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T20 World Cup: Brook confident imperfect England can go all the way

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Clock Icon16 hoursCricket

Having said earlier in the T20 World Cup that England were still waiting for a "perfect" performance, Harry Brook now believes they do not need to be at 100% to lift the trophy.

England will face tournament co-hosts India in a huge semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday, aiming to reach a third final in the last five editions. New Zealand await the winner in the showpiece after they hammered South Africa by nine wickets.

And despite India having started the tournament as clear favourites, England enter that matchup as the team in form.

England have won 13 of their last 14 completed T20Is, including each of their last five, with their only defeat in this stretch coming against West Indies in the first group stage.

Brook's side underwhelmed at times during the group stage but then won all three of their matches in the Super 8s, battling through difficult periods against each of Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.

The England skipper knows England have not always played their best cricket, but he has now come around to the idea that winning a knockout tournament may not require that.

"I don't believe we need a perfect game to win the competition," Brook said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

"We've won those tight games, which in World Cups prove to be very important, and we've got a lot of confidence going into the deeper parts of the game.

"We've got a lot of competitive lads. Everybody wants to win, which is a given, really, but even off the field, when we're playing golf, or cards or whatever, everybody is always really competitive. 

"They always have that slight edge, and they take it out into their cricket as well."

India limped through the Super 8s after a crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa, beating Zimbabwe and West Indies in their final two matches.

And Brook believes there is greater pressure on the co-hosts, which could benefit England.

"I said the other day there's a lot of pressure on both sides, potentially more on them, with the crowd and the disappointment they had against South Africa as well," Brook said.

"But we're just going to go out there, stick to what we know and assess conditions as quickly as possible and give it real good fight."

Thursday's match will be the sixth T20 World Cup meeting between the sides, with India winning three of the previous five and the other two going England's way.