India face the challenging task of overcoming a very strong England side at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10, if they want to make it to their third T20 World Cup final. The prospect of facing arch-rivals Pakistan again at the MCG is likely to play its part in the minds of the Men in Blue.
The Adelaide Oval, with its short square boundaries, often makes for a high-scoring venue. England’s deep batting line-up will certainly relish playing here and post a big score if possible. However, Team India are no pushovers as they too have some world-class batters in their ranks.
Alex Hales got an opportunity into the England team after they dropped out-of-form Jason Roy and also had to leave out the injured Jonny Bairstow. Although he didn’t start the tournament well, it is probably safe to say that Hales is peaking at just the right time.
He has scores of 52 and 47 in his last two games and while the focus will be on England’s dangerman and captain Jos Buttler, Hales could well slip under the radar and score big. India’s new-ball bowlers will need to ensure they do not let Hales settle in what are beautiful batting conditions in Adelaide.
Suryakumar Yadav has almost redefined the way T20 cricket should be played, especially by a middle-order batter who often has the onus to provide some impetus to the innings. His ultra-attacking approach has made him the No.1 ranked batter in T20Is and will be a genuine threat against England.
Yadav has good memories of facing this opposition, having scored his maiden T20I hundred at Trent Bridge earlier in July. He has scored 260 runs in six T20Is against England at a mind-boggling strike rate of 195.48. England players have been quite vocal about finding a way to stop SKY early, and rightly so.
One simply can’t mention Adelaide and not talk about Virat Kohli. The former captain continues to have a stupendous record at this ground across formats. In 11 innings, Kohli averages a ridiculous 75.58 and is yet to be dismissed at this venue.
What’s more interesting is that Kohli is also yet to be dismissed in a T20 World Cup semi-final, having already slammed two sensational half-centuries in 2014 and 2016, respectively. These numbers speak volumes about how Kohli delivers when his team needs him the most and they will expect the same from him on Thursday.
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