England with 170 runs for no loss defeated India easily, who had made 168 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
For the ‘game-breaking’ talent of England that has taken them to the Finals of the T20 World Cup, was doing the basics right.
A score that was 63 for no loss in 6 over’s became 170 for no loss in 16 over’s. Jos Buttler kept up to his word when he said he did not want India Pakistan in the finals.
Hales Gamble
After the defeat to Ireland, England has ensured clarity in their game, be it batting or bowling. This selecting Hales was being absolutely clear. This call was made by Buttler and this seemed to have paid-off well. Hales repaid the faith of the England team with an innings that has broken the biggest ‘super power’ in the cricket world.
Hales was able to tally the total number of sixes made by India all alone. India played a big hand in their undoing. Hales and Buttler managed to make 98 runs only off 58 balls in the first 15 overs.
Brilliance of Buttler
Buttler made all the right moves and made 80 runs off only 49 balls. He managed to front-load Adil Rashid against the heavy top order of India. One of his Yorkers had toppled Virat Kohli off his feet.
The crowd of 40,094 was silent when Buttler pulled a 4 off Axar Patel. India depended on Suryakumar, but the player could manage a mere 14 runs off 10 balls. This was when the game changed.
The rising of Hardik
England lost out in only one phase of the game, when Hardik Pandya decided to take the reins. He made 13 runs off 15 balls in the 17th over. India was 110 for the loss of 3 wickets. They made all the effort to disrupt England.
Rohit Sharma managed to make a single 4 but he was out after 3 balls. Suryakumar went after he had hit Ben Stokes for a 6 and a 4. This made Kohli go into the mode of an anchor and let Hardik hit big. This is what he did.
In the last 4 over’s, India managed to make 58 runs, of which 50 were made by Hardik Pandya. It seemed India had some hope when they reached 168 runs.
There might be questions now about how this team played their 1st ten over’s against ateam that were all power-hitters. There were only 7 boundaries and the score was 62 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Chasing History of England
At present, England is only one win away from being the 1st ‘men’s team’ to hold both the World Cups in history. This is after all the twists and turns they have gone through.
They have made a lot of effort to reach here. This is a revolution that was started by Eoin Morgan and is being sustained by Buttler.
