The challenge could be even bigger for Jos Buttler’s side, with express pacer Mark Wood joining the struggle at the Adelaide Oval as number three batsman David Malan fears an injury.
Barring a convincing win over fellow semi-finalists New Zealand, England’s journey into the last four has been a rocky one, with a shock defeat for Ireland, a washout against Australia and ineffective victories over Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Only opener Alex Hales has been ranked in the top 10 of the runs list among players competing exclusively in the Super 12.
However, the bowling of Sam Curran and Wood, backed by Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, has propelled England forward.
He might have a hand against India’s heavy hitters, however, with a rejuvenated Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav in unlucky form.
With England’s bowlers and India’s batsmen performing exceptionally well in the final overs, the first meeting of the teams in the knockout rounds of the tournament is likely to be a crucial, if not decisive, fight to the death.
It will be England’s first match of the tournament at the Adelaide Oval but India have already played on the field, running for victory over Bangladesh.
Kohli will be jumping out of his skin to take the strike in Adelaide, where he has scored five centuries and three fifties in 14 innings across all formats.
England have bitter memories of their last World Cup match on the field, where Bangladesh dropped them from the 50-over tournament in 2015.
This proved to be a turning point, after which England reached the semi-finals or better at every World Cup.
“Some moments or memories are not always good, unfortunately,” Butler, who played in the 2015 loss with several current teammates, said on Wednesday.
“Right now going into the semi-finals and going into tournaments where we should do well is a great place as a team.”
While England sweat the fitness of key players, India’s only selection dilemma is whether to bring back Dinesh Karthik as wicketkeeper or Rishabh Pant as a left-arm batting option to counter England’s spinners. To be kept
India failed to reach the knockout rounds at last year’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, but made it to the last four Down Under with only one blip against South Africa.
Captain Rohit Sharma said, ‘We can be proud of ourselves from where we have come.
“A bad game can’t really define who you are.”
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