Curran hopes England can repeat 'perfect' Adelaide display to silence Wankhede crowd

MUMBAI: All-rounder Sam Curran has expressed hope that England can produce an encore of their "perfect" semi-final performance in Adelaide as they prepare to face India in their third consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday.

The left-arm seamer, who claimed Player-of-the-Tournament honours when England lifted the trophy in Australia in 2022, recalled fondly how Jos Buttler and Alex Hales dismantled the Indian bowling attack to chase down a target of 169 with 24 deliveries to spare. 

That emphatic ten-wicket victory propelled England into the final, which they went on to win.

Ahead of the latest instalment of this burgeoning rivalry – the sides also met in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana – Curran acknowledged the challenge posed by a fervent Indian crowd at the iconic Wankhede Stadium but insisted his side relishes the prospect of silencing them.

"Everyone's saying when are England going to play the perfect game, that's (Adelaide semis) our perfect game," Curran said on Tuesday afternoon before the team's training session. 

"So if we can get anything close to that, that'd be great. You kind of look back on fond memories. Jos was our man that day, Jos and Halesy (Alex Hales) and that's just the perfect game. If you want to defend, take down someone by 10 wickets, we bowled really well, that was a massive Indian crowd as well. So we take a lot of positives. To be honest, I don't care if we play a perfect game or not. I just want to win and get to another World Cup final," he added.

Harry Brook's England have been far from fluent throughout their seven matches in this World Cup campaign. Despite suffering a group-stage defeat to West Indies on this very ground, they have rallied to secure three consecutive victories in the Super Eights phase.

Will Jacks has been England's standout performer, collecting a record four Player-of-the-Match awards, while Brook himself sits among the leading run-scorers, including a match-winning century against Pakistan in the Super Eights.

Curran dismissed concerns over individual form, emphasising that the collective objective of winning the tournament takes precedence.

"Everyone worries about each individual's form so much," Curran said. "The fact is we have been winning. So I don't think the guys are actually too fussed about personal form. World Cup cricket's so different to bilateral cricket. Everyone worries about individuals and all this kind of stuff. It's exciting as a group that we haven't fired.

"Everyone's going to be saying on Thursday night, if someone comes off, it's at the end of the day, if England win, everyone's going to be happy. So maybe we just focus on the whole team, which I think we're doing as players."

Despite Curran's upbeat assessment of the dressing room atmosphere, one significant concern remains the form of captain Jos Buttler. 

The wicketkeeper-batter has managed just 62 runs in seven innings, including a duck in the final Super Eights match against New Zealand.

On Tuesday, Buttler spent nearly two hours working on his batting, beginning with stationary drills facing throwdowns to refine his hand movement, bat swing and head position, before progressing to face both throwdowns and regular bowlers.

Buttler shares a close connection with the Wankhede Stadium, having begun his Indian Premier League career with Mumbai Indians in 2016 and 2017. In 31 T20 innings at the venue, he has amassed 901 runs at an average of 32.46 and a strike rate of 143.82, including a century.

"He obviously wants more runs, but I certainly would rather have Jos Buttler in my team than coming up against him on Thursday night," Curran said. 

"He's done so well for us over many, many years and he's done well at this ground many, many times as well. So, hopefully, Thursday night is his night, but if it's not, there's no question he's one of the best in the world."

The second semi-final will be contested on the central pitch – the same strip where England fell to West Indies and where newcomers Italy registered their maiden World Cup victory against Nepal. 

Notably, the surface has favoured spin thus far, with spinners claiming 14 wickets at an economy rate of 7.19 compared to pace bowlers' eight wickets at 10.35.

While the red-soil pitch is expected to retain its bounce, it is understood that the degree of turn may be less pronounced than in the two previous matches played on it, with the ball likely to skid through more. 

Two days out from the semi-final, the pitch appeared a raw mango green, though it is believed frequent watering and drying over the past fortnight will leave the surface on the drier side.

Curran dismissed suggestions that the toss or dew would prove decisive, suggesting the magnitude of the occasion would overshadow such considerations.

"In a semi-final, there's so much…maybe the pressure will take out the aspect of whether it's dew or not. If there's any dew experts out there come and join our sheds, but I don't think there is. So if we bowl first, hopefully rock and roll 'em, and if we bat first hopefully we get a big score."

Regardless of which XI India fields, the home crowd remains a constant factor, capable of influencing proceedings and overwhelming opponents. Curran, however, insisted England are well accustomed to the fervour generated by a capacity crowd at an Indian venue.

"We're very prepared for what the crowd's going to be like. As a player you get goosebumps, it's so cool to play in such stadiums and noise. If we find ways to keep the crowd nice and quiet, we're probably doing really well in the game situation."

Asked how players can block out the crowd's intensity, Curran reflected on the childhood dreams that fuel such occasions.

"Flying to Mumbai from Sri Lanka, you kind of think about you dreaming of as a kid, what would you love to do? And that's probably take on India in India. It's such an amazing experience. We'll probably start with the national anthems," he said.

"It'll be incredibly loud and you've got to look at that as an exciting opportunity. If the crowd are silent, England are probably going to be doing well. So I guess that's our positive way of looking at it. We played so much cricket in India as players and you just get so used to it and you can block it out and you take it in," he concluded.