England have nothing to fear playing India, insists Heather Knight

England’s women will face in-form India in the World T20 semi-final on Friday, following Sunday night’s defeat by hosts and holders West Indies, but captain Heather Knight says her team “can handle the big occasion”.

Both teams had qualified for the latter stages before their final pool match last night but, in front of a capacity crowd in St Lucia, England put in a disappointing performance, with five of their top six failing to reach double figures as they fell to 50 for six.

Brilliant batting from 20-year-old Sophia Dunkley and Anya Shrubsole, however, helped them set West Indies 116 to win. They got home with four wickets to spare, despite three wickets for Shrubsole — two of them in her opening over.

It means England face Group A table-toppers India, while West Indies meet Australia on Thursday. India thrashed Australia by 48 runs on Saturday, with Smriti Mandhana smashing three sixes in her 55-ball 83, but England will have good memories of playing them, having beaten them in last year’s 50-over World Cup Final at Lord’s.

Knight said: “I didn’t really mind who we played, but we’ve got a really good record against India and we know we can handle the big occasion.”

Nevertheless, Knight added that her side must improve on their performance against West Indies if they are to keep up that strong record.

“We lost the game with the bat, a few too many easy dismissals and we just didn’t have enough on the board,” she said. “The character we showed was immense, but there’s a few things we need to sharpen up on.”

The performance of Surrey Stars’ Dunkley in her first international innings was a major positive. The No7 hit three fours and a six in her 30-ball 35 to haul England towards respectability.