Until last Sunday, Jos Buttler had had a fairly quiet T20 World Cup. England’s mercurial captain, who takes a few balls to settle in even in the 20-over format, had contributed 108 runs in five outings, his best 42 in the loss to Australia. Acknowledged as his country’s best T20 batter, the 33-year-old needed to find his mojo with the knockouts beckoning.

United States of America provided him the perfect platform to turn his fortunes around. Aaron Jones’ side were bowled out for 115; England’s target was straightforward but just to make qualification to the semifinals secure, they needed to get the job done as quickly as possible. Typically, Buttler started slowly at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, taking 11 balls for his first six runs. Then he cut loose, four straight sixes off left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh the catapult from which he raced to 83 not out off 38 deliveries, six fours and seven sixes.

England romped home by ten wickets, the same margin by which they had upended India in the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Adelaide. More than 19 months later, the teams lock horns again at the last-four stage, on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium. No matter how much they might try, India won’t be able to forget that night in the South Australian capital in a hurry.

India did precious little right in Adelaide. Throughout the competition, they hardly got an opening partnership of note – 27 was the highest between skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in six innings. Rohit and Virat Kohli, his partner this tournament, have hardly fared better; 39 against Bangladesh remains their biggest association to date, also in six innings. Kohli has been in disappointing touch, just 66 runs at a strike-rate of 100. He, more than anyone else, will be aware that he owes his team a few. More than a few, actually.

India were timid with the bat in 2022; the Powerplay yielded only 38 and they were 62 at the halfway mark with both openers back in the hut. Kohli took his time reaching 50, off 39 deliveries, in the 18th over. Well as England bowled, that wasn’t a great advertisement for stroke-making. Had it not been for the late impetus infused by Hardik Pandya’s 63 off 33, India would have struggled to reach even 150 when something in the region of 190 was par, given the short square boundaries at the Oval.

If the batting was sketchy, the bowling was unimaginative. Alex Hales was served a diet of short deliveries that he put away square on both sides with impunity, this after Buttler shed his customary slow start with three fours in the first over, from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. There was no score board pressure, and India’s inability to bowl even a clutch of dot-balls allowed England to do their bidding. The lack of penetration was galling, and by the time Buttler smashed Mohammed Shami over long-on for the winning six, India couldn’t wait for the game to end.

For India, there is belief

Why, then, are Indian fans more optimistic this time? For starters, India’s batting has shed its limpid mien and graduated from a wannabe new-age machine to an attack-minded unit that’s putting its money where its mouth is. Shivam Dube’s presence in the middle order is a welcome addition, allowing India to maximise their resources. Their six-hitting abilities have gone through the roof, Rohit is both an advocate and a practitioner of taking the fight to the opposition, and despite Kohli’s travails, India have covered most bases by fielding all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja towards the backend of their batting order.

Jadeja missed the Adelaide misadventure through injury, as did the battering ram in the Indian attack, Jasprit Bumrah. The absence of the latter set the team back immensely, with Arshdeep Singh still in his early days at the international level. In this World Cup, Bumrah has been the standout bowler, taking wickets at all stages of the innings, keeping a lid on the scoring – he has a ridiculous economy rate of 4.08 from 23 overs – and playing a big part in the others, notably Arshdeep, getting among the wickets. Three bowlers who went the distance in Adelaide, Bhuvneshwar, Shami and R Ashwin, are no longer in the mix. Crucially, Kuldeep Yadav has emerged as a middle-overs destroyer, he and Bumrah allowing the other bowlers the luxury of a bad over or three.

This Indian outfit looks more balanced, potent, formidable, fearsome. Unlike Adelaide, they won’t lose the match; England will have to win it, and that won’t be simple or straightforward.