England succumbed to an embarrassing 68-run defeat against India in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium, Guyana on Thursday (June 27).
Asked to bat first, the Men in Blue lost Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4) early. However, skipper Rohit Sharma (57 off 39) formed a solid partnership with Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 36) worth 73 runs in 50 balls to put India back on track.
Later on, Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) and Ravindra Jadeja (17* off 9) played crucial cameos to propel the team a highly challenging 171/7 on a slow pitch.
In reply, England’s innings folded for a paltry 103 in 16.4 overs. It was a listless batting display from the defending champions as no one managed to touch the 30-run mark. Harry Brook was the top scorer with 25 off 19 balls.
The duo of Akshar Patel (3-23) and Kuldeep Yadav (3-19) spun a web around the English batters, claiming three wickets each to secure India’s place in the final. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also returned with a couple of scalps in his 2.4 overs.
After the loss, England skipper Jos Buttler said 145-150 would have been a good total to chase but India got way too many.
"Yeah, disappointing. I think we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. So, yeah, I thought they had an above-par score. I was hoping to restrict them to 145 - 150, probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there," Buttler told reporters.
England's next white-ball assignment is scheduled against Australia at home in September. For now, Buttler is looking to enjoy the break rather than thinking anything about the future.
"To be honest, I'm just looking forward to some time away from the game. I think, as I sit here, emotional after a loss, I don't need to dive too deep into it right now. I just look forward to some space from the game," he replied when asked about his thoughts on captaincy.
Jos Buttler made it clear that there won't be wholesome changes in England's T20I side given the way they have played in this World Cup.
"No, I think I look back to Leeds when we all met up. I think everyone has made progress and we've played well and not well enough, but I think the stuff that we've been doing behind the scenes, the way we've prepared, the way we've trained, the way we've played in patches has been really good. And there's a lot of talent in the team. And yes, we came up against a top team today in these conditions," he remarked.
While questions were raised over Buttler’s decision to bowl first in the semi-final against India, the England skipper was not willing to accept that it was one of the reasons for their loss.
"Not at the toss. I don't think that was the difference between the two sides. We thought long and hard about selection, about whether we kept the same balance that we'd been playing with that had been working well, or did we need four seamers on that particular wicket. I think that was a really tough call that we made and we ended up sticking with what we had. I think India played a really good game of cricket, whatever team or whatever happened at the toss - they were going to be a tough team to beat and we had to be at our best if we were going to win the game and we were short of our best today," he stated.
