Ever since England humbled India at home last year,
there has existed some needle between the two. The administrators have
crossed swords over DRS and IPL windows, Twitter has been a battleground
for fans, even former players have had uncharitable things to say in
commentary boxes ... but the real deal between India and England will be
on later, played out during the Indian winter.
Still, it would have helped if their Twenty20 on Sunday were more than a
glorified warm-up match. Both the sides have made it to the next round,
and this game is of no consequence to anybody's fortune in this
tournament. India will be the more thankful side for it. Of all the
strong teams so far, India are the only one who kept their lesser
opponents interested. Their bowling and fielding are in shambles, and
this match gives them three extra hours to try to figure out a
combination or a method that inspires more trust.
If India are built on strong and long (at least on paper) batting and an
army of part-timers, England have invested in specialists: five (at
least, so far) solid bowlers and just enough batsmen. It will be a
slightly different test for England's bowlers when they come up against a
much stronger India batting line-up. It will be an interesting clash of
T20 philosophies but without the tension that a meaningful match in a
world event should bring.
Form guide
England WWLWW (completed matches, most recent first)
India WLWLW
India WLWLW
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