Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put on an unbeaten stand of 170 to help England defeat India by 10 wickets in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Thursday.
The England opening pair put on a stellar performance in Adelaide, charging against the Indian bowlers from the start of their innings. Earlier in the innings, it was Hales who smashed the Indian bowlers while Buttler played second fiddle. But, once England had a firm grip on the match, the English skipper joined the party in the second half of the innings.
Incredible moments captured at the Adelaide Oval after England's thumping win ?#T20WorldCup | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/u1NTX25UeN
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 10, 2022
Alex Hales and Jos Buttler crush India
170-0 is the highest partnership in T20 World Cup history, which powered England into the final.
Their partnership enabled England to chase down 169 with 10 wickets and 24 balls remaining. Buttler scored 80* from 49 deliveries, while Hales remained unbeaten on 86 from 47 deliveries.
Earlier, India had a difficult start to their innings after losing KL Rahul early on. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma attempted to form a partnership, but England’s tight bowling prevented them from scoring quickly.
In the ninth over of the innings, Rohit Sharma was out for 27 from 28 deliveries, while Suryakumar Yadav was also out for 14. But Kohli and Pandya persisted and took the game to its logical conclusion. Kohli was out in the 18th over, just after scoring his fifty. Pandya, on the other hand, persisted and led India to a competitive score of 168/6 in 20 overs. Pandya’s efforts assisted India in scoring 68 runs in the final five overs, 54 of which came from his bat.
The Final: Pakistan vs England:
England’s crushing victory over India has helped them book a spot in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan. Both teams finished second in their respective Super 12 groups, and their chances of making the semi-finals appeared remote at one point. But both teams made incredible comebacks to not only reach the semi-finals, but also the finals. The two teams last met in the 1992 World Cup final, which Pakistan won. England will now look to set the record straight by lifting the trophy at Melbourne’s iconic MCG.
Also Read: PAKISTAN LEGEND ABDUL QADIR INDUCTED INTO THE ICC HALL OF FAME
