T20 World Cup 2022: 3 Indian players who flopped in the thumping semi-final defeat to England
Team India's 2022 T20 World Cup campaign unraveled in spectacular fashion as they were thumped by 10 wickets in the second semi-final against England at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, November 10.
Hardik Pandya was the only bright spot for India on a day when most of their batters and bowlers failed to come up with the goods under pressure. The all-rounder's 33-ball 63 gave the Men in Blue a fighting chance, one that they squandered with some terrible execution in the second innings.
Here are three Indian players who flopped in the side's embarrassing defeat to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final.
Honorable Mentions: Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Axar Patel
#3 Ravichandran Ashwin
After Jos Buttler and Alex Hales helped England race away to 63/0 at the end of the powerplay, India's dwindling hopes lay in the hands of Ravichandran Ashwin. The off-spinner, who had been decent in the T20 World Cup barring a poor outing against South Africa, needed to produce breakthroughs immediately.
Bowling the seventh over, Ashwin started positively by getting some turn and beating Buttler's inside edge on his second delivery. But the veteran bowler lost the plot during the remainder of his spell. He was swept over the short square-leg boundary off the fifth ball of his first over by Hales.
Brought back into the attack in the 12th over, Ashwin again started decently but was carted for 10 runs in his last two balls. Hales first essayed another slog-sweep before rocking back and carving a short carrom-ball to the sweeper boundary. The England opener toyed with a bowler of Ashwin's caliber, and away went India's last chance of getting back into the contest.
#2 KL Rahul
KL Rahul is no stranger to being dismissed cheaply against the best teams in the world, and his T20 World Cup record against the top eight sides in the world got worse.
Rahul started off positively by finding the point boundary off his very first ball, but Chris Woakes prised him out with ease in the second over. The 30-year-old fished at a shortish delivery outside off, only managing to feather it through to Buttler. His dismissal left India under immense pressure in the powerplay, especially since his opening partner too was horribly out of touch.
Rahul has always been tentative on the biggest stages, and he just can't seem to get out of his own head. Even on the field, there was one occasion where the ball demanded a dive but he wasn't willing to put in the effort. Does Rahul belong in India's best T20I side, given his evident issues?
#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
With 168 on the board, India desperately needed early wickets. Their main for that task, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, had to make the most of his positive match-up against Buttler. However, the swing bowler's terrible opening spell set the tone for what became a comfortable run-chase.
There was swing on offer, but Bhuvneshwar just couldn't get his lines right. As Buttler walked down the pitch to negate the lateral movement, Rishabh Pant came up to the stumps, a tactic that rarely brings about a wicket. The bowler's lengths became shorter and the outswinger was taken out of the equation, making it easier for Buttler to negotiate.
Hales joined in on the fun in Bhuvneshwar's second over as the pacer finished with figures of 0/25 in his two overs. The 32-year-old was a massive letdown in helpful conditions, with Rohit mentioning the same lack of execution in his post-match assessment.