Kamal Ghorui
India faced England in the T20 World Cup semi-final at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, with an interesting moment before the toss as Rohit Sharma, India’s T20 World Cup 2024-winning captain, was seen chatting with current skipper Suryakumar Yadav. The conversation caught the attention of fans and cameras just before the crucial match began.At the toss, England captain Harry Brook won and chose to bowl first. India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team would have preferred to bat as well, believing the pitch looked good and conditions were suitable for batting.“We were looking to bat first. Semifinal, big game, and there’s wind around too. Don’t think there will be much dew. Looks a good one (the pitch). The best one. Credit to all the curators and groundsmen. Same team,” Surya said at the toss.Watch Rohit Sharma attending IND vs ENG T20 World Cup semi-final:Brook explained England’s decision and admitted India had more experience at the venue.“We’re going to have a bowl. Looks like a good wicket, hopefully we can get off to a good start with the ball. They’ve obviously got a lot more experience on this ground than us. T20 cricket is such a fickle game, you never know what’s going to happen. Hopefully we can keep them quiet (the crowd). Overton comes in for Rehan.”Looking at their journey to the semi-finals, India had a mixed campaign. They started with a narrow win over USA, followed by victories against other teams in the group stage. However, they suffered a heavy loss to South Africa in the Super-8 round before bouncing back with important wins against Zimbabwe and West Indies to secure a place in the last four.England’s path was also uneven at first. They scraped past Nepal, lost to West Indies, and struggled in wins over Scotland and Italy. But their form improved in the Super-8 stage with strong victories against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand, which helped them become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.At Wankhede, England had played two earlier matches with a 1–1 record, while India had won their only game at the venue against USA by 29 runs. Historically, the two sides are evenly matched at this ground, with England winning in 2012 and India returning the favour in 2025.
