India’s superabundance of talent was on full show as they thrashed England 68 runs to win their semi-final match here on Thursday, securing their place in the T20 World Cup final.
India reached 171 for seven after being asked to bat first in the rain-affected match. Rohit Sharma, their inspiring captain, led the charge once again, laying the groundwork with an aggressive 57 off 39 balls. Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 36) also provided good assistance for the captain.
As India prepared for a title match against South Africa, who were playing for the first time, on Saturday in Barbados, they knocked out England for 103 in 16.4 overs. India has made three appearances in the event final.
To support India, Hardik Pandya contributed with a 13-ball 23 that included two sixes at a critical point.
Left-arm Axar Patel (3/23) tightened India’s hold on the game with some outstanding bowling on a slow, holding pitch with low bounce, while his slow-bowling teammate Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) did the most damage in the middle overs.
Thus, in the 2022 mega-event semifinal at Adelaide Oval, the Indian team exacted retribution for the humiliating 10-wicket loss it suffered against the reigning champions.
Through this approach, Rohit made history by being the first Indian captain to captain the nation in three ICC world championships within a 12-month period: the T20 World Cup, the 2023 ODI World Cup, and the 2023 World Test Championship.
Given the surface’s characteristics and India’s potent bowling attack, Rohit Sharma’s team was anticipated to defend the total, which they accomplished with relative ease.
Using Axar in the powerplay proved to be a brilliant move on his part as the left-arm spinner hit two rapid blows that England could not recover from.
Kuldeep, a wrist spinner, too performed admirably on a pitch that suited the spinners throughout the season.
The fact that only three England batters reached double figures—Jos Buttler (23 off 15), Harry Brook (25 off 19), and Jofra Archer (21 off 15)—sums up India’s domination in the match. When attempting the reverse sweep against Axar and Kuldeep, respectively, Buttler and Brook both failed.
“We did a great job adapting to the circumstances. We adjusted because it was a challenge. We pretty well handled the conditions,” Rohit remarked following the game.
India, who hasn’t dropped a game in the competition, will be looking for its star batsman, Virat Kohli, to get some runs in the crucial title match. In an attempt to push the pace on Thursday, Kohli (9 off 9) died early once more.
Intermittent rain affected the much anticipated match, delaying play by one hour and fifteen minutes. When India was 65 for two in eight overs, there was another lengthy pause.
The game was given up to 250 extra minutes, but there was no reserve day.
It was soon apparent that the surface was slower than expected and that the low bounce would make it more difficult for the batters to accomplish their objective when Kohli and Rohit stepped out to bat after England put the opponents in.
Rohit was far more suited to the conditions and chose to play the ball late and behind the stumps, whereas Kohli fell early. The second over’s guide over backward point off Archer, in which the ball passed through Phil Salt’s hands and crossed the boundary, is one instance of such.
After India reached 46 for two in the powerplay, Rohit set the standard for other hitters by hitting back-to-back fours in Topley’s third over. He then put pressure on England’s top spinner, Adil Rashid.
The second batsman to be removed was Rishabh Pant (4), who misplayed a flick and was caught at midwicket by Sam Curran.
Next up was the fascinating encounter between Rashid and Rohit, when the Indian captain used both the traditional and reverse sweep to grab two fours from the opening over bowled by the leg-spinner.
When the rain returned to Providence Stadium, Suryakumar and Rohit were batting on 13, and the game was halted for over an hour.
Two balls after Suryakumar got inside the line to pick Jordan over fine leg for a maximum, the weather played spoilsport.
After the forced break, England employed both ends of Rashid and Liam Livingstone’s leg-spin, but they were unable to contain Rohit and Suryakumar.
The first of many boundaries that India scored in the middle overs was duly achieved as Rashid’s full toss was sent over short fine leg for four.
India scored 19 runs off of Curran’s 13th over, thanks to two sixes from Suryakumar and a pick-up shot from Rohit that resulted in a maximum and his second consecutive fifty.
When Rohit attempted a slog and was hit by a googly from Rashid, the thrilling 73-run came to an end.
The next four Indian fours were quiet after Curran’s explosive 13th over, but Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) struck two flat sixes on either side of the pitch to move the batting along.
In the last over, Ravindra Jadeja (17 not out off 9) outscored Shivam Dube by two vital fours off Archer, limiting the latter to one ball.
India passed 170 thanks to Axar’s six off Jordan in the last over. In the final five overs, the team scored 53 runs.
