Kolkata: When talent meets application and that translates into performance, it becomes a recipe to win. That's exactly what happened to India in the ongoing T20 World Cup Down Under. If former India captain Virat Kohli is in prime form, he is ably supported by a maverick called Surya Kumar Yadav. Yadav's execution has been near perfect in the competition so far.
Come November 10, India will take England in the second semi-final of the tourney at the Adelaide Oval. England would hope both Kohli and Yadav misfire on the day, but by the look of things, it's unlikely to happen. Over and above, India will have their answers ready in the bowling department too. Arshadeep Singh has been improving with each passing day along with seasoned campaigners in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and Ravi Ashwin.
If only batting is taken into consideration, the comparisons would be blasphemy. India have Kohli (246) as the highest scorer of the tournament with Yadav at number three on the list with 225 runs. No English batter is anywhere near them. The top scorer for England is Alex Hales with 125 runs and is languishing at the 24th spot.
Read: We don't want to see India vs Pakistan final: Jos Buttler ahead of SF clash
As far as bowling is concerned, both teams are even-steven. England also have bowlers like Mark Wood and Ben Stokes in their ranks who could turn the match on its head on their days. But as the tournament nears its business end, a bad day for any good team will see them depart.
However, India's performance in the tournament has been exemplary from the word go. Though captain Rohit Sharma is due for runs, SKY has scored 171 runs in the last three outings. Rohit oozed confidence when he spoke to the media early today. "We know the nature of T20 cricket, but beating England in England is a challenge and we overcame that, and that is going to give us confidence," Rohit said at the customary press conference on the eve of their semi-final.
On the other hand, Indians home and away will be even more enthusiastic on Thursday with the news that Pakistan have beaten New Zealand to seal the final berth. So an Indian win on Thursday would mean an India-Pakistan summit clash, delicious fodder for cricket aficionados across the globe.
However, the worst nightmare for the Indians would be a repeat of 30 years ago — when Pakistan played England in a World Cup final that saw Pakistan lift their maiden world title under the leadership of Imran Khan. So as Indians, let's keep our fingers crossed for Thursday to live for another day to be up against the arch-rivals at the MCG on Sunday.
