PROVIDENCE, Guyana, June  27, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - England captain Jos Buttler
won the toss and elected to field in the defending champions' rain-delayed T20
World Cup semi-final against India in Guyana on Thursday.

A pre-match downpour delayed the toss but the gloomy conditions gave way to
blue skies and the match is set to start at 1545 GMT, with no overs lost yet.

Both teams were unchanged from their concluding Super Eights games.

"It looks a decent surface, everyone's talked about some low bounce here
but with the rain around this morning we think bowling first is an advantage,"
Buttler said at the toss.

But India captain Rohit Sharma said: "We would've batted first. The weather
seems clear now. It's a big game and we want to put runs on the board.

"It looks a little dry. I hope as the game goes on it gets slower and
slower."

Wednesday's first semi-final in Trinidad, in which South Africa hammered
Afghanistan by nine wickets, had a reserve day set aside in the event of rain.

But the England v India game, taking place during a traditionally wet
period of the year, has only 250 minutes of extra time set aside to ensure a
result.

A 10 overs-per-side match is required for a result in the knockout stage.

But if the game is washed out, India will play South Africa in Saturday's
final in Barbados as a result of topping their Super Eights group, while
England finished second in their pool.

Teams

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali,
Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil
Rashid, Reece Topley

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wkt), Suryakumar
Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh,
Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Rod Tucker (AUS)

TV umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)