India beat England by 68 runs

(Reuters) – A dominant India beat England by 68 runs in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup today, ending England’s title defence and securing a place in the final against South Africa.

In the rain-halted match, India posted a strong score of 171-7 with captain Rohit Sharma (57) and Suryakumar Yadav (47) scoring the bulk of the points on the slow track at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

The 2007 champions then staged a comeback, beating England by 103 runs in 17 overs, with their spin duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav wreaking havoc with the spinners.

India will take on South Africa in Bridgetown on Saturday in what will be a clash between the two unbeaten teams in the tournament.

“It is very satisfying to win this match,” said an elated Rohit, who may be playing in his last T20 World Cup.

“We worked very hard as a team. It was a joint effort by everyone to get a win like this.”

The match started late due to rain and a wet outfield, with England captain Jos Buttler choosing to field after winning the toss.

India scored 46 runs in six powerplay overs and lost the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.

Rohit’s first few shots were shaky but soon gained confidence.

Suryakumar at the other end used his trademark shot to scoop Chris Jordan over fine leg for a six before play was suspended due to rain, with India at 65-2 in eight overs.

After more than an hour, the play resumed and Rohit scored 50 runs off 36 balls with a six, which also took India’s score to 100 in the 13th over.

Adil Rashid bowled Rohit while Jofra Archer stopped Suryakumar from reaching his fifty to temporarily stifle India.

Jordan (3-37) bowled Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dubey in consecutive overs but India still managed to post a competitive total.

England started strongly but a collapse of the top order, triggered by Axar (3-23), saw the scoreline fall to 49-5.

The left-arm spin bowler got Buttler (23) out in the first ball and got Jonny Bairstow for a home run in the next over.

In the interlude, Phil Salt was pinned at leg stump by Jasprit Bumrah.

Man of the match Axar returned to the game to bowl Moeen Ali off a drive before fellow spinner Kuldeep (3-19) turned the tide on a slow pitch that kept the ball low at times.

The left-arm wrist-spin bowler trapped Sam Curran and Jordan and cleanly bowled Harry Brook (25) to put India firmly in the ascendancy.

“India did outperform us,” Buttler said.

“We held them to 20-25 extra points on a very challenging surface, and they played very well. They fully deserved the win.”

Under Buttler, England failed to retain their 50-over World Cup title in India last year.