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T20 World Cup: England annihilates India by 10 wickets to get to the finals

It was a crushing setback for Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and team in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals against England on 10 November, as the latter triumphed by 10 wickets and sealed their place in the finals against Pakistan on 13 November.

England got an early surprise as Chris Woakes found the edge of KL Rahul (5), presenting a straightforward catch for Buttler, before skipper Rohit Sharma (27) embarked on a 47-run partnership with Kohli before being dismissed by a brilliant catch from Sam Curran in Jordan’s first over. Adil Rashid (1-20) grabbed the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav (14) and India just reached 100 at the end of the 15th over, but Pandya’s stunning knock and critical partnership with Kohli propelled them to a competitive score.

Hardik Pandya hit five sixes in his 33-ball 63, and Virat Kohli also got a half-century before being bowled by Chris Jordan (3-43), who was sent in to substitute the injured Mark Wood, as India ended firmly to register 168-6 after being put into bat.

In response, England made a scorching start, with Hales scoring 50 off 28 balls and Buttler hitting his half-century off 36 deliveries, crushing the Indian bowling attack as they sped towards their target.

Hales hit seven sixes in his unbeaten 86 from 47 balls, and he and Buttler (80*) put up an unbreakable 170-run stand as a result of which England won with four overs to spare.

Pakistan legends Wasim Akram gave his opinion about the match: “England just outplayed them in every aspect of the game. I think India’s start was very slow. They couldn’t recover on time. But those guys were something else, Alex Hales and Buttler. Probably 190 would have been a good total on this pitch. But firstly, India accelerated their innings pretty late. Only Hardik Pandya came and hit 63 off 33 balls which enabled them to post a respectable total,” Akram told reporters. “Their captain looked out of touch, 27 off 28 balls and the of course Virat Kohli got his 50, played okay but on 40 deliveries. I think that was the difference between the two sides,” he added.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma: “Pretty disappointed how it turned out today. We batted well at the backend to get that score. We were not up to the mark with the ball, we couldn’t turn up today. It’s all about handling the pressure in knockout games. All these guys have played enough to understand that. These guys have played under pressure in IPL games, it’s all about keeping calm. We were nervous to start with, but you got to give credit to their openers, they played really well. I thought it swung a bit in the first over, but not from the right areas. We know the runs are scored square off the wicke, we were aware about it. When we won the first game, it showed a lot of character. The game against Bangladesh, it was a tricky one. I thought we held our nerve and kept executing our plans. Couldn’t do that today.”

Man-of-the-Match: Alex Hales [86* off 47]: “It will be right up there for sure (so-called perfect innings). Huge occasion, India in a semifinal of a World Cup, really happy with the way I played and it is as special as it gets. This is one of the best grounds to bat in especially in the powerplay, a really good surface and great value for good cricket shots, this is a ground I have good memories of and enjoy batting here. I never thought I would play in a World Cup again, so to get the chance is a very special feeling. In a country (Australia) that I love and spend a lot of time in, tonight is one of the best night’s of my career. Jos was unbelievable.”

England captain Jos Buttler: “I think the character we have shown since then (England’s loss against Ireland) – it has been amazing. We came here very excited, there was a very good feeling. Everyone from 1 to 11 – stood up today. We always want to start fast and aggressive. Rashid was batting at 11, that’s incredible to know that we have such depth. Hales used the dimensions well and he has shown his form. He was brilliant today. It’s important to enjoy this, it was a brilliant performance from us. I think we need to give special credit to Jordan, to bowl 3 overs at the death coming into the semi-final, it was a tough job. He handled the pressure towards the end pretty well, especially bowling against a world class player like Hardik Pandya.”

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