Jos Buttler claims England eager to play spoilsport to avoid India vs Pakistan WC final

After dumping Australia out of the T20 World Cup, England is set to face Team India in the second semi-final match of the tournament at Adelaide Oval on November 10th. As New Zealand takes on Pakistan in the first semi-final on November 9, cricket fans are hoping for India vs Pakistan showdown in Melbourne. However, England skipper Jos Buttler is determined to spoil the party by leading his team to the final.  

T20 World Cup 2022: Jos Buttler sheds thoughts on possibility of 'India vs Pakistan' final

Jos Buttler-led England finished second in Group 1 behind Kane Williamson's New Zealand after winning their final match against Sri Lanka. Ahead of the India vs England semi-final encounter, Jos Buttler was asked about his team looking to spoil Team India's World Cup party. The England cricket team captain, during the pre-match press conference, said, “Well, we certainly don't want to see an India-Pakistan final, so we'll be trying all we can do to make sure that doesn't happen."

Buttler also spoke about the team being pumped up to face one of the favourites for trophy in the penultimate clash of the tournament. He added, "We're all really excited about the match. In my opinion, one of the best stadiums in the world against a brilliant Indian team, which I'm sure will be well supported tomorrow. It's going to be a great occasion, and these are the times that you want to be involved as a player,".

England looking to silence Kohli, Suryakumar's heroics

Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have been in tremendous form for Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup. While Kohli leads the run-getters list, Suryakumar finds himself in the No. 3 spot on the list. Both the batsmen will look to carry on the form in the all-important semi-final clash as England bowlers look to stop the dynamic duo. England Test captain Ben Stokes lavished praise on Virat Kohli while showing confidence in England bowlers stopping Suryakumar from scoring runs. 

Speaking to reporters in an interaction organised by the England & Wales Cricket Board, Ben Stokes said, "Suryakumar obviously came in and set the world alight. He is a fantastic player and plays some shots where you sort of just scratching the head sometimes.He is in great form, but hopefully, we can try and shut him down and not allow him to get on one of his rampages."

Showering praise on Virat Kohli, the Durham all-rounder said that a player of his calibre cannot be written off despite going through poor form. He added, "I think with Virat he could have four unbelievable years like he had, and then have a not so loud couple of months and then for some reason plays like that and gets written off, we have got no idea why. I think he has earned the right to never be written off."