India faces England for a place in cricket's Twenty20 World Cup final against South Africa

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — India’s dogged effort to end an 11-year World Cup title drought will face a watershed moment Thursday when Rohit Sharma’s lineup faces defending champion England in a Twenty20 World Cup semifinal.

The pursuit of a title has become urgent for India and its massive legion of cricket fans since its six-wicket loss to Australia in last year’s 50-overs World Cup final. India hosted that tournament, and it generated a strong sense of anticipation.

India now has the opportunity to atone. The in-form India lineup faces an England team that had to depend on other results to sneak into the second stage and also stumbled in the Super Eights, losing to South Africa.

The India-England semifinal winner will face South Africa in Saturday's final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. South Africa beat Afghanistan by nine wickets in Wednesday's first semifinal.

The India players may be strongly preoccupied by their memory of their last meeting with England at this stage of a T20 World Cup. India lost by 10 wickets to England in Adelaide, Australia in a semifinal in 2022 which might mark the lowest point of their World Cup chase. That loss still rankles.

Current England captain Jos Buttler was a key figure in that defeat, making an unbeaten 80 as England chased down India’s 168-6 without the loss of a wicket. Now England must find a new way to beat an India team which seems in unstoppable form.

Rohit has been superb throughout the tournament in the United States and Caribbean, making 92 in India’s latest win over Australia. Jasprit Bumrah has been effective both on pitches in New York and the Caribbean, taking 11 wickets.

India fans are likely to heavily outnumber England fans among the crowd at Providence Stadium, as they often do around the world. That will provide the India team with just a taste of the expectation that follows them in every match, and more now as India fans hunger for World Cup success.

“Wherever we play, whether it’s bilateral series or ICC tournaments, the Indian cricket team is always under pressure,” Rohit said. “That’s the fact. Most of the guys are used to it, so it’s important to have a little bit of calmness in the dressing room.”

Rohit said it was unlikely India would depart from the game plan that it had employed so successfully throughout the tournament, most recently in that 24-run win over Australia on Monday.

“We don’t want to do anything different,” he said. “We want to play the same way, understand what the individuals need to do in a given situation and play freely.

“So far we’ve been doing that consistently and in the semifinals we have to try and do the same thing. It’ll be nice (to play England). Nothing changes for us. We want to focus on what we can do as a team and take the game on.”

England also is likely to emphasize aggression in its approach and especially as a means to thwart Bumrah.

“They definitely come out a lot harder in the powerplay with the bat,” England head coach Matthew Mott said. “The way Rohit has led from the front is quite obvious for everyone to see. But that also presents a unique opportunity for our bowling attack to take early wickets.

“We’ve had to play most of this tournament from behind and with adversity. We’d love to throw that first punch, get in front and really hammer that home.”

The one thing neither team can control is the weather and rain is forecast Thursday which might have a major effect on the game and its outcome. Extra time has been allocated to try to achieve a result but in the case of a washout and with no reserve day, India will go through as the higher-placed team after the Super Eight.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

South Africa's captain Aiden Markram bats during the men's T20 World Cup semifinal cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tabago, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's captain Jos Buttler reacts after scoring fifty runs during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between the United States and England at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

India's captain Rohit Sharma, left, and Virat Kohli celebrate scoring runs during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

India's captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot for six runs against Australia during an ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

England's captain Jos Buttler bats during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between the United States and England at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

India's captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot for six runs against Australia during an ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. Many analysts believe it will be one of the country’s most consequential elections since the end of World War II.

Ahead of the July 4 vote, The Associated Press takes a look back at other landmark U.K. elections since the war.

In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home.

That has echoes of the current Conservative government, which has been in power for 14 years and is now on its fifth prime minister of the period, Rishi Sunak.

Douglas-Home had only become prime minister the year before, when his predecessor Harold Macmillan stepped down following a huge reversal in fortune. The buoyant economy had faltered, and Macmillan had been snubbed by French President Charles de Gaulle in his application for Britain to join the recently formed European Economic Community.

A sex scandal rocked his government and the British establishment, adding to the general feeling that the Conservatives had lost touch. Macmillan, known as “Supermac,” stepped down soon after his minister for war, John Profumo, resigned for lying to Parliament over his affair with model and showgirl Christine Keeler.

So the 1964 election was a race between the aristocratic Douglas-Home and Labour leader Harold Wilson, who was buzzing with ideas such as harnessing the “white heat of technology” to modernize the ailing British economy.

Wilson also had the common touch, particularly important in the new world of television and with Britain showing signs of a cultural renaissance in the “Swinging Sixties.” Wilson was more than able to hold his own with The Beatles, as evidenced in March 1964 when he presented the Fab Four an award.

When the election came about on Oct. 15, 1964, Labour was widely expected to return to power for the first time since 1951. “13 Wasted Years" was its message. But the party didn't do as well as many had expected, and Labour only won a majority of four in the House of Commons.

Wilson, who at 48 became the youngest British prime minister in 70 years, would need a bigger majority to get major legislation through — and he got it 18 months later when he called a snap election.

Wilson lost the election in 1970 to Ted Heath's Conservatives, but would go on to serve a second term as prime minister from 1974 to 1976, becoming the longest-serving Labour premier in the 20th century. By that second period in office, Wilson was clearly exhausted and lacking the dynamism of his early years.

Britain was widely considered to be the “sick man of Europe” and it was fertile ground for radical change. Step forward, Margaret Thatcher.

FILE - Christine Keeler, photographed in London in 1963. Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4, 2024, is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister. A sex scandal rocked the Conservative government and the British establishment, adding to the general feeling that the party had lost touch. Minister for war, John Profumo, resigned for lying to Parliament over his affair with model and show girl Christine Keeler. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - John Profumo, who resigned as Minister of War in the British Cabinet over his affair with model Christine Keeler, leaves his car on returning to his London home, June 18, 1963. Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4, 2024, is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister. A sex scandal rocked the Conservative government and the British establishment, adding to the general feeling that the party had lost touch. Minister for war, John Profumo, resigned for lying to Parliament over his affair with model and show girl Christine Keeler. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Britain's Labour Party leader Harold Wilson with the Beatles, from left Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney, during the Variety Club of Great Britain's Show Business Personality award for 1963 presentation ceremony in London, England, March 19, 1964. Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4, 2024 is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister. The election was a race between the aristocratic Douglas-Home and Labour leader Harold Wilson, a young politician who was buzzing with ideas such as the need to harness the “white heat of technology” to modernize the ailing British economy. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Britain's Labour Party leader Harold Wilson waves as he and his wife arrive at Euston Station, London, from his constituency in Liverpool, Oct. 16, 1964. Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4, 2024 is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister. The election was a race between the aristocratic Douglas-Home and Labour leader Harold Wilson, a young politician who was buzzing with ideas such as the need to harness the “white heat of technology” to modernize the ailing British economy. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Britain's Labour Party leader Harold Wilson raises his hands after retaining his seat in the House of Commons and winning the general election, outside the ballot counting rooms rooms at the Huyton Secondary School in Huyton, Lancashire, England, Oct. 15, 1964. Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4, 2024 is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. In 1964, the Conservative Party had been in power for 13 years and was on its fourth prime minister. The election was a race between the aristocratic Douglas-Home and Labour leader Harold Wilson, a young politician who was buzzing with ideas such as the need to harness the “white heat of technology” to modernize the ailing British economy. (AP Photo/File)