Day 26: Semifinal 2: India Vs England
Today’s match is at Wankhede, Mumbai starting from 7.30 pm Bangladesh time! My pick for tonight is India
I will keep this simple! Although not a big fan of India, but, a very big fan of Indian Cricket (not the current board though)- specially the way they have branded cricket and creating value globally! And they have a strong infrastructure that allows talented players to become more talented and perform. If even you hate India, you must agree that India has produced so many world class players who have taken this game a long way!
Looking back what triggered me to support India? It was the Natwest Trophy where India chased down 320+ scores with Yuvraj and Kaif mainly in early 2000! I kind of loved the Ganguly celebration in the stands – on that moment felt good to see a Bengali celebrating in the lord’s balcony in Bangla Style! So, whenever India faces England in critical matches, this memory always comes up!
India has come a long way since then! They are the current T20 world Cup champion, ODI world cup runner up- the strongest team in the white ball format, especially in T20.
India did not have a good start to this world cup, and the reason was AbhiSIX did not fire on top! As the tournament progressed, we have seen India coming to the form in the super 8 stages.
Compared to the hype India had, I would say they had a poor run in the group stage, but, still they were unbeaten and moved to super 8.
After the super 8 clash between India and South Africa, where India lost by a huge margin, that rattled the team and the supporters. Since that match, I would say India has come back strongly against Zimbabwe and the best match we have seen played by them was the match against “West Indies” they chased down almost 200 in Eden Gardens!
On the other hand, another elite- England’s journey was also not very smooth either in this world cup. They nearly escaped losing against Nepal, struggled against team like Italy and Scotland to some extent.
It was Will Jacks who carried England on his shoulder to this stage! Especially in group stage matches. In Super 8, We saw some good performance from England, their captain coming into good form, apart from the openers are batters were getting some runs, and the bowlers like Archer and Rashid were doing their duties to cross England over the line. I would say, England was lucky to survive in the group stage, but, they are growing in confidence and becoming stronger from the super 8 stage!
For tonight, I am rooting for India, and my players to watch would be the players from Mumbai Indians (Tilak, Surya, Pandya and Bumrah) side along with Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan (ex- MI player as well)
For England, Will Jacks, Sam Curren, and Harry Brooks should perform! And once again England’s trump card should be their openers who are out of form in this world cup so far!
If they take inspiration from the Kiwi openers from Last night, Phil Salt and Joss Buttler can rip this Indian bowling apart, and they have everything they need to do that!
Rashid and Archer should lead the way in bowling, but Sam Curren always finds something against the Indian team!
With the crowd behind India’s back, I am eager to see how the high catches are taken by the English fielders under all the noise!
Looking forward to high scoring match! And expecting India to win and join New Zealand in the finals on 8th March in Ahmedabad.
Who are you supporting tonight? India or England?
**By the time upload got finished England have won the toss and decided to bowl first! Let's hope India puts big runs on the board to make this interesting!
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