Butler, Hales chases down the park with a tempting attack; Kohli, Hardik’s 61-run stand set up a decent total, but the bowlers were shocked
Butler, Hales chase into the park with a tempting attack., Kohli, Hardik’s 61-run stand set up a decent total, but the bowlers were shocked
The sky turned a deep black on Thursday night and the light dimmed over the Main in Blue inside a well-lit Adelaide Oval. England registered a 10-wicket win over India as Rohit Sharma’s men crashed out of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.
The break conditions in the semi-finals were interesting after India posted 168 for six, but once the England openers – captain Jos Buttler (number 80) and Alex Hales (number 86) launched a breathtaking attack, the chase turned out to be a stroll. . park. England scored 170 for no loss in 16 overs and Buttler hoisted Mohammed Shami into the stands.
frenzied chase
In the first over of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Buttler chased after hitting three fours. The momentum was maintained as in the seamer’s second over, Buttler launched a high over cover for six. Hales followed suit and smashed Shami for a six and a four, apart from taking a knee and lifting Axar Patel over square leg. R Ashwin had a similar fate and when Hardik Patel provoked the crowd to raise their decibel level, England were still in the driver’s seat.
Hales’ blitzkrieg continued unabated as he found gaps or sought an air route. The Indians were guilty of pitching it short and when Shami did a throw from deep, it was a day that went downhill for India. And Hales kept swirling the knife as a resigned wind swept through the Indian fans, while the English fans – few in number but strong in spirit – found his voice. England will now take on Pakistan in the final to be held in Melbourne on Sunday.
Earlier, Buttler won the toss, elected to field and saw KL Rahul slash for four off Ben Stokes’ first ball. A set of play-and-miss routines soon followed before the opener fatally tried to ride the extra bounce taken out by Chris Woakes. Next-man Virat Kohli opened his stance a bit to counter left-arm pacer Sam Curran’s angled delivery and the slip fielder got a chance.
Rohit watched from the non-striker’s end as Kohli smashed Woakes for a six and then was joined by two boundaries off skipper Curran. When leg-spinner Adil Rashid emerged, Rohit slogged while Kohli grabbed Liam Livingstone. Chris Jordan also felt the heat of Rohit’s bat but the batsman made another try and took a catch.
With the arrival of Suryakumar Yadav, fans were expecting an electric charge. He lived up to that expectation for some time, hitting Stokes for a six and a four. But against Rashid, the batsman could not get over the fielder over the fence and scored 75 for three in 11.2 overs as India needed stability and runs.
Hardik Pandya, India, bats during the T20 World Cup cricket semi-final between England and India in Adelaide, Australia, Thursday, November 10, 2022. (AP Photo/James Elsby) | photo credit: James Elsby
Kohli and Hardik offered a 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The early steady runs picked up the pace as Kohli cut the wokes, Hardik overtook Livingstone and also tucked in Curran. Hardik found his groove against Curran when the ball went sky high twice. Meanwhile, Kohli scored his 50 and went on, failing to cross the inner-circle.
Hardik (63), however, in addition to working his way up against Jordan in the final over, subduing Curran with a volley of shots, was running side by side and even if he played his Trod on the stumps, India had a challenging total until England stepped up with unbridled kinetic energy.
score board
India innings: KL Rahul c Jos Buttler b Chris Woakes 5 Rohit Sharma c Sam Curran b Chris Jordan 27 Virat Kohli c Adil Rashid b Chris Jordan 50 Suryakumar Yadav c Salt b Adil Rashid 14 Hardik Pandya hit WKT b Chris Jordan 63 Rishabh Pant run out (Jos Buttler) /Chris Jordan) 6 Ravichandran Ashwin not out 0 extra: (W-3) 3
gross: (6 wickets, 20 overs) 168
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-56, 3-75, 4-136, 5-158, 6-168.
England Bowling: Ben Stokes 2-0-18-0, Chris Woakes 3-0-24-1, Sam Curran 4-0-42-0, Adil Rashid 4-0-20-1, Liam Livingstone 3-0-21-0, Chris Jordan 4-0-43-3.
England innings: Jos Buttler not out 80 Alex Hales not out 86 Extra: (W-4) 4
gross: (without loss in 16 overs) 170
India’s Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-0-25-0, Arshdeep Singh 2-0-15-0, Axar Patel 4-0-30-0, Mohammed Shami 3-0-39-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-0-27-0, Hardik Pandya 3-0-34-0.