T20 World Cup 2021: 3 key players for England in semi-finals
England, a side that has looked the most balanced in the 2021 T20 World Cup, will go into the semi-finals as one of the hot favorites to lift the trophy. Led by Eoin Morgan, the side has been a ruthless white-ball machine ever since they revamped their side after in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
The current world champions in the 50-overs format have been sensational this tournament and despite missing a number of key players, they are settled, powerful and favorites to go all the way.
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England will take on New Zealand in the semi-final, testing their skill, temperament, and tactics. On paper, both sides look fairly evenly matched, and how the key players perform on the day will determine the course of the match.
Here we take a look at the 3 key players to watch out for England:
1.) Jos Buttler
The wicket-keeper batter has been going great guns in the tournament so far. With a century to his name, Jos Buttler has already scored 240 runs in five innings at an average of 120 and with a strike-rate of 155.
He will be a key wicket for New Zealand and his performance in the powerplay overs could go a long way in determining how the rest of the match pans out. England might miss the services of Jason Roy as the England opener limped out of the last game with a calf injury and hence, Buttler needs to shoulder the responsibility at the top of the order.
Very proud day for me and great character from the boys! I love this team!! ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ https://t.co/jlQlFlZHBH
He is currently the second-highest run-getter of the tournament and if he gets going, he has the mettle to plunder the Kiwi bowling attack and emerge as the tournament's highest run-getter.
The complete list of all T20 World Cup 2021 teams is available here.
2.) Chris Woakes
Chris Woakes playing for England in this World Cup has proved to be a happy accident. Had Jofra Archer been fit, the all-rounder would have been playing at Loughborough and then would have found himself in Australia preparing for the Ashes. He is playing in an international T20 tournament for the first time in five-and-a-half years and has emerged as their spearhead with the ball.
He might have picked just five wickets in the league stage, but his frugal economy rate of 6.96 has allowed Eoin Morgan to control the powerplay overs. He has also been used in the death overs and Woakes has delivered with accurate yorkers and immaculate variations.
He will be the key player in the clash against New Zealand as he has the uncanny ability to prize out an important wicket in the powerplay - a role that Morgan has assigned to the lead seamer.
3.) Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali's presence in the middle order has given England great balance and depth. With the bat, he can tee off against the spinners and this is where he will be used against New Zealand.
New Zealand have Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner as the two spinners working in tandem in the middle overs and Moeen could be the perfect batter to take them down.
He has also proven to be a brilliant asset with the ball. In sluggish conditions, he has conceded runs at an economy rate of 5.50 in the 15 overs he has bowled in the tournament so far.