Summary of this article
Sam Curran hopes for a perfect game against in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup
He admits that playing in the IPL has helped foreigners to perform well in the subcontinent conditions
He also hinted that England would plan well against Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a blistering 135 when both teams last played at Wankhede Stadium
Sam Curran believes that there won't be any novelty factor when both India and England lock swords in the third consecutive T20 World Cup tournament. Both teams won't have any secrets to throw at each other here on Thursday, said the all-rounder two days before the high-stakes clash.
India and England have won one semi-final each against each other in the last two World Cups and have gone on to win the title on both occasions. While England demolished India by 10 wickets in 2022, the Men In Blue made an inspiring comeback in the subsequent tournament in 2024, winning the semi-finals by a staggering number of runs.
"It's just nice having played at the ground many times, so there's not many unknowns for us," Curran told reporters here ahead of England's training session on Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium.
"We've got two days training now, so we'll get used to the surroundings, the change room, and (the) dimensions of the ground...things like that. You play (at) these stadiums so much, you get used to different conditions.
"The crowd, the opposition, we play a lot with the Indian guys, so there's going to be no secrets in terms of what each team will probably throw at each other," he added.
Speaking on England's journey, Curran admitted that their journey to the semi-finals hasn't been smooth sailing, but once you are in the knockouts it's what you do on the day that matters, and he's hopeful that they'll have a perfect game against India.
"It doesn't really matter now; it comes down to the World Cup semifinal. If there's ever a time we want to play our perfect game, it's probably Thursday night," Curran said.
"We've all been chipping in at different times but we know in T20 cricket it probably just takes a couple of our guys to come good with the bat and good with the ball."
Sam Curran also expressed his excitement of playing at the Wankhede Stadium and said that it could be a high-scoring game as it's a good pitch with small boundary dimensions.
"It's a fantastic stadium, obviously very iconic. I'm sure it's going to be very quiet on Thursday night," Curran said with a smile.
"As a young cricketer, you dream of playing India in a semifinal of the World Cup. It's normally a pretty good wicket, small ground, so I'm probably expecting a really high-scoring game," he added.
Sam Curran also emphasized the role of the IPL in helping foreigners acclimate to the conditions better, and has taken the fear factor of the playing conditions and Indian players out of their minds.
Also, the fact that England have played in different conditions both in India and Sri Lanka shows that they have adapted well to the conditions.
Despite the defending champions' confident campaign so far, Curran said his side won't be intimidated "India are a quality side, but we've played a lot of cricket here. Most of our (players in the) team have played in the IPL and against India. We're not fearing anything and I'm sure both teams are really excited by the challenge of Thursday night and hopefully, the perfect game for us happens," Curran said.
"This tournament for us has been a little bit of a challenge in terms of (how) we've come across so many different conditions, playing in Sri Lanka and obviously a couple games here and in Kolkata," he continued said.
"We've adapted extremely well. You'd probably say that the non-subcontinental teams have adapted really well to I guess the conditions thrown at them."
"All of us play a lot of cricket in India now, so we know how to play on these grounds and we know what to expect and the IPL, no question, has helped a lot of that with the players.
"South Africa, New Zealand (are) fantastic teams and we're a really good team as well. And of course, India. I think probably the four best teams are in the semifinals and we'll see who takes that trophy," Curran added.
Will Abhishek Regain His Lost Touch At Wankhede?
It was at this venue that Abhishek smashed his highest T20I score against England. He smashed a blistering 135 runs off just 54 balls and blazed 13 sixes and seven fours during his innings. Sam Curran told the reporters that they have their place to stop the World No.1 batter from unleashing himself on the English bowlers.
"I do hope Abhishek doesn't have (a) same knock again. We're very well-planned for the game and we (keep the) focus on Thursday night," Curran concluded.
From PTI Inputs
