Twitter Reactions: Alex Hales and Jos Buttler annihilate India to storm into the final

England stormed into the final of the T20 World Cup after embarrassing India in the second semi-final at the Adelaide Oval. Jos Buttler's side were far superior to their opponents in all departments handing them a punishing defeat by ten wickets. The Men in Blue did well to finish with 168 runs on the board, thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. But Alex Hales and Jos Buttler dished out a masterclass in batting to stroll past the target with four overs and ten wickets in the bag.

The Indian team were the much happier side after the innings break, but their joy was short-lived as Jos Buttler made a rollicking start to the English chase, milking Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 13 runs in the first over. Alex Hales followed in on the act soon, tonking the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground using his long levers to great effect.

Buttler and Hales made a mockery of the Indian target, with the latter registering a swashbuckling half-century off just 28 deliveries. The Indian bowlers looked clueless against the pair as they notched up a 100-run stand for the first wicket in just 61 deliveries. Buttler joined in the fun as well, compiling his fifty in 36 deliveries. 

The game was reduced to a mere formality thanks to a breathtaking assault by the English openers who were making a statement to the other finalists Pakistan with a procession against the Indians. The English team got home unscathed with four overs to spare, completing one of the most remarkable run chases in the history of T20 World Cups.

Hardik Pandya's blitz propel India to a competitive total

Earlier in the match, the Men in Blue were put into bat first after Jos Buttler won the toss. Indian opening batter KL Rahul, who had rediscovered his form by notching up successive half-centuries, fell cheaply to a rising delivery in the second over of the match. His dismissal brought the in-form Virat Kohli to the crease.

The English bowlers kept a lid on the scoring rate even though Rohit Sharma and Kohli stitched together a valuable stand for the second wicket. That is when the Indian skipper perished in an attempt to up the ante after a sluggish 27 off 28 deliveries. Suryakumar Yadav's arrival in the middle was greeted with a loud ovation by the Indian fans.

Suryakumar got into the groove without wasting much time, but his innings was cut short by the impressive Adil Rashid for just 14 runs. India were in a spot of bother with the English bowlers on top of things, and that is when Hardik Pandya and Kohli started the fightback with a combative 61-run stand. Kohli continued his love affair with Adelaide, scoring a stabilizing half-century, but it was the belligerent hitting from Pandya that helped India finish with a total that looked improbable at one point in time. 

Here is how Twitter reacted to England's thumping win against India: