T20 World Cup 2022, 2nd Semi-Final: India vs England- Talking points and Who Said What?

India were outplayed by England by ten wickets in the second semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10. The inability to capitalise in the powerplay overs and some tight bowling performances from the English bowlers meant that the Men in Blue fell a good 15-20 runs short in the end of what could have been an imposing total.

In the second innings, the Indian bowlers failed to apply pressure on the English batters as the opening pair of skipper Jos Buttler and Alex Hales took the game away from India with its amazing power-hitting. They scored the bulk of runs in the first six overs and once the duo was well set in the middle, things got difficult for India.

The bowlers literally failed to deliver on the day that mattered and none of them could even manage to take a single wicket as England reached the target with four overs to spare.

Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya being India’s saviours with the bat:

After being asked to bat first, India lost KL Rahul early and Rohit Sharma scored a painstaking 27 runs off 28 balls.  Virat Kohli held on tightly at the other end as the English bowlers bowled well. Virat and Hardik added 61-run stand for the fourth wicket after in-form Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed cheaply.

Kohli scored 50 runs off 40 balls and once he was dismissed, Hardik took on the anchor’s role and registered a half-century off just 29 balls. His 33-ball 63 powered India to a competitive total of 168/6.

Alex Hales and Jos Buttler power England into the finals

The Indian bowlers had a task at hand to pick up quick wickets with the new ball, but the dynamic opening duo of skipper Jos Buttler and Alex Hales negated that advantage by firing all cylinders right from the word ‘go’.

The duo tormented the Indian bowlers and went on to register half-centuries. They added an unbeaten 170-run opening stand to set up a final clash with Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday, November 13. Buttler remained unbeaten on 80 runs off 49 balls while Hales scored 86* off 47 deliveries.

Losing skipper, Rohit Sharma said:

Pretty disappointed how it turned up today. We batted well at the backend to get that score. We were not upto the mark with the ball, we couldn't turn up today. It's all about handling the pressure in knockout games. All these guys have played enough to understand that.

These guys have played under pressure in IPL games, it's all about keeping calm. We were nervy to start with, but you got to give credit to their openers, they played really well.

I thought it swung a bit in the first over, but not from the right areas. We know the runs are scored square off the wicket, we were aware about it. When we won the first game, it showed a lot of character. The game against Bangladesh, it was a tricky one.

I thought it was difficult defending 85 runs in nine overs, but we held our nerve and executed our plans. Couldn't do that today, and when you don't execute your plans, you are in trouble.

Winning skipper, Jos Buttler said:

I think the character we have shown since then (England's loss against Ireland) - it has been amazing. We came here very excited, there was a very good feeling. Everyone from 1 to 11 - stood up today. We always want to start fast and aggressive. Rashid was batting at 11, that's incredible to know that we have such depth.

Hales used the dimensions well and he has shown his form. He was brilliant today. It's important to enjoy this, it was a brilliant performance from us. I think we need to give special credit to Jordan, to bowl three overs at the death coming into the semi-final, it was a tough job. He handled the pressure towards the end pretty well, especially bowling against a world class player like Hardik Pandya.

Player of the Match, Alex Hales said:

It will be right up there for sure (referring to his innings). Huge occasion, India in a semifinal of a World Cup, really happy with the way I played and it is as special as it gets. This is one of the best grounds to bat in especially in the powerplay, a really good surface and great value for good cricket shots, this is a ground I have good memories of and enjoy batting here. I never thought I would play in a World Cup again, so to get the chance is a very special feeling, in a country (Australia) that I love and spend a lot of time in, tonight is one of the best night's of my career. Jos was unbelievable.”