New Delhi, March 5: A flat red-soil pitch at the Wankhede Stadium could level the playing field between India and England rather than hand either side an edge in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final, said former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik.
He added that favourable weather conditions and minimal dew should set up a good contest between the two teams aiming to enter the final, where they will face New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
India carry the edge over England in the shortest format, having won 17 of the 29 T20Is played between the two sides. They also hold a narrow advantage over England in T20 World Cups, with three wins coming from five meetings. The most recent clash saw India hammer England by 150 runs at Wankhede Stadium in February 2025.
“Yes, when it comes to a flat pitch, it evens out the advantage. I was just looking at the weather and what is going to be the highest in the day to the lowest in the day. The median was what I was calculating as I was getting into this call said 32 and 26, which is not bad and which basically means there won’t be too much dew.
“Also, there’s always a nice little breeze that blows because we’re close to the sea. There will be a little bit of dew, but not to the extent that it will disrupt the play completely in favour of one team. So, overall, I feel it’s going to be a good match,” Karthik, an ICC expert, told IANS at a JioStar Media Day ahead of the semi-final clash.
Thursday’s semifinal will mark the third successive T20 World Cup meeting between India and England in this stage of the competition. England prevailed by 10 wickets in the semi-final meeting in Adelaide in 2022, while India struck back with a 68-run victory in the last four clash in Guyana in 2024.
Karthik, a member of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup winning team, also backed left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma and wrist spinner Varun Chakaravarthy to thrive at a venue he believes suits both their games. Abhishek, the current top-ranked T20I batter, has had a tough time – amassing 80 runs in six innings at an average of 13.3.
Chakravarthy, meanwhile, has picked at least one wicket in 20 consecutive T20Is and has already bagged 12 wickets in the ongoing tournament. But his returns, however, dipped in the Super Eights, where he conceded at 10.2 runs per over compared to his economy rate of 5.2 in the group stage. He will be eager to rebound in the semifinal against England, a side he has troubled in the past. His strike rate of 7.7 against them is his best against any opponent in T20Is.
“I feel both of them have personally enjoyed playing in Mumbai for the same reason actually, because I believe Abhishek likes the bounce so that he can go up and over consistently. Whereas Varun, his biggest strength is the fact that he gets that extra bounce and that is available in Mumbai because of the red soil pitch,” added Karthik.
One area of concern heading into the high-stakes clash for Suryakumar Yadav-led India is their catching efficiency standing at 72 percent, the lowest among the teams remaining in the competition. The issue had surfaced even before the World Cup began, errors in catching in the semi-final could prove to be costly.
Karthik acknowledged the problem but urged a measured, root-cause approach to solve the issue over panic-driven solutions. “For a start, making sure the right fielders are in the right places. It’s quite interesting to note that India’s fielding or rather catching efficiency has been very poor. So, (T) Dilip, the fielding coach, would be working overtime to make sure that the fielders are having enough catches.
“But the fact is that it’s very hard to push any team for that matter beyond a certain point in fielding, knowing that there is a match around the corner because it is physically very exhausting. So, you need to understand the player before you see where they have dropped a catch and what you need to do.
“At times, it could just be as simple as the player probably wasn’t concentrating enough in that field. It’s got nothing to do with skill set of taking a catch. So, just addressing the root cause of the issue would be the right way to go about it,” he concluded.
Watch India’s bid to repeat history at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, as India take on England in the second semi-final today, 7:00 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network
–IANS