T20 World Cup 2022: "It's not India's personnel, it's their mindset" - Nasser Hussain reflects on Men in Blue's loss against England in the 2nd semi-final
Former England captain Nasser Hussain blamed India's mindset instead of their personnel for their defeat in the second T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final in Adelaide on Thursday, November 10. Hussain believes England skipper Jos Buttler pulled off a masterstroke by sending India to bat first.
India's defensive batting against England attracted widespread criticism as they finished with a below-par total of 168. While Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya struck fifties, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul struggled on an excellent batting pitch as English bowlers kept a leash on them.
Eventually, Buttler and Alex Hales chased the required 169 in 16 overs without losing a wicket.
India are still playing very conservative cricket. It was an issue they hoped to address and, in all fairness did, in bilateral cricket. But here at the World Cup, India were constantly hoping the back 10 overs would bail them out. Today, it wasn't enough
In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain stated that while India boast a world-class batting unit, they failed to live up to their reputation by batting conservatively. He explained:
"It's not India's personnel. It's their mindset. Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest white-ball batters there has ever been and KL Rahul would be in any list of the best T20 players in the world. Then add Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik, and Rishabh Pant.
"You are talking about an array of world-class talent and there is no way that batting line-up should have been 66 for two at the halfway mark of a T20 innings in a semi-final."
The 54-year-old feels Rohit and Co. would have had more clarity if they batted second in the contest. Hussain continued:
"But Buttler got them thinking about how they should play by putting them in and it proved absolutely the right thing to do. If India had been chasing a decent total, they would have had to go hard but as it was, they didn't seem to know what a good score would be."
While India's overall display came under the scanner, skipper Rohit was quick to assess that their bowlers hadn't turned up. The 35-year-old credited the English openers but lamented India's ability to protect the short square boundaries at the Adelaide Oval.
"England's batting actually showed how well they bowled" - Nasser Hussain
Hussain also heaped praise on Buttler's captaincy, particularly for bowling out Adil Rashid before southpaw Rishabh Pant came out to bat. He added:
"The contrast between the two teams in their respective powerplays could not be more stark. England's batting actually showed how well they bowled. Chris Woakes set the tone with the new ball, Sam Curran was brilliant at all stages of the innings and Adil Rashid was absolutely outstanding against a side that lives on a diet of spin.
"That was one of Buttler's best games as captain. He bowled Rashid early on against the Indian right-handers and got his overs done before Pant could come in and try to belt him."
Right in the feels. https://t.co/fomESPYnr3
England will now face Pakistan in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, November 13.