A clash of the titans awaits in Mumbai tomorrow as England Men take on hosts India in the second T20 World Cup semi-final.

A capacity crowd, likely to be largely hostile towards the Three Lions, will greet them at the Wankhede Stadium tomorrow, but another, equally partisan sell-out - in the opposite direction - will await India this summer.

The way the draw has fallen means either one of these sides will contest the final, and as such, there is now a 50/50 chance that Trent Bridge will welcome the world champions this year.

This is the third T20 World Cup in a row where this fixture has been one of the semi-finals, with India triumphing by 68 runs last time out in 2024.

However, two years before that, England broke records on their way to a ten-wicket success in Adelaide, and on both of those occasions, the winner went on to lift the trophy.

With all that in mind, where will the latest crunch clash between two of world cricket’s heavyweights be won and lost?

Battle of the powerplays

England and India’s respective top-order batters largely come into this contest in polar opposite form.

Where India have found joy in the explosive exploits of opener Ishan Kishan and number four Suryakumar Yadav, England’s top two of Jos Buttler and Phil Salt have struggled.

While few would bet against Buttler and Salt both being able to turn their form around, the fact remains that they have combined for just 187 runs across England’s seven games so far.

However, for all its strength in depth, the Indian top-order is by no means impenetrable, and in particular, Abhishek Sharma, the world’s best T20 batter, has also endured a tough run.

The key questions from an England point of view, therefore, is two-pronged, and the approach they take may be influenced by whether they bat or bowl first.

Can Buttler and Salt hit some much-needed form, or will the bowling attack, led by Jofra Archer, be able to put India under enough pressure that they crack first?

Trial by spin

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said this week that “England have the best spinners in the World Cup,” and performances so far have done little to dispel that notion.

Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson, veterans of a combined 706 games of T20 cricket, have utilised their experience to full effect, claiming 11 and 10 wickets, respectively, so far.

However, where England have a strong pair working in tandem, India have the standout individual in Varun Chakravarthy, which makes the contest all the more intriguing.

Chakravarthy has claimed 12 scalps at the tournament so far, making him the joint-highest wicket-taker left in the competition alongside South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi.

However, something that will cheer England greatly about Chakravarthy is his recent record where, although the wickets have continued to flow, so too have the runs.

He returned an economy rate of at least 10 per over against both South Africa and West Indies, suggesting that the control the sides’ respective twirlers can exhibit will be just as important as their wicket-taking ability.

Can England simply pull it out of the bag?

To those on the outside of the camp, England’s World Cup campaign has certainly appeared to be a curious one.

Performances have objectively been short of the best this team are capable of, and there have been many hair-raising moments, especially against the associate nations in the early stages.

However, despite that, they have still lost just one of their seven matches so far, an identical record to India, and they have developed a reputation of being able to win when it matters.

Indeed, only South Africa have won more games, and England will be encouraged by a recent uptick in their performances that suggest they are peaking at just the right time.

Naturally, the immediate focus following any possible victory would be on the showpiece against either South Africa or New Zealand on Sunday.

However, what it would also certainly do is set up an electrifying rematch when the sides both land in Nottingham this summer.

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