England’s defence in the T20 World Cup came to a disappointing end after they were bowled out by 68 runs by India in the second semi-final of the tournament on a slow, low pitch in Guyana.
The Amazon rain had threatened to ruin England’s chances but instead they were undone by a combination of Rohit Sharma’s classy half-century and an Indian attack whose bowlers took advantage of the conditions.
Needing an improbable 172 to set up a final against South Africa in Barbados tomorrow/Saturday, England were humiliated for 103. It all felt like one of their doomed Test innings at a turner in Chennai or Ahmedabad, leaving a tough decision for manager Rob Key as he weighs up the futures of coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler.
The initial damage was done by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who with his first ball removed Buttler, toe-finished a reverse sweep and then added Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, both of whom may have appeared in international cricket for last time. In the middle, the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah rearranged Phil Salt’s leg stump. The chase ended almost before it began.
Kuldeep Yadav then rushed through the middle order, trapping Sam Curran and Chris Jordan leg-in front, either side of Harry Brook around his legs as he too made a mistake on a reverse sweep.
England’s defence in the T20 World Cup came to a disappointing end as they were thrashed by India in the semi-final.
India was the better team throughout, scoring 172 with the bat and bowling out England for 103 in reply.
Wickets fell at regular intervals, with Harry Brook’s 25 the highest score in a dismal display of batting.
Brook’s 25 points were the highest score of a woeful innings, and it took some finishing hits from Jofra Archer to take them into three figures. Liam Livingstone’s departure after a mix-up with Archer summed up England’s disorientation.
This was a massacre almost on par with South Africa’s demolition of nine Afghanistan grounds in Trinidad the night before. And it was resounding revenge for India’s 10-wicket defeat to England at the same stage of the previous T20 World Cup two years ago in Adelaide.
When the camera panned to Buttler in the dugout, his head was down: for the first time in five years, England have none of the white-ball trophies. An era is over. Now, somehow, they must hit the refresh button.
“India certainly outperformed us and fully deserved the victory,” he said. ‘We let them do between 20 and 25 extra runs. “It was a challenging surface.”
England’s best chance to make India sweat might have come and gone before the start, when Buttler, winning his sixth toss in eight, opted for the safety of bowling first on a pitch that looked set to become more difficult as play progressed.
Even then, they could have taken control when Sharma, with just five runs off his 57 from 39 deliveries, swerved Jofra Archer towards behind point. But Salt misjudged the trajectory of the ball and saw it sail over his hands to score four.
Just three days earlier, Sharma had beaten Australia for 92 in 41 innings, the best of the tournament. Had England removed him early, the mood of the game might have changed, especially with Virat Kohli falling soon after to Reece Topley for just nine to continue his miserable World Cup.
Instead, after Curran removed Rishabh Pant cheaply, Sharma built the match-winning partnership of 73 in 8.2 overs with the equally talented Suryakumar Yadav, second only to Australia’s Travis Head in the rankings. Not even a rain break of an hour and a quarter could discourage them.
India will now face South Africa after recording a big win over Afghanistan in their own semi-final.
England can view the semi-final as a success, but they have won just one of their four matches against Test-playing nations.
Jasprit Bumrah began his work by rearranging Phil Salt’s leg stump to help put England on the back foot early on.
However, their progress, not always smooth, hinted at the problems that awaited England, with the spinners of Adil Rashid and Livingstone proving difficult to escape.
That highlighted Buttler’s decision to completely ignore Moeen Ali’s off-breaks, presumably because five of India’s top six were right-handers. It was a big decision, and Buttler later admitted it was a mistake: while Rashid and Livingstone conceded just 49 between them in eight overs, the four seamers (Topley, Archer, Curran and Jordan) conceded 120 in 12.
England will argue that, unlike Australia and co-hosts West Indies, they have reached the World Cup semi-final. However, the headline is misleading. Of their four matches against Test-playing teams, England have lost three and progressed to the group stages and the Super Eight only because they thrashed Oman, Namibia and the United States.
Mott claimed before this match that England had improved as the tournament progressed, although that ignored the defeat to South Africa two days after spirits had been lifted by a thrilling victory over the West Indies.
The bottom line is that in two World Cups, England have won three matches out of 12 against Test opponents. Key must now decide whether that is a foundation on which to rebuild. As for this excellent Indian team, South Africa will have to go to great lengths to deny them their first World Cup in 13 years.