2 days Ago By Mid-day
face their first moment of truth at the T20 World Cup. Having stacked up an unbeaten record over the group and Super Eight stages, they face defending champions England at the Guyana National Stadium on Thursday morning in the second semi-final, the past immaterial. It was at the same stage, a year and a half back, that Jos Buttler and his side had broken a billion hearts with a command performance against Rohit Sharma’s men.
India’s 168 for six was made to look well below par as openers Buttler and Alex Hales rattled up 170 in just 16 overs, consigning India to one of their heaviest defeats. ADVERTISEMENT India have come a long way since that drubbing, though England have walked toe-to-toe with them in T20Is. India hold a 12-11 advantage in 20-over faceoffs and the sides are level 2-2 in World Cups; a fresh chapter in this intense rivalry will unfold on what is widely expected to be a spin-friendly surface.
Inzamam accuses India of ball tampering v Oz Where India are packed with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and with leggie Yuzvendra Chahal lying in wait, England have the experienced duo of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to fall back on. Liam Livingstone, the versatile ‘dual’ spinner who is as adept at off-spin to left-handers as he is leg-spin to right-handers, is another resource at Buttler’s disposal. India have negated spin threats from Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the Super Eights with consummate ease on their way to totals of 181 and 196 respectively.
They will be mi.
