India will face England in an important semi-final match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5. The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm Indian time. The Men in Blue are coming in with high confidence after their 5-wicket win against West Indies in the virtual quarter-final.
England, on the other hand, have the lead since the Super 8 stages as they will be going into this match on the back of a three-match unbeaten run. This will be the third consecutive encounter between the two teams in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. The head-to-head encounter is tied with one win each from both the sides in the last two matches.
India has not yet won against England
India National Cricket Team won by 68 runs in the semi-finals. England won by 10 wickets in 2022. However, this is the first time that these two teams will face each other in the T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium.
India’s Wankhede record in ODI World Cup
| host | rival | winner | Difference | Field | match date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | new zealand | India | 70 runs | Wankhede Stadium | 15 November 2023 |
| India | Sri Lanka | India | 302 runs | Wankhede Stadium | November 2, 2023 |
| India | Sri Lanka | India | 6 wickets | Wankhede Stadium | 2 April 2011 |
| India | Australia | Australia | 16 runs | Wankhede Stadium | February 27, 1996 |
| India | England | England | 35 runs | Wankhede Stadium | 5 November 1987 |
| India | zimbabwe | India | 8 wickets | Wankhede Stadium | 17 October 1987 |
Before this, these two teams had faced each other only once in the World Cup during the Reliance World Cup semi-finals in 1987. Chasing the target of 255 runs, India lost the match by 35 runs. After almost four decades, both the teams are once again facing each other in the World Cup semi-finals, albeit, in a different format.
India’s World Cup semi-final record still haunts them
Suryakumar Yadav’s team will hope that they will be on top against the Three Lions, as their record on this ground is not good. They have not won a single knockout game in the World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium.
The last time the Men in Blue played the T20 World Cup semi-final was in 2016 against West Indies. Men in Blue lost by 7 wickets despite scoring 196 runs in 20 overs. However, they would like to change their luck and qualify for the final by winning the game.
India’s Wankhede record in T20 World Cup
| host | rival | winner | Difference | Field | match date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | usa | India | 29 runs | Wankhede Stadium | February 7, 2026 |
| India | west indies | west indies | 7 wickets | Wankhede Stadium | March 31, 2016 |
India’s last World Cup match at this venue was in 2023, when they defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final. So far, both India and England have lost one match each in this tournament. Suryakumar Yadav’s team will look to break the Wankhede curse in the World Cup knockout format.
Sanju Samson the key to India’s success
India is performing well since the inclusion of Sanju Samson. The wicketkeeper batsman has found his form at the right time as he played a match-winning inning of 97* off 50 balls against West Indies to help his team chase down the target of 196 runs with four balls to spare.
On the other hand, both England openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have been quiet. The former has been struggling to score runs, and it could be the match against India where Buttler can show his class and lead his team to victory.
The toss will not be a significant factor as there will not be much dew in the latter half of the innings. In a pressure match like the semi-finals, both the captains would like to win the toss and bat first.
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