IND vs ENG | Surya-Rohit's alliance and Kuldeep-Axar's magic crush England propelling India into the finals

Brief Scores: IND: 171/7 [ Rohit: 57, Surya: 47; Jordan: 3/37] beat ENG: 103 [ Brook:25, Buttler: 23; Kuldeep: 3/19] by 68 runs.

Following a rain-delayed start, England captain Jos Buttler’s decision to bowl first paid dividends after Reece Topley cleaned up Virat Kohli in the third over with a jaffa. With the odd ball skidding and keeping low, Rohit Sharma played through the tough phase with periodic boundaries despite losing Rishab Pant in a 46-run powerplay. Subsequently, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav added 23 runs in the next couple of overs before rain halted the play temporarily. Play resumed after 77 minutes with no overs lost and the Indian pair milked the English spinners in the next couple of overs before breaking the shackles with a six against Liam Livingstone in the eleventh over. Subsequently, the pair extracted 19 runs off Sam Curran with Rohit racing to a 36-ball fifty and steering India to 110/3 in 13 overs. Adil Rashid cleaned him up in the next over, and the Men in Blue could add just 22 runs in the next four overs for the cost of Suryakumar. However, Hardik Pandya’s 12-ball 23 coupled with handy contributions from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja helped India pile up 171 runs on board. 

Unlike their counterparts, England’s decent start did not transcend well as Axar Patel’s introduction inside the powerplay turned the tide in India’s favour. After outwitting Jos Buttler in the third over, Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up Salt in the next over, followed by Bairstow departing for a bronze duck to wrap up a 39-run powerplay. Kuldeep Yadav joined hands with Axar during the middle overs, adding further woes in the English dugout as the duo removed Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, and Harry Brook swiftly. With England’s score reading 71/6 in twelve overs, Kuldeep claimed his third scalp by trapping Chris Jordan plumb in front before Liam Livingstone fell prey to a shambolic run-out and Adil Rashid followed suit. Eventually, Bumrah returned for a third over to hit the final nail in the coffin as England got folded for 103.

Rohit crying?

Wait what?

That's India for you!

Cheers!

India wins it!

All happy faces at Guyana!

GReat win!

Big game and India wins it!

Great margin!

What a game!

LOLLLLLLL!