India face England in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Mumbai as the hosts aim to qualify for their second successive final of the tournament. Cheteshwar Pujara analysed the change in Abhishek Sharma’s stance, Jos Buttler’s match-up with Jasprit Bumrah, and ways India can counter the challenge posed by Harry Brook and Jofra Archer.
Cheteshwar Pujara elaborated on technical changes made by Abhishek Sharma:
“If you look at his stance, his front-foot toe is now facing towards cover, and his shoulders are straight. Earlier, his toe was pointing towards mid-off, and his shoulder was open. With the current stance, his hands are very close to his body, which is also allowing him to maintain good balance with his head. Abhishek is very strong on the off side. If you look at his boundary options, anything in that zone, in the fifth or sixth stump line, closer to the wide line, he is extremely strong and his strike-rate is very good. Now, what is Jofra Archer’s strength? Most of his deliveries, when he releases the ball, go away from the left-hander. That is why Abhishek has been very successful against Jofra Archer in the past. I still believe that even at the Wankhede, he will look to give himself a little bit of room, try to go over point or over cover, and score as many runs as possible on the off side.”
On how Sanju Samson can overcome Jofra Archer:
“Jofra will continue bowling the short stuff. Throughout this World Cup, we have seen that the majority of his wickets against right-handers have come from back-of-a-length deliveries, around eight metres or even shorter than that. He will continue doing that against Sanju Samson as well. Normally, Samson stands on the leg stump. Now, against Jofra, how do you score runs? One option is to create a little more room, try to move outside the leg stump, and as he is about to deliver, shift slightly to create room and play on the off side. Another option for Sanju is to initially focus on rotating the strike and give as many deliveries as possible to Abhishek, because someone like him will look to take on Jofra Archer.”
On how India can counter Harry Brook’s aggressive style:
“If you see, the majority of his runs are on the leg side. However, someone like Harry Brook is also strong on the off side. So, it is not just about the data, you also need to consider the batter’s strengths. Brook predominantly scores on the leg side, but at the same time, he can score on the off side as well. How do you get him out? By keeping as many deliveries as possible on the stumps, because whenever he misses, the ball should hit the stumps. When he creates room on the off side, that is where he is slightly vulnerable. I think Varun will be the most dangerous bowler against Harry Brook because Brook likes to play the sweep and the slog sweep. If he is given any room on the off side, Varun has his googly, which comes back in and hits the stumps. Out of his three dismissals, two have been bowled. So, as a bowler, you should target the middle and off stump, or at most the fourth stump, nothing wider than that.”
On Jos Buttler’s form and his match-up against Jasprit Bumrah:
“You cannot count Buttler out. He is one of the most experienced batters in the England team, and he is not afraid to play his shots once he is set. If you have scored more than 4,000 runs in the T20 format, you know what you are doing. Even if you are going through a rough patch, you know how to come back, how to handle pressure, and in a big game, how to raise your standards. I would like Bumrah to bowl at least one over within the first three overs. Against Buttler, he should try to pitch the ball around that eight-metre length or slightly shorter. We also saw Jos Buttler getting out to Lockie Ferguson in one of the games, caught behind. So, if possible, try to replicate a similar delivery. The advantage for Jasprit Bumrah is that he has a very good yorker as well as a slower ball. If the back-of-a-length delivery is not working, he can always mix it up.”
