Bridgetown (Barbados): England hunted down the paltry total of 115 with ease on Sunday in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 clash and booked a berth in the semi-final of the tournament.
Swashbuckling England opener Jos Buttler provided England with a flying start during the chase. The Englishman was taking the bowlers to the cleaners and completed his fifty in just 32 balls. Phillip Salt played second fiddle to the wicketkeeper-batter from the other end as the innings progressed.
A rampaging Buttler was on fire as he smacked unbeaten 83 runs from 38 deliveries while Salt scored unbeaten 25 runs and the opening duo wrapped up the game in just 9.4 overs for the English side.
Earlier, the United States of America lost their first wicket early in the innings as Andries Gous lost his wicket trying to go big with a flick on a delivery straying on the pads in the first over. The first two overs were a bit difficult for the USA batters with the kind of seam movement Reece Topley and Jofra Archer generated from the surface.
Steven Taylor and Nitish Kumar, who came in to bat at number three, added 34 runs for the second wicket but the former was dismissed thanks to a stunning catch at point region by Moeen Ali. Nitish showcased his batting prowess a bit attacking Topley in the fifth over by shuffling across the stumps and targeting the leg-side with a boundary and a six.
Spinners were introduced from the sixth over and they utilised some assistance from the surface. Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone bowled a six-over spell which derailed the USA innings. Rashid dismissed Steven Taylor(26) and Nitish Kumar (30) as the USA batters were unable to read the variations from Rashid.
Corey Anderson (28) and Harmeet Singh (21) tried to steady the innings but Chris Jordan’s hattrick in the end concluded the innings at a low total. The USA were bundled out on 115 due to the lack of a big knock.
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