England all-rounder Moeen Ali said on Tuesday that bowling against “world-class” Rohit Sharma is tough in T20s and he is “hoping” that he gives away his wicket. He applauded the Indian skipper and hoped that England’s experience and the unpredictability of the T20 format would help them do well in the World Cup semi-final against the Indian team on Thursday.

“He’s a world-class player – one of the best players in the world,” Moeen Ali said about Rohit Sharma. “You sometimes just hope they get out in T20s. That’s the thing in cricket, especially T20 cricket: you’re not always guaranteed runs, no matter how good you’re playing. But they’ve got other players as well.”

“They’re just a brilliant side. They’ve got everything covered, so we’re going to have to be at our best to beat them. I’m looking forward to it, actually: it’s a great challenge, similar to the last time we played them in the semi-final in Australia. It’s going to be a challenge, and we’re going to have to plan and play really well,” the all-rounder further added.

However, Team India will arrive in Guyana unbeaten in the group stage as well as the Super-Eights. On the other hand, the defending champions, England, made it through the group stage on the net run rate before finally becoming the first team to qualify from their Super-Eights group as well.

“But [also] the way we took them on, and we were unbelievable with the bat. We set the game up on that wicket with the ball. Even when they got away from us a little bit at the end, it was a bit late. That was a great day, and a great performance,” Moeen Ali concluded.