Mumbai: Team India, led from the front by Rohit Sharma, avenged the heartbreaking loss in last year’s ODI World Cup final to Australia in great style the other night in the West Indies.
India’s comprehensive 24-run victory in the final Super 8 group 1 match eventually denied the Aussies a semifinal berth and knocked them out of the tournament.
Now, the men in blue have another score to settle when they face England in the last-four clash at Guyana on Thursday. India, after all, had suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal in Adelaide.
The Indians are high on confidence and bubbling with confidence, having won all their six matches so far.
But will they get a chance to get even with Jos Buttler’s men?
Guyana has been experiencing showers for the last few days. And according to the Met Office, there are chances of thundershowers changing to heavy showers by late morning, with a 60 per cent chance of rain predicted.
Like all their matches so far, India will again play in the morning (10.30 am local time, 8 pm IST), keeping in mind the vast evening prime-time TV viewership in this country.
Showers are likely during the first semifinal between South Africa and Afghanistan at Trinidad, too.
Though a reserve day has been allotted for the first semifinal, no such provision is there for the India versus England clash. Strange as it seems, International Cricket Council’s different playing conditions for the two semis is apparently because there’s just a day’s gap between the second semifinal and the final (June 29).
However, an extra 250 minutes have been scheduled for the India-England semifinal, if needed, since it is a day game.
Another change in playing conditions for the knockout games is that each innings must see 10 overs of action for a result, unlike 5 overs each in the earlier stages of the tournament and other T20Iss.
If 10 overs for both sides is not possible even after providing the extra 4 hour, India will advance to the final by virtue of their higher group standing.
In the second semifinal, it will be South Africa going through to Saturday’s title clash in case no result is possible.
