T20 WC: Alex Hales, Jos Buttler bury India Down Under, England to meet Pakistan in final
T20 WC - England openers star as Buttler & Co. thrash India to set up final encounter vs Pakistan
England rode on some good bowling from Chris Woakes (1 for 24), Adil Rashid (1 for 20), and Chris Jordan's 3 for 43 to restrict India to 168 for 6 in 20 overs in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, on Thursday (November 10). It wasexpected to be a close contest but what followed was total mayhem as the 2010 winners rode on skipper Jos Buttler (49-ball 80*) and Alex Hales' (47-ball 86 not out) unbeaten 170-run opening stand to take their side to the tournament finale, where they face Pakistan.
Hales and Buttler timed everything from the middle of the bat as the Indian bowlers got no assistance from the surface. Hales was in a punishable mode from the word go and scored runs at all parts of the ground whereas Buttler joined the party and finished the proceedings with 24balls to spare. None of the Indian bowlers looked threatening at any point as the English openers struck as many as ten sixes and 13 fours in the run-chase.
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Earlier, Rohit Sharma & Co. were asked to bat first. KL Rahul departed cheaply for five before Rohit and Kohli stitched a 47-run second-wicket stand. While Kohli tried to up the ante, England tested the duo with Woakes and Rashid bowling some tidy overs. Rohit went back for an unimpressive 28-ball 27 before Kohli and Hardik Pandya joined together. Suryakumar Yadav, the in-form batter, played some lusty shots but lost his wicket for 14.
India scored 68 off the last five overs and 106 off the last ten, with Hardik doing the bulk of the scoring. He returned for a 33-ball 63 whereas Kohli made a 40-ball 50 but India's 168/6 just wasn't enough on the day.
Now, Pakistan and England will lock horns in the T20 WC 2022 final at the MCG, Melbourne on Sunday (November 13).