The Indian team is leaving nothing to chance.
On Tuesday evening, they delayed the start of their practice session — the big one, two days before a match — because a lunar eclipse was happening, and it was advised that they not attempt anything productive during inauspicious hours.
There will be those who laugh at the superstitiousness of this, given that India had begun most of their training sessions at 6pm during the T20 World Cup 2026. There will be others who cheer the team on for their attention to even this detail.
Either way, this team will not bat an eyelid, for they have shown that they march to their own band. The Indian team, led by Suryakumar Yadav and coached by Gautam Gambhir, have taken all sorts of difficult-to-explain calls. But, when they take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, the only thing that will matter is how they feel.
In terms of results in the tournament, they are well set. Aside from one loss to South Africa in the Super Eights, they have won all matches, most of them comfortably and in the one instance when they were stretched, by the West Indies, India put on a show worthy of champions.
In terms of practice and preparation, they have been spot on. While cognisant of the need to put in the hard yards, India have acknowledged that the constant grind of practice-play-travel repeat takes a toll. To that end, practice sessions on the eve of a match have been optional, and there have been days on which only two members of the squad turned up at the ground.
On other days, they have gone above and beyond. Ahead of their match against South Africa at Ahmedabad, for example, Sanju Samson batted for two and a half hours in the nets. Not so much because he needed an extended hit, but because Surya wanted his bowlers to stretch themselves against quality right-hand batting, and India’s lineup was full of southpaws.
Sitanshu Kotak, the batting coach revealed that all those in the squad who did not feature heavily in the tournament Mohammad Siraj, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and, latterly, Rinku Singh- have played their roles in preparations, assisting the core playing eleven in whatever way possible.
Every member of the batting unit has been tested in matchplay, and Surya has been smart enough to juggle his bowlers based on match situations. When the captain felt a game was in the bag, he held back some of the frontline bowlers, giving an extra over or two to the allrounders.
If India have one real cause for concern, it has been the catching. This is not new. In the last Asia Cup, India dropped more catches than any other team, although, as eternal optimists point out, they won that tournament anyway. In this World Cup, too, India have fluffed a good number of chances. Usually excellent fielders, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma have put down opportunities that they would take 10 times out of 10 in practice sessions.
Against the West Indies, there were slips, but the team still prevailed. England could be a different proposition. If India were the favourites by a distance when this tournament began, England came in as a strong side on paper. While they may have been shaky to begin with, England quickly re-established themselves and have since grown steadily stronger.
On Thursday, the two teams will be playing on a surface that has been used twice before in the tournament. On February 11, the West Indies made 196 against England, who fell short by 30 runs. A day later, Nepal managed only 123, and Italy romped to a 10-wicket win. This particular pitch has not been used since, and ground staff have had plenty of time and space to work on it.
With India and England both being batting powerhouses, the expectation is for a good batting surface that takes the toss out of the equation. When the tournament began, Mumbai was still making the most of the sea breeze. But, since then, the weather has changed appreciably, and the first signs of summer have set in. It will be warm and humid on the night of the semifinal, and the ticketing company has already announced a sellout.
England and India will feel the heat, literally and figuratively. Playing free and fearless cricket, being uninhibited and expressive are key words that modern coaches love. But staying in the moment and respecting the occasion may be just as critical as two powerhouses slam into each other for the opportunity to reach the final.
On Tuesday evening, they delayed the start of their practice session — the big one, two days before a match — because a lunar eclipse was happening, and it was advised that they not attempt anything productive during inauspicious hours.
There will be those who laugh at the superstitiousness of this, given that India had begun most of their training sessions at 6pm during the T20 World Cup 2026. There will be others who cheer the team on for their attention to even this detail.
Either way, this team will not bat an eyelid, for they have shown that they march to their own band. The Indian team, led by Suryakumar Yadav and coached by Gautam Gambhir, have taken all sorts of difficult-to-explain calls. But, when they take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, the only thing that will matter is how they feel.
In terms of results in the tournament, they are well set. Aside from one loss to South Africa in the Super Eights, they have won all matches, most of them comfortably and in the one instance when they were stretched, by the West Indies, India put on a show worthy of champions.
In terms of practice and preparation, they have been spot on. While cognisant of the need to put in the hard yards, India have acknowledged that the constant grind of practice-play-travel repeat takes a toll. To that end, practice sessions on the eve of a match have been optional, and there have been days on which only two members of the squad turned up at the ground.
On other days, they have gone above and beyond. Ahead of their match against South Africa at Ahmedabad, for example, Sanju Samson batted for two and a half hours in the nets. Not so much because he needed an extended hit, but because Surya wanted his bowlers to stretch themselves against quality right-hand batting, and India’s lineup was full of southpaws.
Sitanshu Kotak, the batting coach revealed that all those in the squad who did not feature heavily in the tournament Mohammad Siraj, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and, latterly, Rinku Singh- have played their roles in preparations, assisting the core playing eleven in whatever way possible.
Every member of the batting unit has been tested in matchplay, and Surya has been smart enough to juggle his bowlers based on match situations. When the captain felt a game was in the bag, he held back some of the frontline bowlers, giving an extra over or two to the allrounders.
If India have one real cause for concern, it has been the catching. This is not new. In the last Asia Cup, India dropped more catches than any other team, although, as eternal optimists point out, they won that tournament anyway. In this World Cup, too, India have fluffed a good number of chances. Usually excellent fielders, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma have put down opportunities that they would take 10 times out of 10 in practice sessions.
Against the West Indies, there were slips, but the team still prevailed. England could be a different proposition. If India were the favourites by a distance when this tournament began, England came in as a strong side on paper. While they may have been shaky to begin with, England quickly re-established themselves and have since grown steadily stronger.
On Thursday, the two teams will be playing on a surface that has been used twice before in the tournament. On February 11, the West Indies made 196 against England, who fell short by 30 runs. A day later, Nepal managed only 123, and Italy romped to a 10-wicket win. This particular pitch has not been used since, and ground staff have had plenty of time and space to work on it.
With India and England both being batting powerhouses, the expectation is for a good batting surface that takes the toss out of the equation. When the tournament began, Mumbai was still making the most of the sea breeze. But, since then, the weather has changed appreciably, and the first signs of summer have set in. It will be warm and humid on the night of the semifinal, and the ticketing company has already announced a sellout.
England and India will feel the heat, literally and figuratively. Playing free and fearless cricket, being uninhibited and expressive are key words that modern coaches love. But staying in the moment and respecting the occasion may be just as critical as two powerhouses slam into each other for the opportunity to reach the final.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com.)
