NEW DELHI: Unity, belief and calmness in pressure moments have fuelled England’s run to the T20 World Cup semifinals, captain Harry Brook said on Wednesday, insisting the two time champions do not require a “perfect game” to lift the trophy.

In a fascinating repeat, England will meet fellow two time winners India national cricket team in the second semifinal, marking the third straight T20 World Cup where the two sides collide at this stage.

Neither England nor India have produced a flawless outing so far. While England boast an impressive win percentage, India were labelled overwhelming favourites at the start of the competition.

Brook maintained that perfection is not essential as long as the core values of the team remain intact.

"No, I don't believe that we need a perfect game to win the competition to be honest," Brook replied when asked if England would need that ‘perfect game’ to beat title-favourites India in their backyard.

"The games that we have won have been nowhere near perfect and we've still managed to get the wins convincingly in some of them and then tight (in) the other games," Brook said before England's training session.

"But it's just the unity that we've had to be able to get across the line, the belief that everybody's shown throughout the games and the calmness that we've had when the bowlers have stood at the top of the mark," he added.

Dream Stage but Eyes on Complete Performance

Brook described the prospect of facing the co hosts in a semifinal as a special occasion for the squad.

"It's up there for sure. It's a dream come true for most of us to play in a World Cup semifinal against the home nation on a very iconic ground, so we're all really looking forward to it," Brook said.

Still, the England skipper admitted he is waiting for that one complete display from his side.

"We're obviously going into the game very confident, we're playing some good cricket, we haven't quite played that perfect performance (yet) and I feel like it's just around the corner," he said.

"Hopefully, it's tomorrow (Thursday) night and we go out there and we just play with freedom, play brave and look to take it to them as much as we can," he added.

Backing Buttler and Answering Spin Questions

Brook brushed aside concerns over former captain Jos Buttler, who has endured a lean run with the bat, scoring 62 runs in seven matches at 8.85.

"You don't have to talk to him too much; leaving him alone is probably the best thing to do. He's been a powerhouse of cricketer for many years, as we've all seen. I've been asked this question thousands of times now. I just think there should be no reason to question why he's on the team,” Brook said.

Addressing the narrative around England’s struggles against spin, Brook pointed to their success in varied conditions across venues such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Pallekele and Colombo.

"We've gone to Sri Lanka and we've won six games in a row against a subcontinent side who are very good in their own backyard," he remarked.

“We've got a lot of confidence playing on turning pitches. (Varun) Chakravarthy is one of the best bowlers in the world and I'll try my best to face him and score as many runs as I can against him.

"We've got some very good spinners as well. Our spinners have bowled extremely well throughout this competition and they've (India) got to try and tackle that challenge as well," Brook said.

The England captain added that his side has never truly felt outplayed in the tournament and believes one standout display can tilt any contest.

"We don't feel like we're ever out of a game so far. All it takes is one of the top seven to get a decent score, or one of our five or six bowlers to have an amazing day out there and all of a sudden, you're walking away with a victory," he said.

"That's what we've done so well so far. Everybody's kind of chipped in… that game against New Zealand. Everybody had a part to play, whether that's bat, ball or in the field."

Brook added, "It's definitely, so far, been mainly team performances. But I feel like there's a big individual performance to come."

(With PTI Inputs)