England mission: Gambhir asked for ‘special effort’ as India prepares for Wankhede semi-finals
New Delhi: India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir warned that nothing more than a “special effort” would be enough when the defending champions face England in a blockbuster T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, although he Sanzhou Samson To keep their title defense alive.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Samson’s unbeaten 97 runs off just 50 balls helped India beat West Indies by 5 wickets at a packed Eden Gardens and level 196 in a winner-take-all Super Eights clash. His knock, studded with 12 fours and four sixes, helped India reach 199/5 and reach the semi-finals.
“We all know what a good player Sanju is,” Gambhir said after the game. “It’s all about supporting him when the team needs him the most. Obviously today is a day where he can potentially show his full potential.”Samson played just one group match, scoring 22 goals against Namibia, with India preferring a left-handed start. The recalled Super Eights added a right-handed option at the top and he scored 24 against Zimbabwe – enough for Gambhir to stick with him.“I have always said he is a world-class player. He is a great talent and hopefully he can go on from here and we can see more innings like this,” Gambhir added.
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Who will win the T20 World Cup semi-final: India or England?
But now the focus shifts to Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where a strong England team will await on Thursday. Harry BrookeThe team went undefeated in the Super Eights and peaked at the right time.“Look, they’re a world-class team, they’re a quality team and they’ve got a lot of quality players,” Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.He admitted that the situation in Wankhede after Kolkata had posed new challenges. “We all know it’s a tough game to play at the Wankhede Stadium, but this is another opportunity to do something special for the team and the country.”He stressed that India must be perfect.“Hopefully we can play our best game and that will be very important and we can continue to meet all the conditions. Because we need to work especially hard to beat a quality team like England,” Gambhir further added.
