelaide when a remarkable opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales saw England cruise to 10 wicket win that forced a complete rethink in India’s T20 strategy and move away from more established superstars to younger blood, from conservatism to aggression.
This time around, though, India has more batting firepower led by experienced campaigners skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, more attacking options through the middle overs, and more variation in their attack, but the defending champions will take some beating, especially with skipper Jos Buttler and his new opening partner Phil Salt both in blistering form.
The former Indian cricketer asserted that the team’s exceptional performance throughout the tournament has been commendable.
“The team’s exceptional performance throughout the tournament has been commendable can be seen in us winning six games in a row. It was a stellar performance by the boys. Rohit’s knock of 92 off just 41 balls was a masterclass, he completely dismantled the Australian bowlers with other batters also giving him the required support. We perfectly executed our plans,” Ishant said in Caught and Bold show on Disney+ Hotstar.
The 35-year-old further stated that he is hopeful that Team India will continue the good form and go on to win the title.
“Our bowlers bowled well with Arshdeep taking three important wickets including that of the dangerous David Warner. Along with batting, Rohit Sharma deserves to get plaudits for his brilliant captaincy against Australia for the trap he set up with Bumrah to get Travis Head out ending his onslaught and getting us over the line. It was enthralling to see India dominating Australia. Hopefully, we will continue the good form and clinch the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup this year,” the former speedster added.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk/c), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Tom Hartley. (ANI)
