Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has made a bold prediction ahead of the high-stakes semi-final between the Indian national cricket team and England cricket team at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.Latif spoke on Pakistani television and backed England to beat India and advance to the final. The winner of Thursday’s match will face the New Zealand national cricket team, who booked their place in the title match after beating South Africa in the other semi-final.
Historically, India has had a slight edge over England in T20 World Cup matches, with a head-to-head record of 3-2. Their first encounter took place in the inaugural edition in 2007, when India won by 18 runs in a memorable match. The most memorable thing about that match was the six sixes Yuvraj Singh hit in one over.England responded two years later in the 2009 tournament, beating India by a narrow margin after they fell three runs behind while chasing 154 runs. India regained the upper hand in the 2012 edition with a crushing 90-run victory. Ten years later, England defeated India in the 2022 World Cup with an outstanding performance and advanced to the final. However, India came back to win again in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma.Despite India’s good record, Latif believes England have the advantage this time around.“England will win the semi-final,” Latif said.“They came from a difficult situation and were successful with 2-3 batsmen. That’s what they needed, their middle order was strong,” he said.“England understands these conditions very well. Even if just one England player performs well, it can be enough for India to lose,” he further added.England’s journey to the semi-finals has been one of resilience. They have had to bounce back from challenging situations in several games, including tight matches against Nepal and Pakistan, and they have shown composure under pressure. The team also defeated New Zealand in the Super 8 stage and remained unbeaten.England captain looks ahead to semi-finals Harry Brooke Emphasizing the value of winning close games in global championships.Brooke said: “We won tight games, which proved to be very important at the World Cup, and we are confident going into the deeper stages of the competition.”“We’ve won games we probably shouldn’t have, and it feels like we’ve never really been out of any games so far, which puts you in a good position going into these world games.”
Rahul Gandhi The Center targeted the Iranian warship IRIS Dena after a US submarine sank it on Thursday, warning that the conflict in West Asia posed a serious risk to India’s energy security.Rahul Gandhi posted on X that the world is entering a turbulent phase and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “saying nothing”.Rahul Gandhi wrote: “The world has entered a turbulent phase. Rough seas are coming. India’s oil supplies are threatened and more than 40% of our imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is worse for LPG and LNG.”Rahul also mentioned the sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which recently took part in the Indian Navy’s Milan naval exercise before returning across the Indian Ocean.“The conflict has spread to our backyard with an Iranian warship sinking in the Indian Ocean. But the prime minister said nothing,” he said.Rahul called for stronger leadership in the face of rising geopolitical tensions and said the country needed a firm and stable response.“In times like this, we need a steady hand on the wheel,” he wrote.“Instead, India has a compromised prime minister who has given up our strategic autonomy,” Rahul said.Earlier this week, the U.S. Navy sank the Iranian Mochi-class frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean using a Mark-48 torpedo launched from a submarine, an attack that reportedly killed dozens of sailors.Iran strongly condemned the attack, calling it an “atrocity at sea” and warning the United States it would “deeply regret” the precedent set by attacking the ship. Iranian officials also noted that the frigate recently visited India as part of naval activities related to the Milan exercises.The incident comes amid a rapidly expanding conflict in West Asia, with Iran, Israel and other parts of the region firing missiles, drones and rockets at each other.