Guyana: India are in the Finals of the T20 World Cup, taking out England with the grit of their bat and the delight of their arm, that too with a big margin of 68 runs. This was revenge served hot, spiced up in Indian flavours. As England coach Mathew Mott said pre-match, the English tournament begins today – and it ended today too!
India now meet South Africa at the Kensington Oval on June 29. This will be two unbeaten teams of the tournament clashing for a title – one with the desperation of a never-before and the other for quenching a 17-year-old trophy thirst.
If the first innings was all about Rohit Sharma giving preference to preservation over pyrotechnics, Surya aiding a 73-run partnership in difficult circumstances and Pandya giving his usual cameo, the second innings was all about the brilliance of Axar Patel.
Indeed, Patel was an education in cricketing literacy on India’s big day, delivering a spell that was for the ages. Three wickets in three overs at a run rate of 14. And his pickings were backbone-breaking for England – three of their giants – Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali –being slayed early by a spinner sporting amazing intent.
It all started, after Arshdeep Singh became the punching bag for England, leaking runs in two overs. Patel came in early to start the hunt with his first ball wicket of England captain Butler who reversed swept a round-the-wicket delivery to go straight into the gloves of Rishabh Pant, but only after a quickfire 23.
The powerplay pickings came in successive overs and with measured beauties. Axar struck again in his second over, this time felling Jonny Bairstow for a duck with a clean bowled delivery for the textbooks.
Axar’s third was a freaky one, when Moeen Ali was stumped at 8 by Pant on a dancer by Patel which had him on his knees trying to scramble back into the crease, rather unsuccessfully. At 46-4, it looked like an error of fate, rather than a human failing for England.
He ended his magical spell with three wickets at 23 runs, getting the lion’s share in the dismantling of a foe that had niggled their pride for the last two years after England handed India a 10-wicket ouster from the T20 World Cup of 2022.
Coincidentally, the score was tantalisingly similar – India scoring 170 in the Adelaide blunder and 171 runs here.
Meanwhile, in between, it was all about Salt and pepper, with Bumrah taking an end change to disturb the Englishman’s stump and celebrate in his second over, a kill too late by his exacting standards. But a slow and low off-cutter was bang on to the stumps, bringing England to 33-2.
England’s fab four back in the pavilion, and Kuldeep sending Sam Curran to join his mates at 2, India were finally all guns blazing, not with the bat so much, but with the ball, a story that has got wings over the years.
Bringing England to 39-3 in six overs, India were one up in the powerplay slayings, topping their 46-2 with scalping delights.
The good thing was that the pickings did not end there, Kuldeep carried the baton in the next few overs, bringing England to 68-6 in 11 overs. He trapped Jordan first at one and then took out Harry Brook next at 25, the highest scorer till now, to join his teammates to revel in a Bajan daydream in the middle of the Guyanese park.
Liam Livingstone died early, running himself out after Kuldeep yanked out the bails when he gave up the chase. Next to run out of the middle was Adil Rashid at the hands of Yadav again, bringing England to 86-8, the sun setting rather conspicuously on the British empire – in 16.3 overs and Bumrah trapping Jofra Archer and ending the English ordeal in 16.3 overs at 103.
Earlier in the day, despite two long rain interruptions of two hours and 47 minutes put together, a lost crucial toss, the continued Virat Kohli nightmare and a see-saw struggle for runs amid falling wickets, India surged to 171-7, giving a defendable total to their bowlers.
The highlight of the gritty innings was the emergence of a different side of Hitman Rohit – more sound than aggressive, more cautious than adventurous. He took instead to rotation and negated chances, ignoring the bugle and giving precision a chance over pyrotechnics to keep India alive in the competition.
Sharma’s 50 came in the 13th over, took 36 deliveries with six 4s and two sixes but just when the half-empty stadium had started breathing, heartbreak came unannounced when, in a momentary loss of caution, he fell got bowled by a Rashid as he tried to sweep cross bat a googly that needed urgent inspection.
This brought to an end, the 73-run partnership when India were 113 and had just got going by the 14th over, making a 19-run kill off Sam Curran. The skipper made a well-earned 57 in 39 balls but took a dejected walk back.
Urgently required cameos by Pandya upped the hopes of defence with the score surging from 115-3 to 146-6 to 170-7.
In 15 overs, India could manage 115 for 3, giving the death overs and Hardik Pandya some heavy-duty responsibility to catch up on the Indian scoreboard. But then Suryakumar Yadav tried to take the charge, only to be nabbed at the long-on boundary at 47 in 36 deliveries when he tried to clear the boundary but just looped up and into the hands of a waiting Jordon off a slower one from Archer.
Pandya fuelled the proceedings with two cheeky sixes in his quickfire 24 but fell short and into the hands of Jordan at long-on in the 18th over. Dube went meekly in the next at a duck, bringing Jordan on a hattrick ball.
India were suddenly 147-6 at the end of the 18th over, the situation demanding a big ask from Axar Patel (and Ravindra Jadeja on a pitch that was keeping low and slow).
But for the 19-run over given away by Curran, India was kept overly quiet, measuring its chances and counting its pennies.
England struck first blood early in the power play when Reece Topley flattened Kohli’s leg stump as he swung his bat in a failed bid at aggression and walked yet again to a single-digit 9 in 9 balls as his nightmare run continued unabated.
After 5 overs and the end of the powerplay, India were 46-2. As the black clouds gathered over the stadium, Rishabh Pant hit Curran straight into the hands of Jonny Bairstow at mid-wicket, walking at 4 in six balls and making the task more difficult for his skipper. A tame and unappealing presence in the middle when India needed him most.
As the skipper and Suryakumar Yadav were working hard at steadying the Indian innings, the game had to go into a rain break with 66 on board for India at the loss of two wickets, which included Pant’s tame ouster at 4 runs, more cheaply than Kohli’s nine.
A quiet and cautious start by the skipper with just a six-run one boundary edged safely to third man in the opening over by Reece Topley. The ball kept low, not allowing the Hitman to be in full play through a cheeky four, heartstoppingly close to the man at backward point.
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