3 mistakes that cost England the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final vs India
11 years after an Indian team won an ICC trophy (the 2013 Champions Trophy), the dream is alive and kicking for Rohit Sharma and his side. It has been a near-perfect tournament for India, who are undefeated. The captain has led the way and his bowlers, with roles defined, have stepped up in almost all the matches.
India knocked out England by 68 runs in the semi-final on Thursday, June 27, perhaps burying a few demons of their 10-wicket loss to the same opponents at the same stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
India batted first, piled up 171 runs, and then knocked over England for 103. The tables had well and truly turned from Adelaide 2022.
Here we take a look at 3 mistakes that cost England the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final vs India
#3 Toss decision
The pitch at Guyana was always expected to be slow with low bounce. It had been under the covers for a good while before the toss and yet, when Jos Buttler won the toss, he elected to bowl first.
Rohit Sharma was more than happy to bat first, as he expected the pitch to dry out even more and help his spinners catch England on the hop. Buttler used his spinners Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid in the middle phase and they proved difficult to line up. Buttler did not bowl Moeen Ali even when the spinners were getting good purchases - another decision that needs to be reviewed.
Hence, this decision at the toss was even more befuddling considering how England have struggled on these pitches while hunting down targets.
#2 Trapped in the spin web
England started off trying to get ahead of the asking rate and after a couple of quiet overs, Jos Buttler took the lead against Arshdeep Singh. This was a well-thought-out tactic, but as soon as Rohit tossed the ball to Axar Patel, England lost the plot.
Axar and Kuldeep Yadav consistently targeted the stumps, did not give England any breathing space, and dismantled the chase well within the first 10 overs. Buttler tried to take on Axar as he flipped over and tried to reverse hit him, but offered a tame catch to Rishabh Pant.
Jonny Bairstow tried to open his stance and belt the ball through covers, but the ball did not turn, kept low, and smashed the stumps. Moeen Ali never really had anywhere to go after he trudged out of his crease, only to be stumped by Pant.
Kuldeep Yadav then came into the attack and England, like many other teams, was left scratching around for answers. They did not find them as Kuldeep ended his spell with three wickets for 19 runs in his four overs and kept the batters guessing his next delivery.
#1 Team selection
England had Tom Hartley waiting in the wings. He was one of the finds of the Test series in India, and as Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja showed, could have been a fine weapon to have on this pitch in Guyana. Instead, England decided to stick with four seamers, who did not have the required impact.
There was also Ben Duckett in the pavilion - a player who is one of the better players of spin in the England squad. With his whole array of sweeps and reverse sweeps, he could have been a good addition, especially since India played three left-arm spinners.
In the absence of a proper left-hander in the top order, England were forced to promote Moeen Ali and then Sam Curran, who did not have the range of a Duckett. The lack of flexibility and respecting conditions cost the defending champions the semi-final match.