By Sourit Sanyal
England have defeated India by a record margin of 10 wickets in the second semi-finals at Adelaide, confirming their tickets to Melbourne for the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup on Sunday. The victory also means that England will be meeting Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in a thrilling fixture that is reminiscent of the 1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup.
It was a display of fine economic bowling and exceptional fielding by the English that had their Indian counterparts struggling since the first ball of the match. Jos Buttler won the crucial toss at the Adelaide Oval and opted to bowl first. India's performance was despite history and statistics being on its side.
In the last 11 years, the team that has won the toss at Adelaide has never been able to win a T20 match. But this did not stop Buttler and company from presenting a dominating performance that saw them silence the Indian fans in the stands of Adelaide Oval with their record-margin victory.
England's Economic Bowling And Tight Fielding
Ben Stokes bowled the first ball to KL Rahul, who dispatched the ball for a boundary in what seemed to be an ideal start for India. But despite conceding a boundary in the very first ball, Stokes kept his ground and finished the first over at 6/0.
The English bowlers continued their tight control of the field against India. KL Rahul's inning was brought to an early end by Chris Woakes. India finished the powerplay at 38/1. Rohit Sharma soon joined Rahul back in the pavilion after Chris Jordan took the wicket.
Along with the early wickets, England established tighter control of the field, restricting the Indian batters to struggle for runs. Virat Kohli was slowly settling to build a competitive total but England struck again, this time with the wicket of the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav.
Kohli later got the company of Hardik Pandya, but India was able to cross the 100-run mark only after 14 overs. With six overs left, it was a daunting task on the shoulders of Kohli and Pandya to help India finish the 20 overs on a high note.
Also Read: How Pakistan Beat New Zealand To Qualify For The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Finals
Heroics Of Virat Kohli And Hardik Pandya
The duo stepped up with a vital 61-run stand with Kohli first completing his half-century. But his inning was soon ended at 50 by Chris Jordan.
Pandya continued with his knock for India and completed his 50. He was at 63 when his inning came to an end due to a hit wicket while facing the in-form Chris Jordan. But the Kohli-Pandya stand of 61-runs was able to fire team India to finish the first 20 overs of the semi-finals at 168/6.
The Jos Buttler-Alex Hales Show
The second inning was about to become one of the best run-chases in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup. From the Barmy army to all the English supporters in the stand, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales put out an unforgettable show.
The duo started the run-chase in the best way possible, maintaining an average of 10 runs. In contrast to India's powerplay score of 38/1, the Hales-Buttler duo finished England's powerplay at 63/0, displaying signs of concern for the Indian bowlers.
By the end of 10 overs, England were 98/0 with Alex Hales completing his 50 off 28 balls. He was soon joined by captain Jos Buttler, who completed his 50. With the job pending, the duo remained unstoppable and completed their 150-run partnership.
Buttler remained unbeaten at 80 and Alex Hales scored an unbeaten 86-run knock. Buttler finished the game in style, hitting a sixer to finish England's run-chase and defeat India by 10 wickets, completing the run-chase within 16 overs.
By scoring 170 runs within 16 overs, both Buttler and Hales also made history with the highest-scoring partnership in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup, confirming their tickets to the MCG for the finals against Pakistan on Sunday.
