<b>Rohit Sharma warns England to expect partisan Indian cauldron in T20 World Cup semi-final</b>
Rohit Sharma has warned England to expect a full house of India fans for Thursday’s T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide.
India clinched top spot in Group 2 after cruising to a 71-run victory over Zimbabwe at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan, who were runners-up after beating Bangladesh and South Africa’s shock defeat by the Netherlands, will meet New Zealand in Wednesday’s semi-final in Sydney.
“England are a good team, and it will be a great contest,” said Sharma, India’s captain. “We should take pride in qualifying firstly, and if we play that semi-final well, we have another big game as well.
“The fans have been brilliant all this while, almost everywhere we have gone we’ve got a full house, and we expect the same in the semi-finals as well. On behalf of the team I’d really like to thank them.”
England fast bowler Mark Wood welcomed the prospect of a hugely anticipated clash with India.
“They’re a powerhouse of a team,” he said. “So it’s a big, big game and if you want to win a World Cup you’ve got to beat the best teams, so it will be a cracker.”
However, Dawid Malan remains a major doubt, with his groin injury being closely monitored by England. Phil Salt is the likeliest player to replace him, and Wood backed the aggressive Lancashire batsman to take the opportunity.
“He takes on the bowlers and I think he’s chomping at the bit. He’s been ready for a while and he’s got something about him.”
After England sealed semi-final qualification with a four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday in Sydney, Wood praised Ben Stokes’s qualities under pressure. Stokes hit 42 not out to help clinch victory, ending concerns about his batting form.
“He’s a good man to have in a tough situation. I know people have questioned him but when you need him he stands up. That’s another moment in his career that when you look back you can say when the team needed him he was the man to be counted on. It was a good innings, he didn’t look phased or anything like that because he’s been there and done it before.
“If you need a wicket, you throw the ball to Stokesy, if you need a great catch – he did a ridiculous bit of fielding that I thought he was just showing off. But it’s fantastic he can do stuff like that and with the bat he sees us home. You think we’re under pressure but he just takes it in his stride and knows exactly what he’s trying to do. We know how good he is and that if we’re in trouble, he’s the man that never gives in, he never gives up and he always seems to come through when we need him the most.”
Suryakumar Yadav will be one of India’s key players on Thursday and Sharma hailed his performances after his brilliant form continued in 2022 by hitting 61 not out off just 25 balls, helping India reach an imposing 186 for five against Zimbabwe. It was Yadav’s third half-century of the World Cup campaign.
“What Sky is doing for the team is remarkable, just coming out there, playing that way, taking the pressure off the others,” Sharma said. “We know his ability, and it allows the guy at the other end to take his time. The dugout can really be at ease when he bats, and he’s shown a lot of composure when he’s batted. We expected this from him, and he’s gone from strength to strength.”
When Yadav played England last summer, he hit 117 off 55 balls at Trent Bridge in a remarkable innings. In 39 T20 internationals, Yadav averages 42.3 with a strike rate of 180 – the highest of any man to score 1,000 international runs in history. He is ranked the No 1 T20 batsman in the world.
KL Rahul’s 51, his second successive half-century of the tournament, ensured that India enjoyed a bright start against Zimbabwe before Yadav’s intervention.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh both took wickets in their opening overs, moving the new ball to great effect to leave Zimbabwe in a perilous position. Ravichandran Ashwin’s three for 22 helped ensure that Zimbabwe were bowled out for 115 in the 18th over to hand India a crushing victory.
Despite a loss to South Africa, India topped their group, with four victories in five games.
After defeating Bangladesh by five wickets in Adelaide, Pakistan secured the second qualification berth. It completed an unlikely turnaround after Pakistan had lost their opening two games. Netherlands’ victory over South Africa clinched fourth spot, and automatic qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/cri...p-feeds&cvid=2e1f945a8ffe44d1b5c7cb5353fb081a
Lucky ground for INdia. Also seamers get the best help there. Adelaide oval is a burial ground for trundlers.
