All-rounder Sam Curran stated that England will enter their T20 World Cup semi-final against India fearlessly and that their first task would be to quiet a boisterous home crowd.
In front of 35,000 fervently partisan supporters in Mumbai on Thursday, England will play the favorites and hosts in an attempt to advance to the final against New Zealand. In the cauldron-like confines of Wankhede Stadium, the noise will occasionally be unbearable.
However, Curran claimed that they won’t be intimidated because he and many of his England teammates, like Will Jacks of the Mumbai Indians, play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“It’s an experience as a young cricketer you dream of — playing India in the semi-final of a World Cup,” AFP quoted left-arm seamer Curran as saying.
A year ago, Curran was in the international wilderness, but his impressive performances in T20 franchise competitions, notably the IPL, catapulted him back into the England side.
“India are a quality side but we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect. The IPL, no question, has helped a lot. Having played in the ground many times, there’s not many unknowns,” he said.
When England defeated Nepal in a thrilling final-ball contest at the Wankhede, they encountered a hostile crowd. Curran bowled the nerve-wracking final “death” over, giving up just five runs when Nepal needed ten to avoid a humiliating loss. He has since contributed with the bat from number six, scoring 149 runs with a top of 43 not out after repeating the same against Italy.
“We’re not fearing anything and I’m sure both teams are really excited by the challenge. If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. That’s our positive way of looking at it,” Curran added that England might assess their performance based on the volume of fans.
England will play India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the third time in a row, and each time the victorious team went on to win the trophy.
In 2022, England defeated Pakistan in the Melbourne final after crushing India by ten wickets in Adelaide. India defeated South Africa in Barbados two years ago after winning in Guyana by an equally commanding 68 runs.
“I guess this is what the last four or five weeks have been building for. And hopefully we can take one more step towards the final,” said Curran.
