India vs. England T20 World Cup Semi-Final: Key Strategic Matchups to Watch in Mumbai

Mumbai. The second semi-final of the T20 World Cup will be played today between India and England. The match will start at 7:15 PM at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

England will need to play a very tough strategic game to defeat India, who were considered the main contenders for the title before the tournament. India is currently displaying a caution and defensive style that was not seen before the tournament began. 

In their last match, India used their bowlers with excellent strategy; they became defensive against Shai Hope and saved their main bowlers for the death overs to avoid big hitters. Here are some strategic clashes we can expect in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup:

• Jofra Archer: Blessing or Curse?

As soon as it was confirmed that India and England would clash in the semi-final, Indian fans immediately recalled the record of Jofra Archer versus Sanju Samson during England's tour of India: 23 balls, 25 runs, and 3 wickets. However, they forgot how mercilessly Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma thrashed Archer: Abhishek scored 61 off 33 balls and Varma scored 36 off 16 balls, and neither got out.

This does not mean India will hide Samson or England will not bowl Archer. Looking at India's style, the possibility of Varma coming higher in the batting order is also low. But there might be some change in how these players perform. 

On his last tour, Archer frequently bowled around the wicket against left-handed batters, which is contrary to his natural style. In 44 out of 49 balls, he tried to keep the batter under pressure from the same angle by placing fielders on the leg-side. But Abhishek and Varma created space and took advantage of his pace, hitting over point, third man, and cover. This time, it can be expected that Archer will bowl over the wicket and adopt a different strategy, either by taking the ball away or by placing deep square third and deep cover-point fielders.

In this World Cup, Samson has shown skill in stepping back against the bowler's pace and scoring runs behind square. He will try to do the same against Archer's short balls, but Archer's tendency to bring the ball in might make it difficult for him.

• Will Jacks to Open Despite Samson's Risks

Looking at the recent performance, it is enough reason for England to hope that Will Jacks will start bowling and contain Abhishek and the number three batsman, Ishan Kishan. Overall, Abhishek's record against Jacks is good, but last year in a match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Wankhede, Jacks conceded only 2 runs off 4 balls against these two and took Kishan's wicket.

If Jacks opens and takes Abhishek's wicket, it would be good for India to send Suryakumar Yadav up. But India does not want to change Suryakumar's batting order. Instead, they are relying on Samson's aggressive style to counter the off-spin. The same can be expected in this match.

• Adil Rashid: India vs. Sri Lanka Form

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid is the main weapon to control the middle overs. His statistics against left-handed batters are better than against right-handed batters in this World Cup. However, the pitches in Sri Lanka were more helpful to him. In India, he has conceded 9 runs per over. But at Wankhede itself, he conceded 16 runs in 4 overs and took 2 wickets against the West Indies. Since Indian batters play fewer sweep shots, Rashid will try to take advantage of that.

• Phil Salt vs. Arshdeep Singh

With Jos Buttler out of form, the clash between Arshdeep Singh and Phil Salt at the opening will be crucial for India. Arshdeep has bowled 44 balls to Salt, conceding 50 runs and dismissing him 4 times. But their last clash in the IPL final saw Salt score 12 runs off 6 balls. Before that, he scored 13 runs off 6 balls in the qualifier as well. Arshdeep's short ball has troubled Salt a lot: he has been dismissed 4 times in 18 balls. However, bowling short balls on a small ground like Wankhede is always risky.

• Axar Patel's Defensive Deployment

If it suits them, India does not want to bowl Varun Chakravarthy in the powerplay. They do not want to see their main spinner concede many runs in the first over. England's in-form number three batter, Harry Brook, has a good record against both Axar Patel and Varun. Varun has dismissed Brook 3 times in 30 balls, but has also conceded 9 runs per over.

England's main job is to force India to use their main bowlers early. West Indies could not score runs quickly even when Varun and Bumrah bowled only 1 over each in the first 10 overs. It is highly likely that India will bowl Axar in the fourth and sixth overs. If Buttler does not get out early, Bumrah can be brought in, but will India spend Bumrah's crucial over early on the out-of-form Buttler? Overall, Buttler has faced 88 balls against Bumrah, scoring only 79 runs, and has been dismissed 4 times.