T20 World Cup 2022: 2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their harrowing semi-final loss to England
A blistering opening partnership from England consigned Team India to a painful 10-wicket defeat in the second 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10.
India turned in an insipid performance after being asked to bat first. Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli notched up fifties as the Men in Blue barely managed to reach a par total. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales made a mockery of the target, achieving it with four overs to spare.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke by India in their T20 World Cup semi-final clash against England.
#3 Mistake - Conservative batting approach
It might be strange to label India's batting approach against England "conservative". To be fair to Rohit Sharma, he did play his shots; he just couldn't find the middle of the bat to save his life. KL Rahul, too, got off the mark with a boundary instead of playing out a maiden.
But others in the batting lineup didn't play to the merits of the situation. There wasn't much movement on offer with the new ball, and while England's spinners were decent, India could've easily been more aggressive. Despite Rohit struggling at the other end, Virat Kohli was happy to knock it around for singles and twos.
Hardik Pandya, who came in at No. 5, took a long time to get going. While he was able to make up for his slow start at the death, Kohli was dismissed with two overs to spare for a 40-ball 50. India ended up with 168, which was never going to be enough.
#2 Masterstroke - Promoting Hardik Pandya to No. 5
At face value, the decision to send Hardik Pandya at No. 5 ahead of Rishabh Pant didn't make much sense. Pant, the team's only specialist left-hander, could've taken on Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone, who sent down a combined seven overs early in the innings. Pandya, on the other hand, was probably India's best bet at a strong finish.
But given how it turned out, it has to be appreciated even if the thinking didn't exactly seem clear. Pandya got to spend 33 balls at the crease and hit four fours and five sixes during that time. Had he come later, India might not have had enough balls to spare for the all-rounder to make as big an impact.
Pant had been on the sidelines until India's final Super 12 game, and India might've decided to go with the player who has been in the mix throughout in Pandya. Nevertheless, the gamble paid off reasonably well.
#1 Mistake - Powerplay bowling
With only 168 on the board, India needed to be at their absolute best in the second innings to make the T20 World Cup final. But things unraveled for the Men in Blue right from the very first over, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaked 13 runs. Buttler struck two fours by piercing the off-side gaps before clipping a freebie on his pads through midwicket.
Things got worse for Bhuvneshwar in his second over, in which he bowled only one dot ball and got thumped over long-off for a six by Alex Hales. His supporting bowlers couldn't make any inroads either, with Axar Patel's two overs going for 19 runs. Shami conceded 11 in the fifth over as well, with all the bowlers dishing out boundary balls frequently.
Captain Rohit mentioned in the post-match presentation that India didn't get their bowling plans right in the powerplay. Both their lines and their lengths were off, and some fingers could even be pointed at the captaincy. While Axar bowled his third on the trot despite being wayward, Arshdeep bowled only one over while the game was still within India's reach. The field placements were a touch unconventional, too.
India and their fans will want to forget this display at the earliest.