GUYANA: Team India marched into the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 after registering a comfortable victory against defending champions England in the second semi-final match played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday.
India's 68-run victory over England meant that the 'Men in Blue' have managed to progress to the finals of this prestigious tournament after a hiatus of 10 years.
Sending India to bat first, the Indians made a slow start to their innings and were struggling at 40 for 2 in 5.2 overs following the dismissal of Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4) inside the power-play overs.
However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and star t20 batter Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship for the 'Men in Blue' as the duo stitched a solid 73-run partnership to bail the side out of trouble.
Rohit went all guns blazing as he scored 57 runs off 39 balls with the help of six boundaries and two sixes before being dismissed by Adil Rashid. Surya also looked sharp from the other end as he scored 47 runs off 36 balls.
India lost some momentum after the dismissal of Rohit and Surya but just when it seemed like England had put on the brakes in the Indian innings, all-rounder Hardik Pandya chipped in with a handy cameo of 23 runs off just 13 balls.
Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel propelled the Indian innings in the death overs as they delivered the final assault to take India to 171 for 7 in 20 overs.
In response, England's batting stumbled as the Indian bowlers ripped through their defenses in a turning track which suited the bowlers.
The English batters were completely outplayed by the Indian spin duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav who produced brilliant spells as they picked up 3 wickets each.
Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah also chipped in with 2 wickets as England were bowled out for 103 runs in 16.4 overs in a humiliating display with the bat.
Besides being dominant with the bat and the ball, the Indians looked very sharp in the field and produced an impressive performance in all the three departments.
Moreover, India have also avenged their semi-final loss at the hands of England in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup.
India, who had won the inaugural edition of this tournament back in 2007, will lock horns against South Africa in the summit clash scheduled to be played on June 29 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados.
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