That’s it from our coverage of the semi-final between India and England
India are through to their second World Cup final with an unbeaten run for the second time in seven months. This was expected to be a tight contest before it started, it was expected to be tight when India posted 171 batting first, but how wrong were we?
Once Axar Patel scalped out Jos Buttler in the fourth over of the innings, there was no looking back for the men in blue. The Indian spin twins – Patel and Kuldeep Yadav – shared six wickets among themselves, while England gifted two via run outs. Jasprit Bumrah also chipped in with two as the reigning champions were bowled out for just 103 with 20 deliveries to spare.
This victory also marks a sweet revenge for Rohit Sharma and co. The last time these two sides met in a T20 World Cup, India had suffered a 10-wicket loss in the semi-final of the 2022 edition at the Adelaide Oval.
India will now face South Africa in the final on Saturday. For the first time in the history of Men’s T20 World Cups, we will have an unbeaten champion!
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“It is very satisfying to win. We have worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well, the conditions were challenging. That’s been the success story for us so far. If bowlers and batters adapt, things fall in place. At one stage, 140-150 looked par. But when we got runs in the middle, Suryakumar and I were going and thought we can get 20-25 more. I didn’t want to give that away. 175 was a very good score, bowlers were fantastic. Axar, Kuldeep are gun spinners. It is tough to play shots against them in these conditions. They were calm under pressure. We had a chat after the first innings, message was to keep stumps in play. We understand his [Kohli] class. Form is never a problem when you’ve played for 15 years. He is probably saving it for the final.”
— Indian captain Rohit Sharma
“India outplayed us. We let them 20-25 runs too many, it was a challenging surface. They truly deserved the win. Two years on [2022 semi-final in Adelaide], it is different conditions. With the rain around, did not think the conditions would change much and I don’t think it did. I don’t think the toss was necessarily the difference. They have got fantastic spinners, our guys bowled well too. In hindsight, could have bowled Moeen Ali in the innings. We played really good cricket in patches but fell short when it mattered.”
— England captain Jos Buttler
“I’ve bowled in the powerplay in quite a few times. Knew the wicket was assisting and didn’t try too many things. If I bowl quicker, it is easier for batters. So, I tried to bowl a bit slower. Our batters told us the wicket is not easy and some balls are skidding. That partnership [Surya and Rohit] was magnificient. I want to enjoy this Player of the match in the knockouts and not thinking about Barbados [final].”
— Axar Patel after his Player of the Match award
Axar Patel is the Player of the match for his spell in the powerplay.
ENG: 103/10 (16.4 overs): Jofra Archer looks for a scoop off Jasprit Bumrah and is trapped leg before wicket. He asks for a review, but it is umpire’s call on hitting. ENGLAND ARE ALL OUT!
INDIA WIN BY 68 RUNS. INDIA ARE THROUGH TO THE FINAL!
ENG: 100/9 (16 overs): A six and a four from Jofra Archer off Hardik Pandya, but it surely is too late.
England need 72 off 24 deliveries
ENG: 88/9 (15.2 overs): England continue to fall like a pack of cards. Adil Rashid taps one towards mid on and sets off, Suryakumar Yadav comes rushing in picks it up on a bounce and hits the stumps directly with a backhand flick. Everything India touch today is turning to gold.
ENG: 86/8 (15 overs): Liam Livingstone, RUN OUT! That is England’s final hope down the drain. Archer edges one to fine leg and Livingstone is half way down the track. Archer is ball watching and sends Livingstone back. There was no way the he was making it back, even with a not so good throw from Kuldeep Yadav.
England need 86 off 30 deliveries.
ENG: 77/7 (14): Kuldeep Yadav finishes his spell with figures of 3-19 before Ravindra Jadeja bowls another economical over.
England need 95 off 36.
ENG: 72/7 (12.2 overs): Third wicket for Kuldeep Yadav. A bit quicker this from the wrist spinner and Jordan commits the sin of going back and trying to play it across the line. Misses the bat and strikes his pad…given out onfield but he reviews. It seemed to be spinning a bit too much to the naked eye, but it is umpires call on hitting with the ball tracking. India won’t complain.
ENG: 71/6 (12 overs): An excellent over from Ravindra Jadeja, just three off it as Chris Jordan joins Liam Livingstone in the middle.
England need 101 off 48 deliveries.
ENG: 68/6 (10.4 overs): Harry Brook reverse sweeps Kuldeep Yadav for a boundary and tries it again next ball. BIG mistake. Yadav sees him premeditate the shot and adjusts his line, the batter misses and the stumps are down.
India tighten their grip!
ENG: 62/5 (10 overs): Jadeja into the attack for the first time, and he leaks the first boundary since the seventh over. Time for drinks as well and England will have some thinking to do in this break. They have completely lost the plot and now need an innings of a lifetime from either Brook or Livingstone, if they are to keep their dreams of defending the title alive.
ENG need 110 off 60 deliveries.
ENG: 49/5 (8.1 overs): This is happening all too quickly for England. Sam Curran, promoted up the order, gets stuck in his crease and is trapped leg before wicket by Kuldeep Yadav. First wicket for the wrist spinner. India are all over England with half their side back in the hut.
England need someone to counter punch. Harry Brook or Liam Livingstone – who will take on the onus?
ENG: 46/4 (7.1 overs): Fourth wicket for India and it is Axar Patel once again. The man with a golden hand at the Providence Stadium. The ball strikes Mooen Ali’s pad and dribbles towards Rishabh Pant. The batter is unaware of where the ball is and steps out of the crease. Pant breaks the stumps. Patel once again has a wicket with his first delivery.
ENG: 39/3 (6 overs): India are coasting at the end of the powerplay. England started off well, but once Axar Patel was introduced into the attack, the tides turned. The left-arm spinner struck twice for the wickets of Buttler and Bairstow, while Bumrah took out Salt to leave the reigning champions reeling.
ENG: 35/3 (5.1 overs): Axar Patel once again strikes with the first ball of his over. A slider this time to Jonny Bairstow, the ball keeps low and the batter is taken aback. Off stump down. Second wicket for Patel.
ENG: 34/2 (4.4 overs): An off-cutter from Jasprit Bumrah and Philip Salt fails to read it off the hand. He comes down the track and swipes across the line, but the ball arrives hours later. The leg stump is taken out of the picture. India have their second wicket.
ENG: 26/1 (3.1 overs): Axar Patel strikes gold. Jos Buttler tries a reverse sweep, but could only manage a top edge to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. BIG WICKET FOR INDIA. Buttler had just struck Arshdeep for three boundaries in the previous over.
ENG: 13/0 (2 overs): Decent start this from India. A good opening over from Arshdeep – only five off it – before Bumrah follows it up with another tight over. Buttler, however, finds a boundary with an edge off the latter.
Back for the chase. Philip Salt and Jos Buttler for England, while Arshdeep Singh takes the new ball for India. No surprises there.
A start stop innings that, thanks to the persistent rain, but India have managed to put up a highly competitive total in what is a low and slow surface at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The men in blue did not have the best of starts, losing Kohli and Pant in the powerplay but a 73-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav on either side of the rain break kept them on track.
Though Sharma and Yadav fell in quick succession, cameos from Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel ensured India got to an above average total on this surface despite a valiant effort from England.
Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers for England, but do not forget the valuable contributions from Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid post the rain break, which helped keep Sharma and Yadav in check.
IND: 171/7 (20 overs): Axar Patel swings across the line, almost one handed, and finds a much needed six to push India past 170. He is caught in the deep the next delivery to hand Chris Jordan his third wicket but Patel has done his job.
IND: 159/6 (19 overs): Ravindra Jadeja fights back for India. Finds two boundaries – one to point and the other to fine leg – in the penultimate over bowled by Jofra Archer.
The average first innings score on this ground is 167. Can India go past that?
IND: 146/6 (17.5 overs): Hardik Pandya falls just when he had started to get going. Hits Chris Jordan for two consecutive flat sixes – one over midwicket, the other over cover – before being caught at long off, looking for a third. That was hit hard and flat, but went straight to Sam Curran, who did well to hang on.
Shivam Dube, demoted down the order, is OUT for a GOLDEN DUCK. Nicks one to Jos Buttler behind. India in huge trouble.
IND: 126/4 (16 overs): There was pressure building on Suryakumar Yadav after that last over from Livingstone and he succumbs. Tries to take on Jofra Archer, but doesn’t time it. Gets only the elevation and not the distance and is caught at long-on. BIG BLOW FOR INDIA.
Ravindra Jadeja has been sent in ahead of Shivam Dube.
IND: 118/3 (15 overs): Livingstone is hit for a boundary off his first delivery, but bounces back to concede just one more in the over. Excellent from the all-rounder.
IND: 113/3 (13.4 overs): Adil Rashid reaps rewards for his tight bowling. Rohit Sharma looks to go across the line, but the ball stays low and sneaks in below his bat to hit the stumps. Sharma falls for 57. Much needed wicket for England!
Hardik Pandya is promoted up the order ahead of Shivam Dube.
IND: 110/2 (13 overs): India take a liking to Sam Curran. Suryakumar welcomes him with a six over backward point, Rohit Sharma follows suit with a pull over backward square leg to bring up his 50 off 36 deliveries. Surya closes off the over with another boundary as Curran leaks 19.
IND: 91/2 (12 overs): Rohit Sharma thumps Livingstone down the ground for a six, but Adil Rashid bowls yet another economical over. 50 partnership between Rohit and Suryakumar off 37 deliveries. The latter, however, is struggling – often losing his shape looking for big hits – since the restart.
IND: 77/2 (10 overs): A leg before wicket shout against Suryakumar off Adil Rashid, but the impact is clearly outside off. The leg spinner bowls as full toss later and Surya gets the first boundary post the break with a sweep.
IND: 69/2 (9 overs): Rohit and Suryakumar both extremly watchful on resumption. Just four singles off the Livingstone over. Good restart for England.
The players are back in. Can Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav continue their attacking intent? Or has this hour long delay broken their momentum? Liam Livingstone with the ball for England.
Good news. The match will restart at 11:10pm IST. Just 12 minutes away.
The inspection is done and there seems to be one area of concern for the umpires, which they can be seen pointing to in the TV visuals. The wait will continue a bit longer.
Next inspection at 10:45 pm IST. That’s 15 minutes from now. We wait…
The sun is beating down at the Providence Stadium now. Covers coming off as well. We might have a restart soon.
Looks like the rain has subsided. The umpires are out in the middle, so are the groundsmen.
Not so great news. THE RAIN IS BACK. Players are off the field. Covers are back on.
IND: 65/2 (8 overs): India continue to attack regardless of the wickets. Rohit Sharma first reverse sweeps Adil Rashid for a boundary, before pocketing one off the conventional sweep. Suryakumar, meanwhile, brings out his trademark sweep for a six over fine leg against Chirs Jordan.
IND: 46/2 (6 overs): Suryakumar Yadav comes into the middle and asserts his dominance. A boundary down the ground, before edging one behind, which falls just short of Buttler.
IND: 40/2 (5.2 overs): Sam Curran comes into the attack and strikes rightaway. There’s a short midwicket in place and Rishabh Pant finds him to perfection. The batter tries to flick a fullish delivery but fails to get any sort of connection. It might have held on the pitch for a little. India lose their second.
IND: 40/1 (5 overs) Rohit takes a liking to Topley. He moves across the stumps and pulls him along the ground to midwicket for a boundary. Follows it up with a cover drive from the leg stump – the best shot of the match so far.
IND: 29/1 (4 overs): Rohit tries to loft Archer over covers and mistimes it completely. Thankfully for India, the ball has cleared the in-field and lands in no man’s land. Another tight over from Archer, not allowing the men in blue to break free.
Rohit has Rishabh Pant for company.
IND: 19/1 (2.4 overs): Virat Kohli hits the first six of the match – a trademark swipe over deep midwicket. But that’s all we have from the former Indian captain for the day. Kohli stays on the leg side of the ball and tries to replicate the shot once again, but misses. The stumps are shattered. BIG WICKET FOR ENGLAND! Kohli falls for 9.
IND: 11/0 (2 overs): England start off well. Rohit gets a boundary off an edge off Topley’s first over, but the left-arm pacer keeps it tight. Jofra Archer shares the new ball from the other end and contains the run flow for the first five deliveries before offering a bit of width, Rohit cashes in and finds a boundary towards point.
That was much needed for India and Rohit, who was looking a bit itchy.
We are all set! Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for India, while Reece Topley takes the new ball for England.
The teams are out in the middle. It is time for the mandatory national anthems. England first followed by India’s Jana Gana Mana.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
Rohit Sharma: “We would have batted first anyways. The weather looks good, whatever had to happen [rain], it has already happened. We wanted to put runs on the board. The pitch tends to get slower as the game goes on. We don't want to think too far ahead, stay in the moment and let your game do the talking.”
Jos Buttler: “We’ll bowl first. Looks like a good surface, the bounce will be low, with the rain around, we thought it’ll be a bit of an advantage to bowl first. Excited to be in a semi-final, but some of us have been here before.”
Toss: England win the toss and opt to bowl first. Same team from both sides for the semi-final.
Great news. The umpires have given an all clear. Toss in about two or three minutes.
ICYMI, there has been a rule change ahead of the semi-finals. We will now need at least 10 overs in the second innings to get a result even by DLS method. The mark was five overs in the chase during the group stages and Super 8s.
Next inspection will be at 8:45 pm IST. That’s just over 20 mins from now. Keep your fingers crossed.
ICYMI, the winner of this contest will go up against South Africa in the Final. The Proteas had defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets earlier on Thursday. Read here.
Rain has stopped once again, the TV visuals show. Indian players are out in the middle playing some football.
Chuck that previous update. RAIN IS BACK. It is that kind of a day at the Providence Stadium.
PITCH REPORT: “The covers have done their job, pitch looks dry. There are cracks. Spinners will have the ball go low and skid in. Stats suggest that the average score is 167 and there’s an even split on batting first vs chasing. So, the captain’s preference will matter. It’s a low, skiddy pitch which tends to favour the spinners. This is an incredibly fast-drying outfield, drains well, groundstaff do a good job.”
Some good news now. THE COVERS ARE COMING OFF.
Live visuals show the rain has stopped. The wait now is for a playable outfield.
Not the news anyone would want to hear. TOSS HAS BEEN DELAYED!
It was raining in Georgetown, Guyana earlier in the day. However, it has eased up now, if reports are to be believed. The toss is scheduled for 7:30 pm IST. It remains to be seen if we will have a timely start.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup!
The Indian men’s cricket team is in yet another World Cup semi-final. Rohit Sharma and co are up against England this time around.
The reigning champions will be no pushovers. The last time these two sides met in a T20 World Cup match, India were handed a ten wicket defeat two years back in Adelaide.
The men in blue have been unbeaten in the tournament so far and have a distinct advantage heading into the contest in Guyana. If the match is washed out due to rain, India will advance to the final by the virtue of being the better side in the Super 8s.
But we do have 250 minutes of extra time allocated to finish the game to compensate for the lack of a reserve day. We might be in for a long night.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates!
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Jos Buttler (c), Philip Salt, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Tom Hartley
Screenshots courtsey Disney+Hotstar