India are on the brink of making history after a commanding performance against the defending T20 World Cup champions, England. Rohit Sharma and his team have set up a title clash with South Africa, thanks to stellar contributions from spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, who each took three wickets. This led to India’s emphatic 68-run victory in the second semifinal at the Providence Stadium, propelling them into the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final.
Rohit Sharma has tears of happiness and relief 🥹🧡 pic.twitter.com/0JJ78FDOVg
— Dr Poornima 🇮🇳 (@PoornimaNimo) June 27, 2024
Rohit Sharma got emotional on the Semis Finals victory. 🥹
– Virat Kohli confronted him! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JMVT2qFx2q
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 27, 2024
IND vs ENG Semi Final
Captain Rohit Sharma’s 39-ball 57, his 32nd T20I fifty, and Suryakumar Yadav’s 47 off 36 balls helped India set a competitive target of 171/7 on a tricky pitch. The brilliant bowling from Axar and Kuldeep then dismantled England’s batting lineup, skittling them out for just 103.
An emotional Rohit Sharma reflected on the significant win after the match.
England’s chase of 172 started positively with Jos Buttler hitting four boundaries, including three off Arshdeep, bringing 26 runs in the first three overs. However, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah soon turned the tide. Axar’s first ball saw Buttler attempting a reverse-sweep, only to edge it to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Bumrah then used an off-cutter to dismantle Phil Salt’s leg-stump, and Axar bowled Jonny Bairstow for a duck, reducing England to 39/3 by the end of the power-play.
Also read: T20 World Cup: Defeating Afghanistan By 9-Wickets South Africa Reaches Final
England’s situation deteriorated further as Moeen Ali, attempting a flick, saw the ball lob off his thigh pad. As he wandered out of the crease, Pant quickly stumped him. Kuldeep Yadav then intensified the pressure, trapping Sam Curran lbw, clean bowling a reverse-sweeping Harry Brook, and spinning one back to trap Chris Jordan lbw.
Further chaos ensued with runouts of Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid. Bumrah capped off the collapse by trapping Jofra Archer lbw, sparking jubilant celebrations as India exorcised the ghost of Adelaide 2022 in Guyana 2024. The dream of winning the elusive trophy remains alive for a dominant Indian side.
