India has failed to extend its T20 World Cup campaign to the final stage. The champions of the Super 12 stage bowed down in the semi-final against England. The match at Adelaide Oval witnessed England beating India by a margin of 10 wickets. And despite an impressive run till here, nothing helped India to get par in the knock-out match. And with that, it’s now for England and Pakistan to extend a claim of the T20 World Cup 2022 title.
What Went Wrong For India in the Semi-final Game against England?
India’s journey to the semi-final included 4 wins in the Super 12 stage and a loss. India’s sole defeat came at the hands of then table-toppers South Africa. However, the men in blue clinched victory against Pakistan, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Zimbabwe to end up at the top of the points table. And turning all the tables in the next stage, underdogs of the season Pakistan is in the final while the favorites have made a semi-final exit from the tournament. Here’s all that went wrong for team India in the semi-final match against England.
Low-Scoring Powerplay
India adopted a new and needed template for the T20Is ahead of the T20 World Cup. Skipper Rohit Sharma iterated his plan to attack and score from the very first over in the T20Is. And the very first thing that went wrong in this competition was this template of India going into shambles. KL Rahul following his template once again failed to show up in the important match. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, lacked the flow as he struggled to find runs.
Ultimately, Sharma, Rahul, and Kohli were able to score just 38 runs in the powerplay. Consequently, in a match requiring par 180 runs, India’s weak foundation fell short by a great margin. Despite a half-century by Kohli and a half-century scored by Pandya with a strike rate of 191.90, India’s total rested at a mediocre 168. The stark difference in powerplay’s effect in the game was revealed within the same match. On a pitch where India managed just 38, Buttler and Hales scored as many as 63 runs. The momentum shifted towards England in the powerplay itself.
Fumbling Pace Attack of India
India’s pace attack fell flat in the second innings as England started the chase. Buttler and Hales targeted pacers from the very first over. No one managed to scalp a single wicket in the match. And the economy sky-rocketed as Hales and Buttler bashed the bowlers left and right. Consequently, Bhuvneshwar Kumar ended his spell with an economy as high as 12.50. Mohammad Shami was no better going off with an economy of 13.00. The fifth bowling option of India, Pandya, a pacer himself bowled his 3 overs with an economy of 11.30.
What also comes off as a disappointing move from captain Rohit Sharma is the bowling rotation. India didn’t count on their best bowler of the tournament, Arshdeep Singh in the match. Singh bowled a mere 2-over spell that ended up with 15 runs. Seeing his performance in the campaign so far, he deserved a four-over spell in the semi-final clash. India sure missed the presence of Jasprit Bumrah in this specific game, even if they didn’t in the matches up until here.
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Lack of a Wrist-Spinner in the Playing 11
India’s T20 World Cup squad included Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal has proved his wicket-taking skills time and again in the IPL and international games uniformly. And still, he didn’t find a single opportunity in the Playing 11 for the World Cup campaign. The rest of the team showed the importance of wrist spinners in the campaign. And India sure lost to reap the benefits by not playing their only wrist-spinning option, Yuzvendra Chahal.
India has much to unlearn and learn simultaneously with this loss. The 10-wickets loss in the semi-final must hurt the men in blue. Seems like experimenting with their T20Is squad the whole year long has cost the Indian side. India’s next T20I campaign starts on November 18 in New Zealand. Incidentally, no senior player is available for the tour. Hardik Pandya will captain the squad that includes youngsters like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan.
