A place in the T20 World Cup final beckons as India collide with England in the all-important second semifinal at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. England and England have played some stunning cricket through the tournament and it is only fitting that one of the most consistent teams in their respective groups will do battle hoping to come a step closer to achieving World Cup glory.
Over the year, the India vs England rivalry has gained plenty of steam, given some of the thrilling matches the two teams have been a part of. What has intensified the rivalry is a lot of 'off the field' talk by some of the former cricketers, and ahead of the crunch match, ex-England captain Nasser Hussain has fired a salvo at the Indian team, pointing out that Rohit Sharma and Co. very much beatable.
"It is a formidable line-up but only 2 of them are in form - Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. They are two highest run-getters in the Super 12 for any country. So I won't have this all 'Wow, it's a great Indian side. They lost to South Africa and just got over the line against Pakistan in that great game at the MCG. So they definitely can be beaten," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
{{/usCountry}}"It is a formidable line-up but only 2 of them are in form - Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. They are two highest run-getters in the Super 12 for any country. So I won't have this all 'Wow, it's a great Indian side. They lost to South Africa and just got over the line against Pakistan in that great game at the MCG. So they definitely can be beaten," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
{{/usCountry}}Once again, all eyes will be on the Playing XI the Indian team goes ahead with. While most of the team picks itself, the one quandary on everyone's mind is the toss-up between Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper's slot. Karthik, India's designated 'finisher', has had a rather quiet World Cup, scoring just 14 runs from three innings and was dropped for the last Super-12 tie against Zimbabwe.
Pant replaced him in the Playing XI but he too couldn't make much of an impact getting out after scoring three runs. Earlier this year, when India defeated England on their soil in both T20Is and ODIs, Pant played a big part – he scored a century in the rescheduled fifth Test to go with a match-winning hundred in an ODI at Trent Bridge – which is why Hussain reckons the young wicketkeeper batter might get the nod over DK.
"They are a formidable line-up, and I feel - we don't know yet - that it can get a little bit stronger since there are rumours that Rishabh Pant might come in. DK is one of the all-time greats that has even played for India, but Pant's record against England is phenomenal. He plays Adil Rashid very well and he is also very good square of the wicket. So Rishabh Pant will be a threat and that then lengthens their line-up since you've got Hardik Pandya at 6, Axar Patel at 7 and Ashwin at 8," mentioned the former England captain.