India bowled out England and handed them a 68-run defeat in the second semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday to set up a final showdown with South Africa on 29 June.
The Men in Blue rode on skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav's knocks to set a 172-run target for the Englishmen. In the second innings, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav's three-wicket hauls propelled the team to a comprehensive victory, bundling out Jos Buttler's side for just 103 runs in 16.4 overs, avenging their 10-wicket loss in the 2022 Adelaide semifinals.
Axar's Mastery
The Englishmen got off to an aggressive start with skipper Jos Buttler hitting boundaries, but Axar Patel quickly dismissed him on his first delivery. Buttler attempted a reverse sweep off a length ball, but it took the top edge and lobbed up, leading to an easy catch for Rishabh Pant.
Jasprit Bumrah then delivered another blow to England in the 5th over, clean bowling Phil Salt with a perfect delivery.
Axar Patel continued his excellent form, returning in the 6th over to bowl Jonny Bairstow out for a duck. In the 7th over, he struck again, stumping Moeen Ali.
Kuldeep Joined The Wicket-Taking Party
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav joined the wicket-taking spree in the 9th over, trapping Sam Curran LBW. The chinaman bowler then cleaned up Harry Brook in the 11th over. Brook had scored 25 runs off 19 balls before departing. Kuldeep claimed his third wicket of the day by dismissing England's Chris Jordan LBW in the 14th over.
The defending champions lost their eighth wicket when Liam Livingstone was run out by a brilliant throw from Kuldeep Yadav. Their ninth wicket fell in the 16th over as Adil Rashid was also run out, with Suryakumar Yadav hitting the bullseye.
Bumrah delivered the final blow by dismissing Archer LBW, wrapping up England's innings for just 103 runs in 16.4 overs.
What Happened in the First Innings?
In the first innings, captain Rohit Sharma slammed his 32nd T20I fifty through a 39-ball 57, while Suryakumar Yadav slammed 47 off 36 balls as the duo helped India post 171/7.
On a tacky pitch with slow pace and low bounce, Rohit adjusted well to mix caution with aggression for smashing six fours and two sixes in his vital knock, while sharing a 73-run partnership with Suryakumar, especially after Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant fell early.
Handy runs from Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel at the fag-end helped India post a competitive total after being asked to bat first. For England, Chris Jordan took 3-37, while the spin duo of Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid had combined figures of 1-49 in eight overs.
Kohli's Yet Another Silent Outing
With England getting a hint of movement due to cloud cover, they managed to nail their lengths well while targeting stumps mostly. Rohit got two streaky boundaries, while Kohli was convincing in his flicked six off Reece Topley.
But in a bid to heave Topley across the line, Kohli didn’t account for the length ball shaping back in and saw his bails being rattled. Despite Rohit not getting the desired timing on his shots, he managed to pull Topley for four and then stayed leg-side to drive the pacer stylishly for another boundary.
But England took out Pant, as he flicked straight to mid-wicket off Sam Curran. Suryakumar opened his account with a straight drive past Curran for four, as India ended Power-play at 46/2. Rohit welcomed Rashid with a reverse-sweep and the conventional sweep fetching him two boundaries, followed by Suryakumar getting down on one knee to heave a slower ball from Jordan over long leg for six.
Cameo by Hardik
Just before the ninth over began, rain began to pour heavily and forced everyone to get off the field for 75 minutes. On resumption, Suryakumar began by sweeping Rashid for four, followed by Rohit launching Livingstone for a massive six over long-on.
Rohit brought up his fifty in 36 balls by sweeping Curran for six, while Suryakumar lofted inside-out and pulled to take two boundaries off him as 19 runs came off the 13th over. Post that, England bounced back as Rashid’s googly kept low and went past Rohit’s heave to castle him for 57. Archer’s return in the 16th over worked well when Suryakumar skied a back-of-the-hand slower ball to long-on.
Pandya cut Archer for four, before hitting back-to-back sixes off Jordan. But the pacer had the last laugh as Pandya smashed his slower delivery to long-off, followed by Shivam Dube nicking behind for a golden duck to make a double strike in the 18th over. Jadeja’s two boundaries off Archer, followed by Patel pulling Jordan for six ensured India crossed the 170-run mark.
With inputs from IANS.
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