Dew to play massive role in India-England T20 WC semifinal as hosts set to retain same XI

Dew will once again hold the keys to the outcome of India’s marquee T20 World Cup semifinal game against England in Mumbai on Thursday (Mar 5). As the two powerhouses set to clash for the third straight time in the last-four stage of this tournament, the toss might decide the winner even before the game gets underway. While England will enter this contest on the back of three successive wins in the Super 8s, India is oozing with confidence following their famous win over the West Indies in Kolkata; the tournament's co-hosts are likely to stick to the same XI for this T20 WC semifinal.

Barring concerns over Kuldeep Yadav’s repeated omission, the Indian playing XI looks daunting on paper, and how they played as a team against the West Indies was a testament to their strength. With Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma at the top, they have a dynamite pair, and Ishan Kishan coming in at three only makes things interesting.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav at four, followed by Tilak Varma at five, and then the two seam-bowling all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, at six and seven, respectively, India’s batting is stacked with match-winners. However, Axar Patel batting at eight only gives the Indian team an extra cushion down the order.

Besides, the three specialist bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy have been doing their jobs to perfection.

‘Dew to play a massive role’

The conditions in Mumbai will be hot and humid, and due to that, the dew might dictate terms. With the Indian Team taking a close look at the Wankhede wicket on Tuesday and Wednesday, they know what’s best to do should Suryakumar Yadav win the toss.

“We’re not quite sure a day out how the wicket is going to play. It’s a lot hotter all of a sudden in India, so in terms of moisture and allowing the wicket not to dry out, I think it’s going to be key to playing well,” India’s bowling coach Morkel said ahead of the England semifinal.

“Team selection will go in terms of what we see on game day. From there, we just need to be smart in our skills, reading the conditions and adapting to it. I expect it to be a good wicket, high-scoring game. We are preparing ourselves for tough conditions, and from there, we will assess. If we go in with a mindset that it is going to be a high-scoring game and we need to be up to the standard, I’d say that’s a good place to be,” he continued.

Here is Team India’s Predicted Playing XI for the England semifinal –

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy