Asked to bat on a placid surface at the Wankhede Stadium, Samson picked up from where he had left off at Eden Gardens and led the batting onslaught before the Indian middle order — Ishan Kishan (39 off 18), Shivam Dube (43 off 25), Hardik Pandya (27 off 12) and Tilak Varma (21 off 7) — joined a six-hitting spree to propel India to 253/7.
India will face two-time winners England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Morkel noted that Wankhede is a small ground and believes that the margin of error is very small here.
Among those who offered prayers were Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma. The players took darshan at the shrine as the team geared up for one of its most important matches of the tournament.
India, chasing a second successive appearance in the final, face England on Thursday at the Wankhede, a ground where Abhishek has previously produced one of his most explosive knocks.
One demerit point has been added to Munsey’s disciplinary record, marking his first offence in a 24-month period.
Put in to bat on a two-paced surface, India were rocked early as Shadley van Schalkwyk exploited movement to trigger a collapse that left the hosts reeling at 46/4 inside the powerplay.
Scheduled to begin at 6 pm, the ceremony will turn the Wankhede into a single, immersive performance arena, blending live music, large-scale choreography and cutting-edge visuals, before the spotlight shifts to the cricketing action.
Mumbai will host a historic inclusive cricket event, the Physical Disability T20 Series, from December 16 to 18 at the renowned Wankhede Stadium.
By the time he left, exactly one hour after making a grand entry into the stadium at 5.30 pm, the crowd was satisfied, unlike his 20-odd-minute appearance in Kolkata, which left ardent fans fuming and led to chaotic scenes, including rioting by some angry fans and forced the West Bengal government to initiate a judicial inquiry.
The Wankhede Stadium was thrown open to fans, who filled up the stands within minutes to celebrate the Indian team’s title triumph last Saturday.
