'Fair play to them, they reached semis beating Australia' - Nasser Hussain throws weight behind India amid 'bias' allegations

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has dismissed claims that India benefited from favorable pitch conditions and scheduling in the T20 World Cup. This comes after India secured a commanding 68-run win over defending champions England to reach the final.

Critics, including former England cricketers Michael Vaughan and David Lloyd, have been vocal about India's advantageous positioning. They pointed out that India were allotted the second semi-final spot and did not play any matches under lights during the tournament. However, Hussain disagreed with this narrative.

Hussain, now a well-known broadcaster, argued that India deserved their place in the final. He pointed out that India faced varied conditions and still performed exceptionally. In their last Super Eight game against Australia, India played on a good batting track in St Lucia and scored 205/5, winning by 24 runs. In the semi-final against England, they adapted to a slow, low pitch at the Providence Stadium in Guyana and emerged victorious.

"The narrative will be that everything on Thursday was geared towards India reaching the T20 World Cup final — the surface, the venue, all seemed to be in their favour. But if you look at things in greater detail, they came into this semi-final against England having just beaten 50-over world champions Australia on a bouncier, good pitch in St Lucia, and reverted to a lower, slower pitch and won comfortably. Fair play to them for the way they played and it feels right that India and South Africa, the two unbeaten sides in the tournament, go head to head in Barbados on Saturday," Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

India's score of 171/5 was set up by key performances from captain Rohit Sharma (57 off 39) and Suryakumar Yadav (46 off 37), who anchored the innings after early setbacks. Contributions from all-rounders Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel towards the end bolstered the total. 

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In response, England struggled against India's bowlers, with Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav leading the charge. The defending champions were bowled out for 103 in 16.4 overs, securing India's place in the final.

"India's score was only slightly higher than the 168 they put up in the 2022 semi-final they lost to England at the Adelaide Oval, but the difference in conditions to here in Guyana was chalk and cheese. A combination of seamers keeping the ball low and spinners turning it with no bounce made their 171 for seven a pretty decent score to defend, and Rohit Sharma showed his class by taking one of his favourite shots — the pull — out of the equation to make another half-century," Hussain added.

India will face South Africa in the final, with both unbeaten teams set to clash in Barbados.