India vs England T20 World Cup Semi-Final Report Card: India suffered a 10-wicket thrashing by England in in the second T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday. Alex Hales and captain Jos Buttler shone in an unbroken opening partnership as a ruthless England humiliated India by 10 wickets at Adelaide Oval on Thursday to storm into the Twenty20 World Cup final. Hales finished on 86 not out, and Buttler, who was unbeaten on 80, completed the statement win in style, blasting paceman Mohammed Shami over his head for six.
Batting first Virat Kohli (50) and Hardik Pandya (63) hit half-centuries as India recovered from a wobbly start to post 168/5 against England in the second T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Put in to bat, India had a slow start and lost opener KL Rahul early but Kohli held the innings together to slam his fourth fifty of the tournament.
But it was Pandya’s late blitz that propelled India from 100/3 as he blazed his way to a 29-ball fifty with two boundaries and one six in a row off Sam Curran.
Here’s a quick form-check of Team India after the game:
KL Rahul ( 5 runs from 5 balls )
KL Rahul’s patchy form in the ongoing T20 World Cup continued at the Adelaide Oval in the semi-final against England. The right-hander departed early in the second over of the match when he chased a wide delivery by Chris Woakes and ended up giving a simple catch to wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. His short stay at the crease lasted just five balls in which he hit one boundary in the first over bowled by Ben Stokes. With this knock, Rahul’s failure against bigger teams will once again become the talking point as Woakes exposed his shortcomings with extra bounce.
Rohit Sharma ( 27 runs from 28 balls )
Skipper Rohit Sharma looked completely out of touch during a painstaking inning. In a semifinal, consuming 42 dot balls (effectively 7 maiden overs) doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Rohit’s timing was off as he was often a little late on the ball and the runs were not flowing like he would have liked. In a knockout semifinal, Rohit Sharma wasn’t at his fluid best. An attempted slog sweep off Chris Woakes had hit the toe end of the bat. His misery was finally put to an end by Chris Jordan.
Virat Kohli ( 50 runs from 40 balls)
Kohli’s incredible streak at Adelaide Oval finally came to a close when he was dismissed for the first time at the ground. Kohli brought up his fourth half-century of the tournament but the star batter was not at his flamboyant best but the six-over extra cover off Woakes was a sight to behold.
scored 50 off 40 deliveries and his innings consisted of four boundaries and one six.
Suryakumar Yadav ( 14 off 10 balls )
Suryakumar Yadav had a bad day at the office when he was sent back early by Adil Rashid. However, did smash a six and a four during his short tenure in the middle.
Hardik Pandya ( 63 from 33 balls )
Hardik Pandya played the role of a finisher with perfection during a rollicking inning that lifted India to a par score. In the last four overs, India scored 58 runs, courtesy of four fours and five astonishing sixes from Pandya with a drop-dead gorgeous flick behind the square off Chris Jordan (3/43) being the stand-out one. With the ball in hand, Pandya was a tad bit expensive, conceding 34 runs in three overs.
Rishabh Pant ( 6 runs from 4 balls )
Rishabh Pant, who was preferred over Dinesh Karthik, did not last long either as he was run out. However, Pant sacrificed his wicket to save Hardik Pandya in the last over of India’s innings.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin failed to make an impact on the Adelaide pitch which was expected to assist spinners. England skipper Buttler and Alex Hales targetted him from the moment he was introduced into the attack. In two overs, he conceded 27 runs.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel bowled three overs for 28 runs but did not take any wickets. Together the Indian spinners five overs and conceded 55 runs. Compared to this, the England spinners bowled seven overs between them and gave away 41 and also picked up a wicket. In his four overs, Patel gave away 30 runs without picking up a wicket.
England openers took on Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the powerplay. Jos Buttler hit three boundaries in the opening over against Bhuvneshwar Kumar which set the tone for the run-chase.
Not only did Shami have an ordinary outing with the ball but he was equally poor in the field. This was after Hales had helped along a Hardik Pandya ball on the pads towards fine leg. Guarding that part of the ground was Mohammad Shami, still fresh after having bowled just one over. He ambled to the ball and for no rhyme or reason opted for a relay throw. Shami could have easily thrown the ball to the keeper but he lobbed to a team mate who wasn’t ready for this out-of-box uncalled-for line of thinking.
Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh was probably the best of the lot. The left-armer bowled two overs upfront and gave away just 15 runs.
