T20 World Cup 2024: India through to final after thumping England

GUYANA: India qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 after thrashing England by 68 runs in the second semi-final of the tournament on Thursday.

Chasing a target of 172, England’s batting lineup tumbled with skipper Jos Buttler becoming the first batter to depart after scoring 23 off 15 balls at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Phil Salt was the next to return to the pavilion after scoring only five off eight deliveries as England were left on 34 for two in 4.4 overs.

Following the departure of the openers, England continued to lose wickets as India’s bowlers continued to strike at intervals.

Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a duck as Axar Patel bowled him on the first delivery of the sixth over.

All-rounder Moeen Ali also failed to provide any relief to the defending champions and was dismissed after adding eight runs to the total.

Harry Brook tried to take on the chase as wickets continued to fall all around him. He was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav in the 11th over after scoring 25 off 19 deliveries.

Liam Livingstone was involved in a mix-up and was run out at the non-striker’s end, leaving England 86 for six in 14.5 overs, which almost sealed England’s fate in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Jofra Archer played a cameo of 21 and was the last batter to fall as England were bowled out for 103 in 16.4 overs.

The defending champions fell 68 runs short of the target as India advanced to the final to face South Africa on June 29.

For India, Patel and Yadav took three wickets each while Jasprit Bumrah bagged two wickets.

Batting first, skipper Rohit Sharma smashed a fifty as India set a target of 172 for England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Despite the early exit of his opening partner Virat Kohli on 19 and Rishabh Pant’s departure on the total of 40, Sharma continued to hit boundaries as he was joined by Suryakumar Yadav.

The Indian skipper and Yadav powered India to 113 in 13.4 overs before Rohit Sharma was clean bowled by England spinner Adil Rashid.

Sharma scored 57 off 39 deliveries with the help of two sixes and six fours.

Yadav contributed 47 off 36 deliveries to the total before his dismissal in the 16th over.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja then played cameos of 23 and 17* to help India post a total of 171 for seven in their 20 overs.

For England, Chris Jordan registered the figures of 37-3 in three overs while Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Reece Topley and Sam Curran took one wicket each.

At the toss, England skipper Jos Buttler said that surface looked decent as there were talks about low bounce on the pitch.

“With the rain around we hope it’s an advantage to bowl first,” Buttler said as he confirmed that England are unchanged for the penultimate game of the T20 World Cup 2024.

While the toss was delayed due to rain in Guyana, no overs were lost as England and India are set to lock horns to book a place in the final against South Africa.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.

England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Phil Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Reece Topley.