Alex Hales and Jos Buttler carry England into final with 10-wicket mauling of India
India could manage only 168 for 6, before the England openers took charge
India could manage only 168 for 6, before the England openers took charge
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy
9.48pm And that's a wrap from Adelaide. This was the game that England always had it in them to play, and they brought it out at the perfect time, shrugging off a slow start to the tournament and leaving India wondering what hit them. They look in the perfect shape for the final at the MCG, but they'll have to contend with a red-hot Pakistan, qudrat ka nizam, and all that. We hope you've enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, it's goodbye from me, Andrew, Raghav and Thilak.
Jos Buttler: "[The Ireland game] feels a long time ago. The character we've shown to get through the tournament since then, and put in our best performance today, has been amazing. We came here excited, it was a really good feeling when we came in. A group effort from 1 to 11. We always want to start as fast as we can and aggressive. Adil Rashid was down at No. 11 today, and that gives us the freedom to come out aggressive, that depth. Hales was tough to bowl at today, he used the dimensions of the ground, and we complement each other perfectly. He was a brilliant partner today. Special praise to Chris Jordan for coming in today, not having played so far, and he ran into Hardik playing fantastically at the death, but I thought he handed that really well."
Rohit Sharma: "It's pretty disappointing how we turned up today. I thought we still batted pretty well at the back end to get to that score, but we were not good enough with the ball. It was definitely not a wicket where a team can come and chase it down in 16 overs. With the ball we didn't turn up today. When it comes to knockout stages, it's all about handling the pressure. Depends on the individual as well. You can't teach anyone to handle pressure. When these guys play the playoffs in the IPL and all that, those are high-pressure games, and they're able to handle it. The way we started with the ball was not ideal. We were a little nervy, but you have to give credit to the openers as well. They played really well. When Bhuvi bowled the first over it swung today, but not from the right areas. We wanted to keep it tight, not give room, because square of the wicket was an area we were aware of - that's where the runs came today. If we keep it tight and the batsman still score runs, we'll take it. But we didn't do that today. In the game against Bangladesh it was tricky as well, but I thought we held our nerve that day, executed well."
9.40pm Visuals of Rohit Sharma in the dugout, looking utterly despondent. He struggled through this tournament: showed a lot of intent at the top of the order, but simply failed to find the fluency to match that intent. Tonight's innings was a culmination of that. India have come quite a way since last year's T20 World Cup, but the problem of not being able to force the pace against spin through the powerplay and early middle overs hasn't gone away at all.
Alex Hales, the Player of the Match: "A huge occasion, really happy with the way I played. I think this is one of the best grounds to bat in in the world. Great value to hit your shots with the short square boundaries, and a ground I have good memories at. I never thought I'd play in a World Cup again, and to get a chance is a special feeling. It's a country I love playing in. Jos was unbelievable out there."
9.32pm It'll be Pakistan vs England at the MCG. Thirty years after Pakistan vs England at the MCG. What an occasion it will be, because it'll be two utterly in-form teams at peak confidence. If Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan made a triumphant return to form yesterday, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler have gone even better, obliterating India's attack and showing up a strong opposition's limitations along the way. A ten-wicket win in a semi-final. With four overs remaining. An absolute hammering. For India, this result has eerie echoes to their semi-final against West Indies at the Wankhede back in 2016. Their batting has evolved significantly since then, and that evolution has been accelerated over the last year or so, but they still have a long way to go to catch up with the very best T20 batting sides.
Elsewhere, in the Pro Kabaddi League week, 5 saw a slew of records: Fazel Atrachali becomes PKL's most-successful defender while Ajinkya Pawar scored six points in ~that~ raid. Here are this week's PKL9 highlights in numbers.
RamanJ: "India playing in Group B faced less competition and England in group A faced fierce competition for a spot facing NZ, Aus, SL, and other teams. That's what let England get this comprehensive win, their struggle. Absolutely brilliant and phenomenal."
Dan: "Hopefully this loss for India will usher a new beginning like how it happened for England after 2015 WC. They should definitely look beyond the likes of Rahul, Karthik, Bhuvi, Ashwin and even Rohit. Get the likes of Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Umran Malik in. Time to look at the future"
Mustafa Moudi: "Fun Fact: This KOs is mirror image of last year's KO. England, NZ and Pakistan along with the current Host made it to the SF in which England and Pakistan lost their SFs. This year, England, NZ and Pakistan along with the last year's host made it to the SF in which England and Pakistan have won and proceeded to the Finals !!"
Kamy: "This is proper hammeringâŠIndia should feel the pain and should reflect on their approach in this World CupâŠslow in first 10 overs, no wicket taking option in middle overs, no wristspinner." -- I don't know how much Chahal or any other wristspinner could have done today, to be fair.
Karan: "England didn't chase it in under 15 overs. Moral victory is ours."
Rajkumar Lingav: "15th over - First boundary-less over."
Just 13 to win now. Can they finish it off in this over? Shami continues.
And has any team made more than England's 170 to win a T20I by ten wickets?
Tom Moody, Anil Kumble and Stephen Fleming have their say following another trophy-less World Cup campaign for India
Where did India go wrong in testing conditions in Adelaide? And can they completely change their approach with the same set of batters?
Kumble says that he expected Kohli to take the aggressive route against the spinners, who were allowed to send in a number of quiet overs
Stats highlights from England's ten-wicket win in the second semi-final against India
First Round Group A | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
SL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.667 |
NED | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.162 |
NAM | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.73 |
UAE | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1.235 |
First Round Group B | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
ZIM | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.2 |
IRE | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.105 |
SCOT | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.304 |
WI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -0.563 |
Group 1 | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
NZ | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2.113 |
ENG | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0.473 |
AUS | 5 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -0.173 |
SL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.422 |
IRE | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1.615 |
AFG | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -0.571 |
Group 2 | |||||
Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
IND | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1.319 |
PAK | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1.028 |
SA | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0.874 |
NED | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.849 |
BAN | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1.176 |
ZIM | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1.138 |