Providence (Guyana) (AFP) – England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to field in the defending champions’ rain-delayed T20 World Cup semi-final against India in Guyana on Thursday.
A pre-match downpour delayed the toss but the gloomy conditions gave way to blue skies and the match is set to start at 1545 GMT, with no overs lost yet.
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Both teams were unchanged from their concluding Super Eights games. “It looks a decent surface, everyone’s talked about some low bounce here but with the rain around this morning we think bowling first is an advantage,” Buttler said at the toss.
But India captain Rohit Sharma said: “We would’ve batted first. The weather seems clear now. It’s a big game and we want to put runs on the board. It looks a little dry. I hope as the game goes on it gets slower and slower.”
Wednesday’s first semi-final in Trinidad, in which South Africa hammered Afghanistan by nine wickets, had a reserve day set aside in the event of rain. But the England v India game, taking place during a traditionally wet period of the year, has only 250 minutes of extra time set aside to ensure a result. A 10 overs-per-side match is required for a result in the knockout stage.
But if the game is washed out, India will play South Africa in Saturday’s final in Barbados as a result of topping their Super Eights group, while England finished second in their pool.
Teams
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
© 2024 AFP
