India Crush England, Advance to T20 World Cup Final Against South Africa
India decisively ended England’s title defense with a 68-run victory in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup, securing a place in the final against South Africa. Batting first in a rain-affected match, India scored 171/7, led by skipper Rohit Sharma (57) and Suryakumar Yadav (47) on a slow pitch at Providence Stadium in Guyana. India then bowled out England for 103 in just 17 overs, with spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav dominating. This victory avenged their previous 10-wicket loss to England in the last tournament’s semifinals.
The upcoming final in Bridgetown on Saturday will feature the tournament’s two unbeaten teams, India and South Africa. “It’s very satisfying to win this game,” an ecstatic Rohit Sharma said, potentially playing in his last T20 World Cup. “We worked really hard as a unit. To win like that was a great effort from everybody.”
Rain delayed the start of the match, leading England captain Jos Buttler to opt to field first after winning the toss. India scored 46 runs in the six powerplay overs but lost Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. Rohit Sharma, starting with a few streaky shots, gained confidence as Suryakumar Yadav scooped Chris Jordan for a six before rain interrupted play with India at 65/2 in eight overs.
Upon resumption, Rohit reached his 36-ball fifty with a six, marking India’s 100 in the 13th over. Adil Rashid bowled Rohit, and Jofra Archer denied Suryakumar a fifty, temporarily halting India’s progress. Despite Jordan (3/37) taking two wickets in successive deliveries, India managed a competitive total.
England’s chase started well but faltered to 49/5 after a top-order collapse triggered by Axar Patel (3/23). Patel dismissed Buttler (23) and Jonny Bairstow (0) in successive overs, while Jasprit Bumrah bowled Phil Salt. Axar returned to stump Moeen Ali, and Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) further dismantled England, dismissing Sam Curran, Jordan, and Harry Brook (25) on a slow pitch where the ball often stayed low.
“India outplayed us, certainly,” Buttler admitted. “We let them maybe get 20-25 too many on a challenging surface that they played well on. They fully deserved to win.” Under Buttler, England also failed to defend their 50-overs World Cup title in India last year.
