Memories of his career-best century against England in Mumbai could spark a revival from out-of-form Abhishek Sharma.
That is the view of Morne Morkel, the India bowling coach, who is backing the opener to emerge from his fallow run to star in Thursday’s semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium.
It is the same venue where he struck his highest T20 international score, a brutal 135 in just 54 balls, in February last year.
That extraordinary effort set India on the way to a 150-run demolition of England.
The environment will be rather different when the two sides are reacquainted in Mumbai in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
A place in Sunday’s final is at stake, while Abhishek has meagre form going into the game.
He did strike a half-century in the Super Eight game against Zimbabwe in Chennai. That aside, though, he has made 25 runs in five innings in a competition he started with three ducks.
Morkel, though, is confident a revival is imminent.
“With his way of playing, Abhishek is one or two shots [away from finding] that rhythm, that can give him that confidence back. And that for me is a pleasing sign,” Morkel said.
“He's not a guy that worries too much about technique. Normally those sort of players take a lot more time to get their confidence.
“It's a fresh page for him tomorrow, and an opportunity to go and do well. He scored a hundred here against England not so long ago.
“For him, it's about just tapping into those little videos and looking at his feel-good moments and building a blueprint and knowing he's starting on zero tomorrow. It's a new opportunity for him and for him to make a play.”
Morkel cited Sanju Samson as an example for Abhishek. The 31-year-old opener has faced plenty of doubts during his career, yet played a defining innings in the must-win meeting with West Indies last time out.
“Sometimes this game can be cruel on you,” Morkel said. “It is a similar situation that Sanju found himself in, and in your career you're going to find moments like this.
“This is good growth for him; it's good learning for him. For a young guy finding his feet in international cricket, this will only help him down the line and for Indian cricket.”
India have lost one game at this competition, when they were soundly beaten by South Africa in the Super Eight. England have won five in a row since they were beaten by the West Indies in Mumbai in their second pool match.
They have achieved that without being at their best. In most games, one or two players have dragged them out of precarious situations to claim wins.
Harry Brook, the England captain, said winning games from difficult situations has given his side confidence.
“[We’re] definitely not unbeatable, but I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow,” Brook said.
“We've won those tight games, which in World Cups prove to be very important as well. And we've got a lot of confidence going into the deeper parts of the game.
“We've won games, which we probably shouldn't have won. And it just feels like we've never really been out of any game so far which is which holds you in good stead in these world competitions.”
Brook also said his side are thrilled to be facing the hosts in such a vital fixture.
“It's a dream come true for most of us to play in a World Cup semi-final against the home nation on a very iconic ground,” Brook said. “We're all really looking forward to it.”
