Revisiting all of India's semifinal matches in Men's T20 World Cup history
India lock horns with England in the second semifinal of 2024 T20 World Cup on Thursday, June 27, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The Rohit Sharma-led side progressed to the knockouts after going undefeated in the group and Super 8 stage.
This will be India's fifth semifinal appearance in tournament history. The Men in Blue reached the knockouts in 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2022 but lifted the silverware only once, in the inaugural edition in 2007.
On that note, let's have a look at the Indian team's previous semifinals in the T20 World Cup.
#1 T20 World Cup 2007 - India vs Australia
Leading up to this game, India and Australia secured two victories in three games of the Super 8 to seal the semifinal. The Indian team were coming off a 37-run victory over South Africa, while the Aussies inflicted a 10-wicket hammering on Sri Lanka.
Batting first, India were off to a disappointing start, as they lost two wickets and managed only 41 runs in eight overs. However, coming at No. 4, Yuvraj Singh provided life to India's innings, as he opted for a counter-attacking approach.
His 119m flick against Brett Lee was a key shot in his 70 off 30. MS Dhoni (36 off 18) provided a strong finish as India posted a daunting total of 188.
In response, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden started well for the Australians. However, Gilchrist completely missed S. Sreesanth's fuller delivery and lost his middle stump.
The rest of the bowlers put up a decent effort, but Sreesanth came back to breach the defence of Matthew Hayden (62), who was taking the game away from India. India eventually restricted Australia to 173 and went on to win the title with a five-run victory against Pakistan.
#2 T20 World Cup 2014 - India vs South Africa
In the 2014 edition, India secured victories in all four games to finish atop their group table. Meanwhile, South Africa won three of four fixtures to end second in their group. Both sides met in the semifinals in Dhaka.
Batting first, the Proteas lost opener Quinton de Kock in the first over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while Hashim Amla was undone by a carrom ball from Ravichandran Ashwin. However, Faf du Plessis (58) and JP Duminy (45) stitched together a 71-run stand, which eventually helped them set a 173-run target.
India were off to a quick 39-run start from Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, before Sharma (24) was caught near the bowling crease. Soon, Rahane (32) holed out at mid-wicket. Yuvraj Singh (20) played as second fiddle to Virat Kohli, who was timing the ball sweetly. After Yuvraj's dismissal, India still needed 40 off 25 balls, but Suresh Raina played a cameo of 21 off 10.
MS Dhoni grabbed the headlines by giving Virat Kohli (72* off 44) a chance to play the winning shot as India sealed the chase with five balls to spare. India, though, lost to Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final.
#3 T20 World Cup 2016 - India vs West Indies
Ahead of the semi-final at the Wankhede, India finished second, while West Indies finished first in their respective groups.
At their home ground, Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) provided a strong start to the Indians. Coming at No. 3, Kohli (89* off 47) was sensational with his boundary-hitting as he boosted India to a staggering total of 192.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra dismissed Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, respectively inside the first three overs. However, the pair of Johnson Charles and Lendl Simmons brought the team back on track with regular boundaries.
Although Kohli sending Charles (52) back in the 13th over put the hosts on the front foot, the pair of Simmons and Andre Russell demolished the Indian bowling with their ball-striking prowess.
Interestingly, Simmons received a triple reprieve, as Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya dismissed him off no-balls, while Ravindra Jadeja took his catch but went over the deep mid-wicket fence.
Simmons (82* off 51) and Russell (43* off 20) remained unbeaten as West Indies chased down their target with two balls to spare.
#4 T20 World Cup 2022 - India vs England
In the T20 World Cup 2022, India finished atop their table with four wins in five games, including a nerve-wracking victory over Pakistan at Melbourne. Meanwhile, England prevailed in three of five games to finish second in their group.
England skipper Jos Buttler invited India to bat first at Adelaide in the semifinal. The Men in Blue couldn't get off to a good start, as they lost Rohit (5) and KL Rahul (22) and reached only 62 at the half-way mark.
Nevertheless, Kohli (50 off 40) steered the team, while Pandya smoked 63 off 33 to power India to 168. However, the England openers, Buttler (80* off 49) and Alex Hales (86* off 47) looked flawless with their stroke-making as they brought up the 100 in just 10.1 overs.
The pair punished the Indian bowling attack and make a mockery of the chase to end the game in 16 overs without getting separated.