Sam Curran backs England’s all-round strength for Wankhede semifinal.
Having maintained a near all-win record so far in the tournament, allrounder Sam Curran says England are confident ahead of the semifinal against India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday night.
On Tuesday, Curran talked up his side and said it contained complete players. “We’ve all been chipping in at different times, but know that in T20 cricket it probably takes a couple of our guys to come good with the bat and ball… and we’re a quality fielding side as well. I guess all of us will be hoping the perfect game comes on Thursday,” he said.
Speaking of his role in the team, the quick said: “It’s very flexible. Playing in Sri Lanka, which suited spinners a lot more, I guess I took the backseat with the ball, but Thursday night’s wicket is going to be pretty good and I’ll probably be used a lot more with the ball, so excited for that challenge.”
“We know India are a fantastic batting line-up but we’ll come up with our plans. I think both sides have really good balanced teams so it’s going to be a cracking game and I’m sure everyone who watches it will enjoy the amazing atmosphere,” he added.
Asked to comment on the presence of three non-subcontinental sides — England, New Zealand and South Africa — in the semis, the 27-year-old said: “I think we’ve adapted extremely well to the conditions. All of us play a lot of cricket in India now so we know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect. The IPL has helped a lot as well.”
Reminded that the last time England played India at the Wankhede, opener Abhishek Sharma slammed a whirlwind century (135 in 54 balls — 7x4, 13x6) as the hosts won by 150 runs, Curran quipped: “I hope Abhishek doesn’t have his same knock again.”
Curran did not want to make too much of the pitch though, saying “We’ll just go into the game and adapt to whatever surface is thrown at us. We’ve got a really deep batting line-up, India do as well besides great bowling line-ups so I think it’s just a really good match-up.”
Curran also spoke highly of his teammate Will Jacks. “Will’s been amazing, such a very different role for him than what he’s used to — scoring such vital runs while batting at No. 7 and bowling some very tough overs and taking a lot of wickets. We’ve been joking that he’s the local boy — he plays for Mumbai in the IPL so I guess he’s got a lot of knowledge of this ground. He’s got four Man of the Matches for us in the tournament so he’s been absolutely amazing. Let’s hope on Thursday he can get his fifth Man of the Match award,” he beamed.
He lauded captain Harry Brook’s leadership as well. “I think the responsibility he took against Pakistan to score a 50-ball 100, a knock that almost put us straight into the semifinals shows what a quality player he is and what a great time for him to find some form as well,” he said.
