There will be rematch or replay when England take on India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Thursday’s clash in Guyana is a rematch of a 2022 T20 World Cup quarter-final encounter in Australia, a match England won by 10 wickets in Adelaide against a painfully timid opponent.
India moved to 168-6 after being inserted, with Hardik Pandya’s 33-ball 63 before stepping on his stumps, the only stroke of real verve.
Virat Kohli surpassed 4,000 T20I runs in his career but was largely quiet in 50 innings off 40 deliveries. Captain Rohit Sharma scored less than a run in his 27 off 28.
Any notion that Rohit’s men had a competitive total was soon eroded as Jos Buttler (80no off 49) and Alex Hales (86no off 47) hammered England to 63-0 in the powerplay and to their target of 169 with four full overs to spare. Buttler’s six off Mohammed Shami clinched a dominant victory.
India ‘moved’ by semi-final failure against England
England reached a final they would win (beating Pakistan thanks to a crucial tackle from Ben Stokes) and India had to accept that their wait for a first World Cup title since triumphing in the over-50s version in home. In 2011 it would be expanded.
The defeat to England, and more pertinently its provisional nature, appears to have shocked India, with captain Rohit at the helm.
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India captain Rohit hit eight sixes during his 41-ball 92 against Australia on Monday.
There was no shyness in their last Super 8 match against Australia in this year’s T20 World Cup, with Rohit scoring 92 off 41 balls at the top of the order.
He hit eight sixes and seven fours before he was bowled in the 12th over by Mitchell Starc, the player he had hit for five boundaries in a 29-run third over.
Speaking midway through the contest, after India had scored 205-5, Suryakumar Yadav said: “(Rohit’s innings) was like a dream. He batted beautifully. We talked earlier about what brand we wanted to play and he showed us the way.”
Suryakumar also followed the mantra, hitting 31 off 16 balls.
Rohit’s ‘brutal elegance’ epitomizes a new approach
Sky Sports Cricket Nasser Hussain said: “I think the change in mentality came after the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final. That was noticeable in last year’s 50-over World Cup and it has definitely been noticed in this Cup. of the World, once they moved from New York.
“They couldn’t (be as aggressive as they wanted) in New York because of the bad pitches, but as their batsmen – some of them, not all – got confident, they went back to that mentality and that was completely led by Rohit.
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India highlights beat Australia to book a T20 World Cup semi-final against England
“If you are going to speak as a captain – and he did before the Australia game when he said he was not worried about fifties and hundreds but about balls faced and strike rate – (you have to walk the walk) and his innings was a one of the best white ball innings I have ever seen.
“Absolute brutal elegance at its finest. Taking down Starc, sweeping Pat Cummins, going inside out over extra cover.
“Then after him, there are Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar and Hardik playing in the same attacking manner. The question for them is, can they do it in a knockout match?
“Even if they had lost against Australia, they probably would have gone through, so there was no danger. The key for them is to go and do it in a knockout game.”
Questions on Kohli’s form ahead of semi-final
England will hope to hold on to any sign of Indian scar from that demolition job in Adelaide two years ago, while Kohli’s form could also be a positive for Buttler’s team, with the 35-year-old scoring just 66 runs in six knocks. in this tournament. , with an average of 11 with two ducks.
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Virat Kohli’s duck against Australia was his second in a tournament where he averages just 11
That hasn’t stopped India from winning all six of their matches (their other match against Canada was canceled due to rain), but it is one of the few failures in what has been a very impressive competition for the 2007 champions.
Bowling-wise, left-arm fast Arshdeep Singh has 15 wickets (only Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, with 16, has more), while right-arm pacer Jasprit Bumrah has 11 from 23 overs at a frankly average ridiculous 4.08.
There is probably no better bowler in the game right now.
Hussain, however, was quick to say that England will not fear India, with the 2022 semi-final in mind and a marked improvement in performances as the 2024 edition progresses.
Are England peaking at the right time in their title defence?
After errors on the field, in bowling and possibly in selection in the early games (Reece Topley’s omission in the rain against Scotland and the loss to Australia attracted attention), the defending champions have since dominated partner nations Oman, Namibia and the United States, as well as the host country and two-time winners West Indies. A narrow loss to South Africa is the only recent problem.
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Highlights from England’s emphatic 10-wicket win over USA as they progress to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup
Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer, with nine wickets each, have bowled beautifully and economically, conceding just six runs combined in the 16th and 17th overs against the West Indies, while Buttler, Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone They have shot at points. with the bat.
Buttler did in devastating fashion against the United States on Sunday to secure England’s place in the semi-finals, hitting 83 not out off 38 balls, including five sixes in an over to propel his men to their target of 116 in 19.4 overs. , after Chris Jordan’s hat-trick. and four wickets in five balls had bowled the United States for 115.
Jordan replaced teammate Mark Wood for England in that game and will likely keep his place against India. He may not have Wood’s express speed, but his deadly delivery, his lower-order hitting and his exceptional fielding boost his team in many other ways.
England are two wins away from becoming the first team to successfully defend the men’s T20 World Cup and may be peaking at the right time, even if the fact is that they have only beaten one Test-playing nation (the Indies Westerners) in this tournament and lost to the other two they have faced (Australia, South Africa).
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Chris Jordan took an incredible hat-trick (England’s first in T20 internationals) by taking four wickets in five balls against the USA.
India will be confident in a rematch from 2022, but England will feel they are in good shape to repeat, as long as the rain does not pour down, cause a abandonment and allow Rohit’s men to reach the final by dint of finishing in a higher place in the Super 8.
Hopefully, we will be talking about high quality cricket once all is said and done in Guyana and not the lack of a scheduled reserve day. If this is revenge for India, it has to be done right.
Watch England play India in the T20 World Cup semi-final, in Guyana, from 3pm live air sports cricket, with the first dance at 3:30 p.m.
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