T20 World Cup 2024, ENG vs IND IND 2nd Semi-Final Match Report, June 27, 2024

India 171 for 7 (Rohit 57, Suryakumar 47, Jordan 3-37) scored In England 103 (Brook 25, Kuldeep 3-19, Axar 3-23) by 68 runs

India’s quest for the world title is well underway. It has been 11 years since they stood on the podium as champions. Now all that separates them from glory is a few hours and a fiery South African team.

Tactical warfare in difficult situations

On a pitch like Guyana’s – where the pace was slow and the bounce low – the runs square and behind the wicket came out on top. This is because if the bowling unit is guided enough to hit a good length and keep the stumps in play, the batter cannot force the pace. England set out to shut down India’s half of the field but it was not always successful: 69 runs, including eight fours and three sixes, still came in the wrong place.

Rohit and danger

During the powerplay, Rohit Sharma was batting at a strike rate of 133 with shots that he did not own at all. For context, his career strike rate in T20Is is 141. This was the difference India was looking for. Don’t just hit and wait for the bad ball. Bat as if everything is a bad ball.

Finally Rohit settled down. From the fourth over, he was in control of 20 balls out of 26 and used that control to great effect, hitting 40 runs including four fours and two sixes. He accepted that danger is a part of T20 cricket and there is no need to argue against it.

Rashid’s life

India’s intent was evident in the form of batsmen walking around the crease. Even a bowler of Adil Rashid’s caliber found it difficult to deal with and that was a victory because these were situations where as a bowler all you had to do was hit the length to target the top of the stumps. England’s Wristspinner was 2-0-17-0. But he recovered. On the other side of the second rain break, which consumed 153 minutes of the match’s total time, Rashid decided not to worry about where Rohit and Suryakumar positioned themselves and instead started to hold the line on the stump off. His reward was the wicket of the Indian captain with 57 runs from 39. Rashid’s last two overs were for just eight runs.

Spin is king

With Rashid bowled in the 14th over, India held back Shivam Dube in the belief that he would take the early lead. So Buttler found a reason to press Liam Livingstone to work, trusting his right arm even in death. The part-time player finished with 4-0-24-0. It was a sign. If he was showing untouchability, so would Axar, Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja. India’s spin-bowling allrounders were instrumental in reaching 171 again, alongside Hardik Pandya, as they hit three sixes and two fours in the last two overs bowled by Jordan and Archer.

Axar box office

Guyana is spin-friendly. The schedule, recently announced, suggested that India will play there in the semi-finals. They packed their team with spinners. Three of them got a place in the XI. Each of them took turns bowling jaffs.

Axar has changed the game. He came in soon after Jos Buttler hit Arshdeep Singh for three fours in the over and with his first ball he posed a huge threat. The England captain went back and swept the left-arm spinner because really in these conditions you couldn’t sit down and play straight shots. Rohit got a boundary when he took that gamble earlier. Buttler only got the toe end from Pant.

Each of Axar’s first three overs had a wicket on the first ball. Jonny Bairstow also chose to sit on the leg side and bowl, while England’s Moeen Ali’s career may have ended as he wasn’t sure where the ball had landed until he realized it was in Pant’s hand when he broke the stumps.

Kuldeep’s redemption

England were 49 for 4 when Kuldeep came into the game, bowling Sam Curran, then Harry Brook. England have been the team that has let him down so hard that they have entered the white ball wilderness after the 2019 ODI World Cup. Here, against the batsmen who followed him, and with an unusual shot to begin with, he did not panic. Kuldeep saw Brook coming down for a backward sweep, so he moved the line to leg stump, leaving him confused, the flat trajectory and quick pace also played a part in the ball avoiding the swing of the bat and crashing into the stumps. behind.

In another sign of their defeat, England’s last known batsman, Liam Livingstone, was out after a run-in with the bottom team. The defending champions gave up their crown, with six of them scoring in single digits and none of them going over 25.