England are looking to land knockout blow as Root has eyes on the semi-finals
JOE Root believes England are ready for their high-stakes encounter against Sri Lanka because they have been playing do-or-die cricket since day one of the World Twenty20.
Defeat in their opening fixture against the West Indies put them on the back foot from the off, making every remaining fixture crucial.
There are several permutations still possible in Group One, with England’s semi-final fate dependent on results elsewhere and, perhaps, net run-rate – a factor that does not favour them.
But England’s focus is clear: win in Delhi today and give themselves a chance. There is always pressure to perform. We know it’s a must-win game but it’s been like that since we got here,” Root said.
“For us it’s ultimately about winning our game. That’s all we can worry about because that’s the only way we’re going to be able to qualify. You can only really afford to lose one game and even then you can still crash out of the competition. It’s T20. It’s a complete knockout from here on in if we want to win it.
“The pressure is no more than it has been since that second game. It’s all about getting over the line.”
To achieve that England know they must improve on Wednesday’s display against Afghanistan.
Although a humbling defeat was averted, the Afghan spinners made short work of England’s top six, leaving serious questions over their reading of conditions.
Sri Lanka have a strong spin line-up of their own to unleash at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, led by the venerable left-armer Rangana Herath, and Root knows the trial by turn is one his side must combat better.
“It’s about learning from the mistakes we made last time in case we are on a similar pitch and face a similar attack with a lot of spin,” he assessed.
“Everyone has their own way of playing spin, there’s no right or wrong way, but for me it’s about trying to face as few dot balls as possible and trying to cash in with the boundaries when they are available.
“Every surface is different so it is about giving yourself the best chance on that particular pitch. Sometimes you might need to take a few extra balls to get accustomed to it but ultimately it is about playing the situation in front of you.
“You still want to keep that intent but there’s other ways of scoring quickly. Maybe you score down the ground a bit more, maybe knock it into gaps and look for twos.
“It’s about communicating that with the guy at the other end, watching the game if you’re coming in to bat and doing what you need to do to put a big score on the board or chase one down.”
Alex Hales missed out against Afghanistan with a sore back but returned to training yesterday. He will have a fitness test today and if passes will come in for James Vince.