Steady rain and a difficult pitch, but India had the right answers. Nothing stopped Rohit Sharma’s men from marching into the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
England wilted under India in the semi-final on Thursday. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav put on a clinic with the bat before the Spinners took over England’s chase.
Rohit (57, 39b, 6×4, 2×6) and Suryakumar (47, 36b, 4×4, 2×6) both thrived in a tough toss to take India to 171 for seven. It was well over the top as the sticky surface at the Guyana National Stadium tested the batsmen with little bounce.
It took immense skill and patience for Rohit and Suryakumar to succeed. The duo put on a crucial 73-run third stand to take India to safe waters.
Despite the harsh conditions, they were about to attack. Suryakumar kicked off the momentum with a clean and direct hit in the second cherry he faced. The trademark paddle shift was also unleashed when Suryakumar lifted a stumbling Chris Jordan to a deep fine leg.
Rohit judged the pace well, stayed low, and batted late. The captain denied the threat of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who started the attack in the seventh over. Rohit greeted Rashid with a reverse swing followed by a normal swing to keep the spinner rolling.
India was ramping up, but the rain returned causing another delay. With 250 minutes in the bank to extend the hours of play, there was no need to reduce the balances.
Rohit and Suryakumar picked up where they left off. Curran, a left-arm seamer, fell in the 13th over, leaking 19 runs. Suryakumar drew first blood with an outside off shot and the second maximum came through an outrageous Rohit swing.
Rashid got the breakthrough in the next over by fooling Rohit by sneaking under the bat. Jofra Archer dismissed Suryakumar with a slow ball to leave India 124 for four. Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel hit some big shots to move the scoreboard at a healthy pace.
England lost their way in the early stages of the chase, losing the Powerplay by three wickets. The dangerous Jos Buttler was caught by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who turned this wicket. Jasprit Bumrah’s slower ball bowled Phil Salt and Axar scalped another as Jonny Bairstow blasted a flat straight line.
India kept pushing forward and got rid of Moeen Ali and Curran cheaply, 49 for five, England’s hopes are gone.
The end came quickly, and the Indian Juggernaut moved within one game of the World Cup trophy.
