T20 World Cup 2024, IND vs ENG: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav star as India beat England in semi-final. India to face South Africa in finals on June 29.
Brief Scores: India 171/7 (Rohit Sharma 57, Suryakumar Yadav 47, Chris Jordan 2/37) beat England 103 (Jos Buttler 25, Axar Patel 3/23, Kuldeep Yadav 3/19) by 68 runs.
Player of the Match: Axar Patel 3/23
In what was a repeat of the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, the defending champions England took on India at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. It is to be noted that England had beaten India comprehensively by 10 wickets in that game at Adelaide.
India exacted revenge on England as they bested them by a resounding margin of 68 runs. On the back of an innings-defining partnership by skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, India posted 171 before their bowlers came to the party.
Rohit Sharma shoulders responsibility on the big occasion
After electing to field, England found success immediately as Reece Topley removed India’s star batter Virat Kohli for 9 runs. While Rohit Sharma continued his good form from the Super Eight game against Australia, India lost Rishabh Pant inside the powerplay overs. The ‘Men in Blue’ managed to post 46 in that phase and the Rohit-Suryakumar Yadav pair took the innings forward.
Despite turn and slowness of the track coupled with rain breaks, the duo added 73 runs for the third wicket. India skipper scored his second successive half-century while SKY missed out by three runs. A cluster of wickets fell, but handy contributions from Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel down the order took India to a competitive 171/7.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2024: Carefree Rohit Sharma gives perfect demonstration of modern day T20 batting
India spinners power them to a World Cup final berth
Chasing a formidable target on a slow track, England found themselves in trouble after a breezy start by Jos Buttler. They had scored 26 in the first three overs, but the introduction of Axar Patel spelled trouble for England.
The left-arm spinner accounted for Buttler in his first ball before snapping Johnny Bairstow and Moeen Ali in his subsequent overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with a wicket each as England were tottering at 62/5 at the halfway mark. India made further inroads into the England batting order who ultimately found the target too steep.
Statistical Highlights from India vs England, Semi-final 2
Virat Kohli’s score of nine is his lowest in a T20 World Cup semifinal. His previous scores read 72*, 89* and 50 in different editions.
He has scored 75 runs in the tournament with an average of 10.71, making it the third lowest batting average for an opener in a single T20 World Cup.
Both Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan have taken 31 wickets in T20 World Cups, the most by any bowler for England in the tournament’s history.
What's Next
With this win, India are through to their third T20 World Cup final. They take on a strong and undefeated South Africa side on June 29 at Barbados.