India will need a “special performance” to overcome a “street-smart” England in their T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Wednesday.
X to Suspend Revenue Sharing for Undisclosed AI War Videos
A scintillating unbeaten 97 from Sanju Samson guided India to a successful chase of 196 against the West Indies cricket team in a winner-takes-all clash in Kolkata on Sunday.
Morkel said India would once again require a player to “put their hand up” when they face Harry Brook’s England side at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night to keep alive hopes of lifting a home World Cup trophy.
“We haven’t really spoken about the perfect game,” Morkel told reporters after India’s final training session. “It’s not about how you get to the semi-finals. It’s about the next two games and how we’re going to play there.”
He added that the team had consistently shown that someone rises to the occasion. “Hopefully, especially tomorrow night, we can put that special performance in,” he said.
This marks the third consecutive edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in which India and England meet in the semi-finals. On both previous occasions, the winner went on to claim the title.
In 2022, England thrashed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide before defeating Pakistan in the Melbourne final. Two years later, India secured a commanding 68-run victory over England in Guyana and went on to beat South Africa in the final in Barbados.
This time, however, India will have the support of a partisan 35,000-strong crowd in Mumbai.
“It’s a big occasion, a semi-final at a great stadium,” Morkel said. “Hopefully the boys can rock up and just be calm and execute those skills.”
India have left little to chance in their preparations. Tuesday night’s training session was delayed by an hour to avoid coinciding with a lunar eclipse, traditionally considered inauspicious in India.
“I was told about the lunar eclipse and the session was pushed backwards,” Morkel admitted, adding that the quality of training remained high.
India are cautious of the threat posed by England cricket team, who recovered from a shaky group stage to record wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super Eights.
“They’re a team that’s street smart. There’s a lot of quality in their side,” said Morkel. “Their batting is deep, which makes them very dangerous. With the ball, they’ve got plenty of attacking options.”
“The way they approach a T20 game — fearless and aggressive — will give you opportunities. Tomorrow is going to be a good shoot-out between two attacking teams.”
