The much-awaited second semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 will be played between India and England at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Both teams will look to carry forward the momentum as they stand a couple of wins away from winning the prestigious trophy.
All eyes will be on India’s in-form batters, Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli, who have enjoyed sensational form at the tournament and are the highest run-getters in the Indian side.
In fact, Kohli is at the top of the batting charts in the competition, having scored 246 runs in five matches. Suryakumar, on the other hand, is two slots behind at third position with 225 runs at a mind-boggling strike rate of 193.97.
Apart from Kohli and Surya, KL Rahul has also found his lost mojo at the right time. Rahul has smashed back-to-back half-centuries in the previous two matches, and the team will be hoping for a similar show on Thursday.
While the three batters have solved the batting problems, one thing that has puzzled the management is skipper Rohit Sharma’s struggles with the bat. The India captain is yet to fire big, barring his fifty against the Netherlands.
However, former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif is of the opinion that Rohit will get back in the rhythm in the semi-final clash and will be India’s ‘X-Factor’.
“His (Rohit) bat has not been talking much, but I think he is a big-match player. He likes playing against England, and I will not be surprised at all if he scores big in that semi-final. He has that X-Factor, whenever there is pressure, he plays a match-winning knock,” said Kaif in an interaction with Sportskeeda.
Kaif further termed Rohit as a spectacular captain and observed that the battle against the English team would be really crucial.
“I consider Rohit Sharma a very good player, but the time has come where the next two matches are the most important ones. The next match is the biggest one for Rohit Sharma as captain, he has had a great record since taking over as T20 captain. The value he has brought in with his captaincy is immense,” Kaif added.