Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler, the two captains who will lead their teams in a semi-final match at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday, 10 November, do not share many similarities as batters. However, as leaders, their modus operandi could be deemed identical.
Sharma, the Indian captain who led his team to four victories in the Super 12 phase, has revealed he spends considerable time in analysis and discerning data ahead of the matches. It only helps him to be prepared for any given situation.
England, who won three matches in the Super 12 phase, are a data-driven team, with the support staff giving Buttler coded signals at times, helping the skipper in making decisions regarding bowling and fielding changes.
Understandably, when the two sides will clash at Adelaide Oval, both captains will be thoroughly prepared with their gameplans, with statistics and analysis exposing the strengths and weaknesses of all of the 22 players who will take the field on Thursday.
In this article, we will take a look at five player battles the fans need to watch out for, as the outcomes of these battles could have a significant impact on the overall outcome of the game.
1. Rohit Sharma vs Sam Curran
It is a common saying that ‘the captain is as good as his team.’ Indian fans can consider themselves fortunate that the saying is not the other way round, for Rohit Sharma has not nearly been as consistent as his team. In fact, barring the match against the Netherlands, the 35-year-old has not been able to breach the 20-run mark.
The law of averages hints at a ‘Hitman’ masterclass on 10 November, but England will try their best to pick his wicket early.
Sharma usually struggles to get going against left-arm seamers, and to make matters worse for him, England’s best bowler in this competition has been a left-arm seamer – Sam Curran.
The 24-year-old has scalped 10 wickets already in this tournament, and while only one of those wickets came in the powerplay, Jos Buttler could be a bit more reliant on Curran with the new ball against India.
2. Virat Kohli vs Adil Rashid
While the current skipper has not been at his best, the Indian fans have not had a chance to lament Rohit Sharma’s lack of form, courtesy of the former captain’s brilliance. Virat Kohli has had an incredible tournament so far, scoring 246 runs in five matches, which includes three half-centuries.
Beyond any doubt, his wicket is likely to be the most crucial, and England will be preparing a lethal kryptonite in the form of Adil Rashid. The veteran leg-spinner has not had a campaign to remember, having scalped only a solitary wicket so far, but that will be insignificant in the upcoming clash for a specific reason.
Interestingly, Kohli, who has successfully traumatised the most intimidating bowlers across the globe ever since he stepped into the international circuit, has always had a difficult time against Rashid.
The wily old fox from England has not only dismissed Kohli twice in T20Is, but the batter also has a strike rate of only 106.8 against the Three Lions' leggie.
3. Jos Buttler vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Jos Buttler to the Indian bowlers will be what Virat Kohli is to the English bowlers – the batter leading the ‘most wanted wickets’ list. The Three Lions are packed to the brim with renowned T20 batters, but the platform for the likes of Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes is often set by the charismatic opener that Buttler is.
However, fortunately for the Indian team, Rohit Sharma does not need a minute introspection to strategise Buttler’s downfall – a look at the latter’s numbers against Bhuvneshwar Kumar would suffice. The English skipper, who loves to take the attack to the pacers, have always found it challenging to tackle Bhuvneshwar’s seam movement.
The Indian pacer has dismissed Buttler five times in T20I cricket, and has also conceded only 30 runs in the 32 deliveries he has bowled to the 32-year-old. If the numbers stay true to the ‘stats don’t lie’ statement, Buttler could be in for another troublesome day in the office.
4. Alex Hales vs Arshdeep Singh
England have scored 541 runs in this competition, of which 244 have been scored by the opening pair of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales – highlighting the influence of the duo over their team’s success. Whilst Bhuvneshwar will be entrusted with the responsibility of making Buttler’s stay at the crease as short as possible, the onus of dismissing Hales could be on Arshdeep Singh’s shoulders.
There are a couple of reasons behind this deduction. Firstly, Arshdeep was the joint-leading wicket-taker in powerplay during the Super 12 phase.
To add to it, as is the case with Sharma, there is a stark contrast between Hales’ numbers against left-arm seamers as compared to his statistics against right-arm seamers.
His average of 31.4 against the right-arm seamers in T20Is this year takes a dip to 24.5 against the left-armers, while his strike rate goes down from 164.2 to 148.5.
5. Dawid Malan vs Ravichandran Ashwin
Even if Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep execute their plans to perfection, and the Buttler-Hales pair is sent back to the pavilion early on, India will still have to deal with another formidable opponent in Dawid Malan.
The left-handed batter does not particularly fit the ‘English’ template – he likes to take his time to settle down instead of going gung-ho from ball number one, but once he does get his eye in, Malan is an incredibly difficult wicket to get.
Sharma’s antidote for the former world number one T20I batter is likely to be a bowler who is as cunning as Malan is as a batter, if not more – Ravichandran Ashwin. The left-hander has a history of underperforming against off-spinners, while Ashwin has impressive numbers against left-handed batters.
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