T20 World Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma assesses Adelaide pitch ahead of semis clash against England
India skipper Rohit Sharma was spotted assessing the pitch and conditions at Adelaide ahead of India's ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final fixture against England.
In a video posted by ICC on their Instagram handle, the Indian skipper was seen practicing some shadow shots on the pitch as he evaluated the playing conditions.
The Adelaide pitch has been flat so far in the tournament and aided run scoring. It does have something for the spinners though. 160 is a par score on this surface.
India outclassed Zimbabwe in their final group stage match to confirm top spot in their group. The Men in Blue topped Group 2 of the Super 12 stage with eight points, while England finished second in Group 1 with seven points.
India had qualified for the semis even before they took to the pitch in their last game courtesy South Africa's shock loss to the Netherlands.
India has hardly put a foot wrong in the showpiece event thus far. Apart from a solitary loss against South Africa, India have dominated with both bat and ball, picking up four wins from five games.
Rohit Sharma and Co. aim to break jinx against England
Ever since the victory at the 2013 Champions Trophy, India have been left frustrated at ICC events despite often reaching the latter stages.
The Men in Blue reached the finals & semis of two T20 World Cups - in 2014 and 2016, respectively but only faced heartbreaks. This time around, Rohit Sharma & Co would be hopeful of breaking the semi-shoodoo against a confident-looking England.
A point of concern, however, remains the form of skipper Rohit Sharma, who hasn't been able to get going in the tournament except for a half-century against
However, India have looked steady in every department, with Surykumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Arshdeep Singh & Hardik Pandya stepping up to the occasion. Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 246 runs, followed by Surya’s 225 runs while Arshdeep has claimed 10 scalps.
On the other hand, the Three Lions also boast of some proven match-winners in the squad. Their bowling looks lethal, with Mark Wood, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, and Rashid delivering the goods. While Curran has scalped 10 wickets in four games, Wood is setting the speedometer on fire, clocking 150kmph on a consistent basis. Although England’s batting is always in the spotlight, it is their bowling that has looked superb this time around.