While the narrative focused on a meeting of two cricketing giants, the match between India and England in Guyana’s Providence Stadium turned out to be a tremendously partisan contest, where the Indians flexed their muscles of superiority in all facets of the game.
Being asked to bat first, captain Rohit Sharma’s 39-ball 57 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 36-ball 47 helped India accumulate a total of 171/7, which, considering how tricky the wicket was, could be akin to 220 on a decent track.
In response, England were bowled out for merely 103 runs in 16.4 overs, as India secured a 68-run triumph. Spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets apiece.
Here’s what everyone said after the victory:
Adapting to the Conditions Has Been Our Success Story: Rohit Sharma
Despite being faced with challenging batting conditions and rain interruptions when they had momentum on their side, India could breach the 170-run barrier, courtesy of how easily they adapted to the conditions and its requirements.
Highlighting this specific quality of his team, captain Rohit Sharma said:
Very satisfying to win this match. We worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well, the conditions were challenging. This has been the success story for us so far. If bowlers and batters adapt, things fall in place. At one stage, 140-150 looked par. But we got runs in the middle, SKY and I were going well and thought we can get 20-25 more. I can set the target in my mind but I don’t want to let anyone know about it, because we have got instinctive batters. 175 was a very good score, and bowlers were fantastic. Axar and Kuldeep are gun spinners. It is tough to play shots against them in these conditions. They were calm under pressure. We had a chat after the first innings, message was to keep stumps in play. That's what they did.Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma Backs Virat Kohli To Come Good in the Final
Amid all things positive, perhaps the solitary worry for India would be the form – or the abject lack of it – of Virat Kohli. The former captain scored just 9 runs in this fixture, taking his tally to merely 75 runs in seven matches.
Rohit Sharma, however, has no doubts about Kohli’s quality, and expects the former captain to come up trumps in the final.
Virat Kohli is a quality player. Any player can go through that (rough patch). We understand his class and importance. Form is never a problem when you have played for 15 years. He is probably saving for the final. We have been calm as a team. Final is a big occasion but being composed helps make good decisions. We will try our best to win. Our team is in good shape. All I can hope is to put up a good show come the finals.Rohit Sharma
Plan Was to Bowl in the Powerplay: Axar Patel
England had a decent start in the chase, scoring 26 runs in the first three overs. However, the introduction of Axar Patel turned the game on its head, as he dismissed Jos Buttler in his first over and Jonny Bairstow in his second – both in the powerplay.
Revealing his gameplan after the match, Axar said:
I have bowled in the powerplay in the past many times. That was the plan, I had to bowl in the powerplay. I knew the wicket was assisting and didn't try too many things. Wicket was slow, so didn't want to push the pace too much. I tried to bowl slower, it wouldn’t have worked if I bowled quick. Our batters told us wicket wasn't easy to hit on, so 150-160 was a good total. SKY & Rohit’s stand was magnificent. The way they played was exactly what we needed. I’m not thinking about (the final in) Barbados at the moment, I will celebrate this Player of the Match award first.Axar Patel
India Outplayed Us: Jos Buttler
English captain Jos Buttler was graceful in defeat, as he admitted India’s superiority by stating his players were outplayed by the better team. Despite the defeat, Buttler said he is proud of his team for having made it this far in the tournament.
India outplayed us. We let them get 20-25 runs too many on a challenging surface. Credit to India, they totally deserved the win. These conditions were different (as compared to 2022). With the rain, we didn't think the pitch would change much. India bowled better than us. They've got fantastic bowlers. In hindsight, we should've bowled Moeen Ali in the first innings, considering the way the spin was playing. They had an above-par total and it was always a tough chase. I am proud of everyone's effort in the comp. We've had lots of adversities throughout the competition. We stuck well together as a group and played some really good cricket in patches, but came up short when it mattered the most.Jos Buttler
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