Mumbai: England are all set to play the semi-final for the sixth time in 10 editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, also their fourth consecutive time, and will face India in the knockout game here at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Both teams have won the title twice, and one of them will move closer to their dream of lifting the coveted cup for a record third time.
The Englishmen first made it to the top four in 2010, the third edition of the tournament, where they beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. Chasing a lowly target of just 129 runs, England chased down the total with four overs to spare, making it a rather one-sided victory.
They then faced Australia in the final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, and went on to beat their arch-rivals by seven wickets, chasing the 148-run target in just 17 overs to lift their maiden T20 World Cup trophy.
England’s second semi-final appearance came in the 2016 edition, hosted by India, where they beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi to confirm themselves a final date against eventual champions West Indies.
They faced New Zealand again in the next semi-final of the 2021 edition, played in the UAE, but lost by five wickets after failing to defend the 167-run target they posted.
England’s next two semi-final appearances came in the 2022 and 2024 editions of the tournament, where they faced India on both occasions.
In 2022, England halted India’s campaign at the penultimate stage before going on to beat Pakistan to lift the trophy. Two years later, the script flipped. Led by Rohit Sharma, India defeated England in the 2024 semi-final and carried that momentum into the final, where they overcame South Africa in Barbados to claim the title.
Notably, in both recent editions, the winner of the India-England semi-final has gone on to become world champion, a statistical trend that adds further weight to Thursday’s contest.
(IANS)
