India vs England, 2nd Semi-Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2022 Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Date & Time: Nov 10, 06:30 PM LOCAL

England smash India to reach the final © AFP

All over! England decimate India to reach the final

Exceptional. Absolutely exceptional from Buttler and Hales. They both carried their bats to add 170 together - the highest partnership in T20 World Cups. You could say India were too flat and toothless on the field but the issues in this game stretch back to how they batted in the start of the innings. Rohit Sharma reckoned he would've batted first too if he had won the toss and that added up considering this was a big knockout game and scoreboard pressure always climbs on the chasing side. But England bowled beautifully at the start and India had familiar struggles with Rahul falling early and Rohit being scratchy.

Buttler was top-class with his proactive captaincy, throwing Rohit and Kohli a leg spin challenge with both Rashid and Liam Livingstone bowling. Rashid finished with figures of 1 for 20 in 4 overs. India even got to 168 only because of a superlative effort right at the end from Hardik, where he smashed 50 in the last four overs. But as it turned out, that was not enough after the poor start that India made eventually cost them big. England's response to India's 168 was absolutely faultless. India hardly had a sniff in the 16 overs of bowling, never coming close to getting even one breakthrough. With that, the rude reality of falling short in another ICC event continues for India.

Spare a thought for India who've thoroughly entertained in this World Cup but have fallen short but also doff the biggest hat you've got to England here. They've bounced back from a defeat to Ireland, a washout against Australia and two backs-to-the-walls performances that even brought them to the last-four. Now they have a shot at glory against an equally feisty side - Pakistan - who too were headed for the exit when South Africa offered them an unreal detour with a defeat to Netherlands. Pakistan showed they can be exceptionally clinical too by dumping out last year's finalists - New Zealand.

All this means only one things - there's one hell of a final in store on Sunday, even without India in it. That's all from us for now, Ciao!

If you're looking for the difference maker in this game, this sums it up...

81 5

Ben Stokes at the start...

Before today, the all-rounder has dismissed KL Rahul twice in 13 balls in T20Is. Nice aggressive move from Buttler early on.

TOSS: England win the toss, opt to bowl; India pick Pant ahead of Karthik. England bring in Phil Salt and Chris Jordan for Dawid Malan and Mark Wood.

Let's talk tactics...

Against a current T20 batting behemoth, these are numbers are incredble from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. If the white ball swings, Bhuvneshwar will be in business again!

Can Buttler do better against Bhuvneshwar today? ©Cricbuzz

Chris Jordan has always been lauded for his death-overs bowling and wide yorkers, but maybe there's a reason to use a couple early on snuff out the opener with two successive fifties in the tournament.

Can KL Rahul get another half-century today? ©Cricbuzz

Captains thoughts...

Indeed. Two teams capable of flexing their batting muscles at will here. Interestingly, both teams have had to mellow down and tailor their otherwise gung-ho batting mentality to suit the testing conditions on offer in Australia. To be fair, both teams have done a decent job of it. Jos Buttler acknowledged the need to know that not always do you go for a 200-run total, but also that pushing the boundaries - like his team does so often - would be to get 150 when 125-130 is considered par.

Rohit Sharma meanwhile did a fine job of tempering the sky-high expectations, squarely taking the pressure off his players. Got to say something that hasn't been said in this World Cup so far - well played, Rohit!Because that's exactly what you want your skipper to do - let the world know that a failure in the semis - which comes with an iron-clad 50% possibility - doesn't define this side that has made giant strides since the lows of the early exit in 2021.

Prelude - India vs Pakistan or England vs Pakistan?

That's the big question tonight! Imagine being Babar Azam & Co. right now, sitting back, relaxed and watching two really, really strong sides leave everything on the field today to tussle them for the trophy. Ah, life! Anyway, I digress...

It's second semifinal day, folks! Hopes, expectations, pressures and nerves will all be through the roof for both sets of fans. Just imagine the stakes. Gargantuan. But there's something oddly calming about India vs England in a knockout game. For starters, it isn't India-v-Pakistan so the narrative and context is not heavily peppered with history and the relationship of the countries outside of the sport. And there's no recent big clash between these two sides to recall and cite as motive for revenge.

Coincidentally or not, these are two exceptional sides that have charted its own paths in white-ball cricket and now finally meet at the intersection. Tactically, this match is loaded with narratives and that's what's going to make the next four-odd hours extremely enticing. So, find your nearest cozy couch, clear your schedule for the day (you know you have to!) and glue yourself to the TV (or this BLOG!) and watch some magic unfold, because... that's just what this World Cup has been about.