This will mark the third consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final that India will play against England. In the 2022 edition in Australia, the Three Lions had the last laugh and went on to win the competition. The Rohit Sharma-led side settled the score in 2024, beating them convincingly by 68 runs before lifting the trophy. The Wankhede Stadium on March 5 will witness the third chapter in this storied rivalry and ahead of that, India bowling coach Morne Morkel analysed England.
Calling them a street-smart team, the former pacer noted that the Harry Brook-led side is dangerous in the shortest format of the game, as they like to prefer an attacking brand of cricket, regardless the situation. However, he reminded that India have wicket-taking options as well, which sets up for a terrific semi-final.ย
โPlaying against England, they’re a team that’s street smart. Obviously, there’s a lot of quality in their side, batting quite long, deep, which makes them a very dangerous side. And then with the ball also, they’ve got wicket-taking options,โ Morkel said in the pre-match press conference.
โI think the way they approach a T20 game, fearless, trying to take the game on, will give you opportunities and makes them a dangerous side. So I feel tomorrow is going to be a good shootout between two aggressive teams. And the side that can hold their nerves and play the conditions and read some of the conditions quite well and the quickest, I reckon we’ll come out on top,โ he added.
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Morkel addresses Indiaโs biggest issue before semi-final
Indiaโs fielding standard has dropped drastically in the past few months. In the ongoing tournament, they have dropped 13 catches, the most by any team. Addressing that, Morkel noted that itโs a work in progress, stating that the players have been working hard and stated that they need to take more responsibility.
It’s not like we don’t train it. There’s a lot of focus going into our fielding. That was one of the key points heading into the World Cup. The guys do train and work hard on our fielding. At times, is it a mindset thing? I can’t answer that. Like I said for us, it’s just to keep on doing the hard work, really focusing on specific, getting certain players into the hot spots and the right areas and at times it’s hard to do that because you’re also working against overrate. So that’s the responsibility that the players need to take on the field,โ Morkel said.
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