Adelaide: Only two steps away from the ultimate glory, India face a formidable England at Adelaide Oval in the T20 World Cup semifinal on Thursday.
While India have had better performances in the group stage compared to England, a high stakes, 'winner takes it all' contest like this always starts on an even keel.
England's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes has already admitted that they have not play their best cricket and the Indian team needs to ensure that a Jos Buttler and Stokes himself don't choose the semifinal to bring their A game to the fore.
Rohit (89 runs in 5 games) would like to forget the physical pain of being hit in the forearm as he wouldn't shy away from playing one pull shot too many if a fit Mark Wood or his likely replacement Chris Jordan digs it short.
The India skipper needs an innings of substance in the competition and there couldn't be a bigger match than a semifinal to shut his detractors.
Virat Kohli would have a battle at hand against his old nemesis Adil Rashid, while Suryakumar Yadav's skills against Sam Curran's cutters will be an enticing match-up.
Stokes' all round abilities will find its match in Hardik Pandya, who has done his bit with the bat and ball in various games.
The intrigue of sub-plots embedded in the main narrative makes up for a heady build up as world No.1 India meets its ideal match in second-ranked England.
The fans across the globe want an India versus Pakistan final at the MCG on Sunday but skeptics would immediately point at history where both India and Pakistan lost their respective ODI semi-finals in the 1987 World Cup.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Hooda, Harshal Patel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal
England: Jos Buttler (C, wk), Ben Stokes, Alex Hales, Harry Brook, Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey.
When: November 10 (Thursday)
Where to Watch: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Timing: 1:30 pm IST onwards
