England brutally thrashed India by 10 wickets in the second semi-final at Adelaide Oval on Thursday to storm into the Twenty20 World Cup final. The opening pair did it all for England as Alex Hales and captain Jos Buttler put up an unbroken opening partnership to victory. The defeat has not only disappointed their supporters but Pakistani fans who were hoping for a dream final. England, who won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019, can now become the first team to hold both global trophies in white-ball cricket.
The Match Summary
After winning the toss, the England skipper Jos Buttler decided to bowl first against India at Adelaide Oval. In the first over itself, India’s opener KL Rahul lost his wicket. Despite a sloppy start, India could not manage to keep up its wickets and keep losing them. However, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya fueled up the tempo and India somehow managed to score 168 by losing 6 wickets in 20 overs. For the England’s side, Chris Jordan took 3 wickets, while Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes clinched a single wicket each. When England came to chase, it looked like they wanted to dominate Indian bowling from the very beginning and did that too. The opening partnership by Jos Buttler (80) and Alex Hales(86) did the magic for England, as they defeated the Indian side in just 16 overs.
The Winning Captain
A jubilant Jos Buttler said, “I think the character we have shown since then (England’s loss against Ireland) – it has been amazing. We came here very excited, there was a very good feeling. Everyone from 1 to 11 – stood up today. We always want to start fast and aggressive. Rashid was batting at 11, that’s incredible to know that we have such depth.”
The Grand Finale
England will play against Pakistan for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 13 November.
🎆 Pakistan 🆚 England 🎆
Melbourne awaits the grand finale! #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RYSnrwqNl9
— ICC (@ICC) November 10, 2022
