India will be up against England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday, March 5, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Men in Blue had a sensational win against the West Indies by 5 wickets as they chased down 196 with four balls to spare. On the other hand, England comes with a solid momentum from the Super 8.
Ahead of the match, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has dropped his comment on the England player Will Jacks, who plays a similar role for his team, and has compared him with India all-rounder Shivam Dube.
It’s just like having Shivam Dube- Sunil Gavaskar
While speaking on ANI ahead of the DP World Celebrity Golf Event Gavaskar said, “It’s just like having Shivam Dube. What we saw in India’s match against the West Indies, Dube came and hit two boundaries in one over to put the pressure off (from his team).”
“He is on a roll, and sometimes you have a tournament where everything is going right for you. Even with the bat, he is scoring handy runs for his team down the order. To have somebody like him batting at number seven is a real plus for England.”
Can Will Jacks cause trouble for India?
Sunil Gavaskar also named the potential threat to Suryakumar Yadav and his side in the England game, as he snubbed off the likes of Harry Brook, Jofra Archer, Phil Salt, and Adil Rashid, as the 1983 World Cup winner once again picked Will Jacks as the threat for India.
India has four left-handers in the playing XI, in the form of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Shivam Duber. However, the former two bats at the top order. With this situation, Will Jacks can be seen taking the new ball and providing early breakthroughs for the side.
Gavaskar further added, “If there is a turn in the Wankhede pitch, he could be a handful. So, maybe how Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, or Hardik Pandya will handle him is going to be a key feature.”
“Maybe he might not get to bowl too many deliveries to the left-handers in the team, whether it is Abhishek, Tilak, Dube, or someone from down the order. The right-handers have to do more batting against him.”
Will Jacks is a contender for Player of the Tournament
Will Jacks has scored 191 runs in 7 innings with an amazing strike rate of 176.85, picking up 7 wickets with an economy of 9.68. He has won four man-of-the-match awards for England in this tournament, the most by any player, and is one of the contenders for the Player of the Tournament if England goes through to the final and wins it.
In case England bowls second, there is a chance that dew might come into play, as we saw in the last evening game at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, which made the chase easier. Toss will be a crucial factor in the semi-final game, keeping the dew factor in mind, as both teams would want to chase after winning the toss.
Also Read: Will Jacks RULED OUT of the T20 World Cup semi-final against India?
