Showcasing their immense talent and dominance, India secured their place in the 2024 T20 World Cup final with a comprehensive 68-run victory over England in the semi-final on Thursday. Leading the charge was skipper Rohit Sharma, who set the tone with an aggressive 57 off 39 balls. Supported by Suryakumar Yadav's 47 off 36 balls, India posted a formidable 171 for seven in the rain-affected match. In response, England faltered and were bowled out for 103 in 16.4 overs, setting up India for a final clash against South Africa on Saturday. This marks India's third appearance in the final of the tournament.
Spin Duo Shines On Slow Pitch
On a slow pitch with low bounce, left-arm spinner Axar Patel (3/23) tightened India's grip on the match with his brilliant bowling, while Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) caused significant damage in the middle overs. This victory avenged India’s 10-wicket loss to England in the 2022 semi-final at Adelaide Oval. Rohit Sharma also became the first Indian captain to lead the team in three ICC global finals within 12 months: the 2023 World Test Championship, the 2023 ODI World Cup, and now the T20 World Cup.
Given India's all-round bowling attack and the nature of the pitch, Rohit's men were expected to defend their total comfortably, which they did. Rohit's decision to use Axar in the powerplay proved decisive as the spinner struck twice in quick succession, leaving England unable to recover. Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also excelled on a pitch that suited the spinners, further asserting India's dominance.
England's Struggle
England’s Jos Buttler (23 off 15), Harry Brook (25 off 19), and Jofra Archer (21 off 15) were the only players to reach double figures. Both Buttler and Brook fell attempting reverse sweeps against Axar and Kuldeep respectively.
"We adapted to the conditions really well. It was a challenge and we adapted. We played the conditions really well," Rohit Sharma said after the match.
Rain Delays
Despite being unbeaten in the tournament, India will hope star batter Virat Kohli finds form in the final. Kohli (9 off 9) was dismissed early on Thursday, trying to accelerate the pace.
The match was disrupted by intermittent rain, delaying the start by an hour and 15 minutes. Another lengthy delay occurred when India were 65 for two in eight overs. A total of 250 additional minutes were allotted to the game, but there was no reserve day.
Batting Highlights
Rohit adapted well to the conditions, playing the ball late and behind the stumps. His impressive strokes, including a guide over backward point off Archer and back-to-back fours off Topley, set the benchmark for the Indian batters.
Rishabh Pant (4) was the second wicket to fall, caught at midwicket off Sam Curran. Rohit then took on England’s premier spinner Adil Rashid, using reverse and conventional sweeps to collect boundaries.
Suryakumar Yadav, batting on 13, joined Rohit before rain halted play at the Providence Stadium for over an hour. Upon resumption, England's spinners Rashid and Liam Livingstone failed to contain the Indian batsmen.
India's total was boosted by Suryakumar’s six off Jordan and subsequent boundaries. Rohit reached his second successive fifty before being dismissed by a Rashid googly.
Hardik Pandya’s flat sixes and Ravindra Jadeja’s (17 not out off 9) timely boundaries off Archer in the penultimate over pushed India past 170. Axar Patel’s final-over six off Jordan helped India score 53 runs in the last five overs, sealing their dominant performance.