Jos Buttler has warned his England team to expect a different India tomorrow to the one they blew away in the semi-final of the last T20 World Cup.
Having come within 45 minutes of being washed out of the tournament during the group stage, the defending champions have roared back to form.
At the same stage two years ago, England produced one of their greatest-ever T20 performances to hammer Rohit Sharma’s side by 10 wickets in Adelaide. That defeat, however, prompted a major rethink of India’s passive approach to the format, and Buttler has no doubt that the tournament favourites will pose a more daunting challenge in Guyana.
“We’re playing against very different India side here,” the England captain said. “The way Rohit leads his team and the way he bats, they play with a hell of a lot of freedom and try to be very aggressive.
“That was probably a shift for them after that [2022] tournament and they played like that in the 50-over World Cup as well. They’re very confident in that style of play and we’ll have to be ready for that. We know they’ll be aggressive and we’ll be the same.”
The build-up to tomorrow afternoon’s game has been something of a logistical nightmare. India always knew they would play their semi-final in Guyana if reaching the last-four.
England, by contrast, were left in limbo until the full last-four line-up was confirmed, and the scarcity of both flights to and accommodation in Georgetown mean almost no English fans or media have been able to make the trip.
Added to the uncertainty is a poor weather forecast and the bizarre fact that while the other semi-final, between Afghanistan and South Africa overnight tonight, has a reserve day in case of rain, England’s does not. A washout would see India advance by virtue of finishing top of their Super Eight group.
“You can only control what you can control,” Buttler said. “We’ll just have to wait and see and be ready for whatever situations arise. Generally, when people talk about the weather, you end up getting the full game in.”
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