T20 World Cup 2022: Semi-final 2 - Predicted England Playing XI vs India

India and England will clash in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday (November 10). India finished the Super 12 round with a big 71-run win against Zimbabwe to top the Group 2 table with eight points from five games. They also beat Pakistan, the Netherlands, and Bangladesh but were defeated by South Africa.

England registered a narrow but deserving win against Sri Lanka to secure qualification for the semi-final round. They finished the Super 12 stage at the second position in Group 1 with seven points from five matches. They suffered a shock defeat against Ireland by five runs (D/L method) but registered wins against New Zealand and Afghanistan. 

India have won four of their last five T20I matches against England and are favourites to win this fixture as well. England management is sweating over the availability of star middle-order batter Dawid Malan and pacer Mark Wood for this fixture. Phil Salt is expected to replace Malan for the number three position but Wood is likely to recover on time for the mega clash at the Adelaide Oval.

Let’s look at England's probable playing XI against India:

Openers: Jos Buttler (c & wk) and Alex Hales

England have relied heavily on their openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales in this tournament so far as England's middle-order is struggling.

Hales is leading the scoring charts for England with 125 runs in four innings at an average of 31.25 and a strike rate of 131.57 in this tournament. Buttler smashed 28 runs against Sri Lanka in the last game and has scored 119 runs at a strike rate of 132.22 so far.

Middle-Order: Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook

Dawid Malan was the leading run-scorer for England when they faced India in the three-match T20I series at home in August this year. But he is unlikely to recover on time for this fixture and is likely to be replaced by young wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who is yet to make an appearance in this tournament. 

Ben Stokes once again proved his worth by virtue of a crucial unbeaten 42 runs off 36 balls knock and a wicket against Sri Lanka in the last game. Stokes has scored only 58 runs in four innings in this World Cup but has taken five wickets at an impressive economy rate of 5.90 so far.

Harry Brook showed a lot of consistency prior to the World Cup but has failed to make any impact with just 36 runs from four innings in the Super 12 stages. 

All-rounders: Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran

Moeen Ali scored only one run against Sri Lanka and has been very poor in this tournament so far. His best knock came against Ireland where he smashed unbeaten 24 runs off 12 balls but managed to score only 24 runs from the other three innings with no wickets to his name. 

Liam Livingstone started this tournament with 29 runs off 21 balls against Afghanistan in England's opening fixture. He didn't get enough opportunity to bat against Ireland but took three wickets while conceding just 17 runs. Livingstone has scored 54 runs from four innings and taken three wickets in three innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.37 so far.

Sam Curran has been England's best bowler in the last few months and has also contributed with cameos with the bat lately. He took five wickets while conceding just ten runs against Afghanistan in the opening group-stage clash. Curran is leading the wickets chart for England with ten wickets from just four innings at an economy rate of 6.40.

Bowlers: Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid

The return of Mark Wood from injury has lifted England's bowling performance in the last few weeks. England pacers have taken 28 wickets in this tournament and can prove really handy at the Adelaide Oval. Chris Woakes took the big wicket of Kusal Mendis in the last game and has taken four wickets in four innings at an economy rate of 8.71 so far. 

Wood has made a sensational comeback after missing out on four months of international cricket. Wood took three wickets while conceding only 26 runs against Sri Lanka in the last game and has taken nine wickets in four innings at an economy rate of 7.71 in this tournament.

Adil Rashid ranks eighth in the current ICC T20I bowlers chart but has struggled for wickets on the Australian pitches. Rashid scalped the big wicket of Pathum Nissanka in the last game, which was his first and only wicket in four matches played in this tournament. 

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