England blasted India in the semi-final at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday to register a thumping 10-wicket victory in what Jos Buttler said was his side’s “best performance” in the tournament so far. They would want to be this clinical with the bat, and improve in the death bowling in the final too when they take on Pakistan on Sunday at the MCG.
Coming to India, it was another knockout loss. And this one had a resemblance to India’s dismal batting performance against Pakistan in last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. The Indian batters’ approach of setting up a platform and settling in before exploding in the death overs was criticized a lot after last year’s group-stage exit.
Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid fed in the word ‘intent’ throughout the past year, but when it came to showing that intent in the big semi-final, the top three couldn’t open the doors. KL Rahul scored 5 runs in 5 balls and got out in the second over, while Rohit Sharma scratched and struggled for big hits throughout his innings, eventually getting out for 27 runs off 28 balls. Virat Kohli scored 50 off 40 balls but got out before he could tee off in the end.
India became the number 1ranked ICC T20I team based on their success in bilateral series, but when it couldn’t deliver on the expectations in the semi-final. This had been the story for the past many years as the senior men’s side have been exceptionally good in bilateral series, both home and away, but don’t have any silverware to show; the senior men’s Indian side last won an ICC trophy back in 2013, when they weren’t really a bilateral force they are today.
Harsha Bhogle speaks the truth in his tweet on India’s loss
Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle touched on this point, of India’s success in bilateral series and league stage, but failure to win knockout games.
“As one-sided as they get. India in the bilaterals and league stage seems a different side,” Bhogle tweeted following India’s 10-wicket thrashing from England.
As one-sided as they get. India in the bilaterals and league stage seems a different side.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 10, 2022