Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's semifinal win in 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Shoaib Akhtar
The cricket fraternity reacted to India securing a dominant 68-run victory over England to progress to the 2024 T20 World Cup final on Thursday, June 27, in Guyana. The Men in Blue will look to secure their second ICC title in the format, last emerging as a champion in 2007.
Batting first, India were rocked by the early strikes of Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4). However, that didn’t deter the confidence of Sharma (57) and Suryakumar Yadav (47) who stitched a 73-run stand to steer the team at a comfortable rate. Then, Hardik Pandya (23) and Ravindra Jadeja (17*) provided a fine finish as the Men in Blue posted a formidable 171 on the board.
In response, England started on a positive note, but the dismissals of Jos Buttler (23) and Phil Salt (5) triggered a collapse as India bundled out England for 103. Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) and Patel (3/23) were the pick of the bowlers for the Indian team.
On that note, let’s check out the top five reactions by experts to India’s terrific victory against England.
#1 "Rohit Sharma catches the pulse of the game" - Zaheer Khan
Appearing on Cricbuzz Live, former Indian speedster Zaheer Khan praised the tactical mindset of skipper Rohit Sharma for bringing spinners early due to the assistance from the surface. Zaheer pointed out Sharma introducing Axar Patel in the third over, which reaped fruit in the form of Jos Buttler's wicket.
"Rohit is phenomenal. He catches the pulse of the game very nicely and that is something which he did today as well," Khan said. "He was smart with knowing that today spinners are going to come into play so let let's get them early in the game."
Furthermore, the 45-year-old also felt that Sharma using Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay overs was a key for India in the T20 World Cup.
#2 Ramiz Raja lauds Axar Patel's rise in international cricket
Former Pakistan batter Ramiz Raja praised Axar Patel for his ability to secure consistent breakthroughs, with an optimum understanding of surfaces and opponents.
Here's what he said on his YouTube channel:
"Axar understands the game well. He has the idea of using particular pace for different pitches and knows the lengths to trouble the opposition teams. He has become a player for the biggest stage. Also, he has been batting well and turned the match in India's favor last game by taking a stunning catch of Mitchell Marsh. I have never seen an orthodox spinner rising so fast in international cricket."
As per Raja, the technical skills of English batters were no match to the supremacy of the spin duo of Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who were a perfect combination for the Guyana pitch.
#3 "We don't have seam bowlers who can bowl slower balls like Arshdeep or Bumrah" - Michael Vaughan
In an interaction on Cricbuzz Live, former England skipper Michael Vaughan opined that England hadn't fared well on slower wickets in the 2023 World Cup (India) and 2024 T20 World Cup (USA & West Indies).
According to Vaughan, England need to get better ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka and India, and also find a seamer who can deceive batters with their slower balls like Arshdeep Singh or Jasprit Bumrah.
"We always have a glimmer of hope, you get to a semi-final you think oh they can produce a bit of magic but England now in the last World Cup and this World Cup they just don't play that great on slow lower spinning wickets. It's just something that they have to get better at the next World Cups in Sri Lanka and India going to be very similar so over the next two years they need to I think they need to rejig this team."
He added:
"We don't seem to have any seam bowlers that can ball the slow balls like Arshdeep Singh or Jasprit Bumrah. You know those slow balls that completely deceive the batter we have good slower balls but I don't think we have the slow balls that some of the Indian seamers have."
#4 "South Africa would be scared of Indian spinners" - Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar took to his YouTube channel to state that the Indian team deserved to win the 2024 T20 World Cup and expressed his desire to see Rohit Sharma end his career on a high.
Further, Akhtar thought England made a mistake by batting second against India, on a slow Guyana pitch and in humid conditions. He advised the South African team to bat first and have a slight chance to evade the threat of Indian spinners.
"If a new Einstein doesn't pop up in South African team, if you win the toss, please choose to bat first in the final," Akhtar said. "Then, only you will have a margin to win the game. After India's terrific performance in the semifinal, South Africa would be scared of Indian spinners."
#5 "Most balanced Indian batting lineup" - Mitchell McClenaghan
In an interaction on Sky Sport NZ, former New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan praised the flexibility of the Indian batting unit, while also lauding Hardik Pandya's form.
Furthermore, ahead of the impending final clash, McClenaghan thinks southpaws Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube will be perfect match-ups against the Proteas left-arm spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. He said:
"I think that's probably the most balanced Indian batting lineup that I've seen for some time where they have left and right hand strikers, so they can actually mix up their order quite significantly. Rishabh Pant and Shivam Dube are really nice matchups to be able to come in and have an impact against Maharaj and Shamsi."