England cricket team (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has made a bold prediction ahead of the high-stakes semi-final between the Indian national cricket team and the England cricket team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.In a Pakistani television show, Latif backed England to beat India and advance to the final. The winner of Thursday’s encounter will face the New Zealand national cricket team, who have secured a place in the title race after defeating the South African national cricket team in the other semi-final.
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Historically, India have a slight edge over England in T20 World Cup encounters, holding a 3–2 record. Their first encounter came in the inaugural edition in 2007, when India secured an 18-run victory in a memorable contest. This match is best remembered for Yuvraj Singh smashing six sixes in an over.England responded two years later in the 2009 tournament, overcoming India after the latter lost three runs while chasing 154. India regained the upper hand in the 2012 edition with a dominant 90-run victory. A decade later, England produced a commanding performance to beat India in the 2022 tournament and reach the final. However, India turned things around again in the 2024 T20 World Cup under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.Despite India’s favorable result, Latif believes England have the upper hand this time.“England will win the semi-final,” said Latif.“They are coming from tough conditions and 2-3 batsmen have succeeded. That is what they need and their middle order is strong,” he said.“England knows these conditions very well. Even if only one English player plays, it will be enough for India to lose,” he added.England’s journey to the semi-finals was marked by resilience. They had to bounce back from tough situations in several matches, including close matches against Nepal and Pakistan where they showed composure under pressure. The team also secured a crucial win over New Zealand at the Super 8 stage to remain unbeaten in the competition.Looking ahead to the semi-finals, England captain Harry Brook highlighted the value of winning tight games at a global tournament.“We’ve won close games, which proved very important at the World Cups, and we have a lot of confidence going into the deeper parts of the game,” Brook said.“We’ve won games we probably shouldn’t have won and I feel like we’ve never been out of a game so far, which stands you in good stead in these world competitions.”platoons:India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar Rinku SinghEngland: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Jamie Overton
