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T20 World Cup 2022 | England thrashes India; to meet Pakistan in final

A thoroughly professional England annihilated an out-of-sync India by 10 wickets to sail into the World Cup final as Alex Hales and Jos Buttler’s relentless hitting mortified Rohit Sharma’s clueless attack, in Adelaide on November 10, 2022.

England seemed to have saved their best for the grand stage as they reduced the semifinal to a lop-sided affair, courtesy a splendid bowling effort which they complemented with some breathtaking stroke-making.

It was Hardik Pandya’s (68 off 33 balls) fearless hitting that took India to 168 for six but it was just about a par-score at the Adelaide Oval. England captain Buttler (80 not out) set the tone with three boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s opening over but it was Hales (86 not out) who butchered the Indian attack into submission.

The target was achieved in just 16 overs as the England batting line-up clicked for the first time in the tourney and what a day it chose to brings its A game to the fore. The England opening duo gave India’s star-studded line-up a lesson in how to build a T20 innings: that there is only one way, the offensive way.

It was one match that was decided in Powerplay as India managed only 38 runs in six overs as the archaic style of safety-first approach hurt them terribly. In complete contrast, England’s top order, which looked shaky throughout the league stage, smashed 63 in their six overs. The match was won and lost then and there.

Hales hit as many as seven sixes in his 47-ball knock and his approach showed that there were no demons in the track. He deployed the old-fashioned ‘Sanath Jayasuriya school’ of hitting in the first six overs. When Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were batting, they were looking to hit through the line unlike Hales and Buttler.

Against lesser opposition like Bangladesh, they could make it up with a total of 168 but it was never enough for a side like England which has reinvented the grammar of T20 batting.

Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep Singh didn’t get enough swing up front and the team management’s fascination to play Axar Patel (0/30 in 4 overs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0/27 in 2 overs) ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal backfired badly. The success England spinner Adil Rashid (1/20 in 4 overs) had on the same track added insult to the injury.

By the time, Buttler hit Mohammed Shami (0/39 in 3 overs) down the ground for one of his three sixes, the Adelaide Oval stands wore a desolate half-empty look.