ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
By Michelangelo Jacobus
Despite a couple of rain interruptions yesterday at the Providence National Stadium in Guyana, India exorcised their semifinal demons to book a spot in the final of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The Indian fans came out in their numbers to support their team, with a smattering of English fans showing up as well. But as has been the case throughout the matches in Guyana, the stands remained unfilled.
However, despite the rain and with their fans urging them on, India’s spot in the final came at the expense of the defending champions, England, who had no answers for India’s spinners during their run chase and was bowled out for 103 (16.4 overs) in pursuit of 172 for victory, losing by a mammoth 68 runs.
After a rain-delayed toss was won by England, Jos Butler inserted India to bat on a pitch that proved to be slow and possessing low bounce.
Rohit Sharma, India’s talismanic skipper, assessed the conditions superbly, leading from the front with a 39-ball 57. He also shared a third-wicket 73-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, who got some runs, scoring 47 (36 balls).
In the opening overs, Reece Topley and Jofra Archer found good lengths and lines to trouble Rohit and Virat Kohli, drawing a few edges.
Amid chants of “Kohli, Kohli, Kohli!” King Kohli’s lean run of form continued as he was bowled in the third over by left-arm pacer Topley.
The England bowler got one to swing back into an advancing Kohli, who was looking to go big once again after he had carted Topley for a six and a double off the first two balls of the over. However, Kohli missed the ball completely, and it crashed into his leg stump, leaving the dejected Kohli with yet another single-digit score in the event.
Rishabh Pant then joined his skipper but did not stick around for too long, lobbing a simple catch to Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Sam Curran in the fifth over.
Suryakumar joined Rohit, and together, the duo steadied the ship as the latter settled into his innings. With India at 65/2, another heavy shower forced the umpires to suspend play at the end of the 8th over.
Despite the interruption, which lasted just over an hour, Rohit and Suryakumar continued to play their shots before the former was 
bowled by Adil Rashid in the 13th over.
The Indian skipper struck six fours and cleared the boundary twice during his standout innings.
Suryakumar would follow soon after, holing out off Archer’s bowling in the 16th over, leaving India at 124/4. He clubbed two sixes and four fours during his innings of 47.
With a firm foundation already laid, all-rounders Hardik Pandya (23 from 13, 6sx2, 4sx1), Ravindra Jadeja (17 not out, 9 balls, 4sx2), and Axar Patel (10 from 6 balls, 6sx1) managed to get 47 runs off the last four overs, pushing their side to a challenging 171/7.
Chris Jordan led the way for the England bowlers, snapping up 3/37 (3 overs), while there was a wicket each for Topley, Archer, Rashid, and Curran.
In search of an imposing 172 to win, the Englishmen’s chase never got off the ground, and the opening partnership of 26 was the highest of their innings as Man of the Match Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav put a stranglehold on England.
Butler began the chase with four typically well-struck boundaries and seemed well set on 23 (15 balls) after the first three overs. Patel, on the other hand, was introduced to the attack and had different ideas, striking immediately as he had England’s captain toe-ending a reverse sweep to the gleeful Pant behind the stumps.
From there, it all went downhill for England, who continued to lose wickets consistently, with only Harry Brook (25 from 19 balls) and tailender Archer (21 from 15 balls) putting up any sort of resistance with the bat.
Bumrah then bowled Phil Salt in the very next over to start a domino-like effect. Patel made it a habit of taking wickets from the first ball of his overs. He bowled Jonny Bairstow for a duck before having Moen Ali stumped in the sixth and eighth overs, respectively, to leave England in a precarious situation at 46/4.
Curran and Harry Brook, the last two recognised batsmen, could not haul their side out of the nosedive, and their dismissals marked the beginning of the end for England.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up right where Axar had left off, accounting for both Curran and Brook; the latter bowled while the former was trapped Leg Before Wicket (LBW).
At 68/6 in the 11th over, defeat was eminent, and it was only thanks to Archer throwing caution to the wind during his 21-run innings, which included a four and a pair of sixes, that England managed to reach anywhere close to the 100-run mark.
When Archer was pinned in front of the stumps by Bumrah in the 17th over, it was all over for England, as the defending champions were sent home with a harrowing 68-run defeat.
Patel returned figures of 3/23 from his four overs, while Yadav was excellent, claiming 3/19 (4 overs). Bumrah, efficient as usual, took 2/12 (2.4 overs), with run-outs accounting for the other two wickets.
With this semifinal victory, India have given themselves a chance of clinching their first major international title in 11 years when they face South Africa tomorrow in Barbados.
Both sides, undefeated throughout the tournament, will be looking to continue their respective streaks and, in the process, win the coveted title.
For South Africa, it will be a chance at redemption, as they have been perennial contenders over the years but have continually ‘choked’ at the semifinal hurdle. The final is slated for Kensington Oval and will bowl-off at 10:30am.
