MUMBAI: Pacers Jofra Archer, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah will be in focus as Team India takes on England in the second semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Pace barrage from both the sides could decide the outcome of the second semifinal, with all three pacers, Archer, Arshdeep and Bumrah in good form.
As per CricViz’s data, England’s Archer (10 wickets in seven matches at an average of 22.50) could be a massive threat to Team India during the powerplay, as he leads the powerplay tally with eight wickets. Also, he could be England’s prime weapon against Sanju Samson, whom he has dismissed three times in five innings with short-pitched deliveries, restricting him to just 25 runs scored at a strike rate of 109.
On the other hand, India relies on two of its most decorated T20I bowlers, Arshdeep Singh (eight wickets in six matches at an average of 21.37) and Jasprit Bumrah (nine wickets in six matches at an average of 14.00). They have the joint-highest wickets for India in tournament history with 35 each. While bowling together, the duo has a winning rate of 87 per cent for India. In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Bumrah has been exceptional in the powerplay with an economy rate of 6.12, the third-best ER among all nations in the T20 WC, next to Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani (5.46) and USA’s Shadley van Schalkwyk (6.12).
Also, Arshdeep is the top death-overs bowler in this tournament, with five wickets in the slog overs, second-most by a bowler after Brad Evans (six wickets) and Pakistan’s Usman Tariq (six wickets).
Team India has a 3-2 lead over England in the T20 World Cup. The first clash between both sides in the inaugural edition was won by 18 runs by India, with Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over being the highlight. In the next clash, Ryan Sidebottom (2/31) and Graeme Swann (2/28) left India three runs short of 154 runs in the 2009 edition. Later in the 2012 edition, half-century Rohit Sharma (55) guided India to 170/4, while Harbhajan Singh’s four-wicket haul reduced England to 80 all out, sealing a 90-run win at Colombo.
10 years at Adelaide, Jos Buttler (80) and Alex Hales (86) led England to the finals, chasing down 169 successfully with all 10 wickets intact within 16 overs. The defeat caused Team India to change up their white-ball gameplay. Two years later, skipper Rohit Sharma (57) avenged the defeat on Caribbean soil, as his fifty and knock from Suryakumar Yadav (47) took India to 171/7, which India managed to defend courtesy a spin masterclass from Axar Patel (3/23), causing the Three Lions to skittle out for 103 in the semifinal at Providence.
The pitch is a batting-friendly one, as the Wankhede pitch averages 174 in the first innings.
