New Delhi, India
India stormed past England by 68 runs in a rain-interrupted T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal at the Province Stadium in Guyana on Thursday (June 27). In what was a stop-start contest for most parts, Rohit Sharma-led India rode on Hitman's 57, Suryakumar Yadav's 47 and brisk cameos from Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to post 171-7. Later, Axar Patel (3 for 23) and Kuldeep Yadav (3 for 19) led the charge with the ball to dismiss Jos Buttler & Co. for a paltry 103 in 16.4 overs. While there were a lot of positives for unbeaten Team India, who will now face South Africa -- on an eight-match winning streak -- in the final, Virat Kohli's form remains a concern.
However, the Indian captain brushed aside any concerns over Kohli's struggles. Rohit said after the game, "Look, he is a quality player. Again, we do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem when you have played cricket for 15 years. He is looking good. He is probably saving it for the final. Absolutely (back him for the final."
Kohli has had scores of 1, 4, 0, 24, 37, 0 and 9 so far in the ongoing 20-nation event, in West Indies and the USA. He only managed 9 in the semifinal before Reece Topley rattled his stumps. He will surely look to go big in the mega finale on Saturday (June 29) in Barbados.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2024: Axar Patel, Rohit Sharma dismantle England in Guyana as Team India reach final
Talking about the semifinal, Rohit said, "Very pleasing to see how we came through this game. At one stage, we were feeling 140-150 and as the game went on, we got some runs in the middle, me and Surya. We got that partnership, then we said another 25 runs more."
"I can set the target in my mind, but I don't want to let anyone know about it, to the batters because they are all instinctive players and I want them to go out there and play freely without thinking too much about what's the par score. We bat well, we understand the condition well, we will get to a good score and that's exactly what happened. We got to 170 which I thought was a very good score on that pitch and then the bowlers were fantastic," Hitman added.
India were asked to bat first in a contest which had a delayed start due to rain and wet outfield. Rohit and Surya's 75-run third-wicket stand and cameos by Hardik and Jadeja proved handy for the Men in Blue before the spinners came into the picture during England's run-chase.
India will now lock horns with Aiden Markram-led Proteas for the title clash in Barbados on Saturday.