Explained | Where India lost the plot in the T20 World Cup semifinal

Aggressive before the World Cup changed to cautious at the top, and that cost India badly in the match which mattered the most. India were 38/1 after their powerplay. While KL Rahul departed for 5, Rohit Sharma played an innings of labour as he went back to the dugout after a 28-ball 27. England skipper Jos Buttler’s decision to tie Rohit and Virat Kohli down with the leg-spin of Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone paid rich dividends.

The English tactics were on point and India paid the price of batting slowly for the first 15 overs. They were clearly 20 runs short of a par score. India’s top 3 scored 82 runs off 73 balls at a strike rate of 112. India just hit 6 boundaries in the first 10 overs whereas England hit 14 in the same phase. Clearly, the ‘intent’ was missing and it wasn’t a bilateral series match, it was the semifinal of the World Cup!

Right from the start. Jos Buttler hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for three boundaries in the very first over of the England innings and that for some reason tempted Rohit Sharma to drop the point fielder in the deep and it got absolutely easy for the England openers as the bowlers pulled back their lengths and were not looking to swing the ball.

Arshdeep Singh, who had been in brilliant form in the tournament, was taken off the attack just after one over. Baffling tactics! The man who had bowled brilliantly in the powerplay was just given one over in the same period. And that too, when both Buttler and Alex Hales are susceptible to the ball swinging in.

The pressure was never created and England got off to a flying start. The Men in Blue’s tactics were very defensive and not looking to take wickets cost them dearly. On a pitch where England spinners put brakes on the scoring  rate by turning the ball, Axar Patel was busy darting the ball instead giving it air and getting help from the track. Indian bowlers’ line and length were also all over the place.

England openers showed how one bats with intent and that you need to go hard in the powerplay. It was a case of two contrasting powerplays that sum up where India lost the match! India were 38/1 after 6 overs whereas England were 63/0 in the same period. And that 63/0 became 170/0 in just 16 overs, which proves how brilliant England were and how toothless India were. A 10-wicket win with four overs to spare is an absolute decimation and India need to do some soul-searching after failing in the knockout of a World Cup yet again.