India conquers England at Guyana - storm into finals

Cricket is a team game – the success is in picking right combinations ! ~ reminisced Manchester June 22, 1983 !! 

Expectations were very high ! – Guyana is not exactly the wicket a high-profile Semis is to be played, further threatened by rain and the stops ! – yet the match was a fabulous with a much desired result.

 

The scorecard perhaps may not reflect the right pressure that was lived.  India 171 for 7 (Rohit 57, Suryakumar 47, Jordan 3-37) beat England 103 (Brook 25, Kuldeep 3-19, Axar 3-23) by 68 runs  -  now Team India is just a win away from satiating the quest for World title which they had 11 years ago when MS Dhoni led them – now the team that choked so many times but is a powerful line-up South Africa separates them from glory.    

After seeing close to 300 and 280s getting breached easily in IPL, people mindset is all slambang but T20 cricket or for that matter Cricket is not always a batters game and it is not all about hitting sixers and some fours !

The sluggish Guyana pitch and wet outfield made runs scarce and India played a good waiting game laced with some superlative hits.  On such pitches when the bowling unit is disciplined enough to hit a good length and keep the stumps in play, the batter just cannot force the pace. England planned to shut out half of the outfield to India but they weren't always successful: 69 runs, including eight fours and three sixes, still came from where they shouldn't have, at a strike rate of 192.  After hitman Rohit Sharma blitz and a beautiful innings by Suryakumar Yadav – batters  Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, Axar shone,  as they struck three sixes and two fours in the last two overs bowled by Jordan and Archer. 

Rohit played with the freedom that once characterised England's batters, emboldened to attack without fear of failure. He took risks in the Powerplay and they paid off, his 39-ball 57 the outstanding innings on either side  Suryakumar was really cool and innovative.  Pant too played his part – King Kohli and Shivam Dube failed.  Perhaps Kohli should still bat in the finals, while Dube should make way for Yashaswi Jaiswal.  

From the heights of South Australia to the depths of South America. If England were dominant in their T20 World Cup semi-final win over India in Adelaide 19 months ago, they were outthought, outplayed and outclassed by the same opponents in Guyana on Thursday. This was not just a defeat, but a thrashing.  They tried choking India with the ball but India played smartly and ended with a above par score.    With the bat, their only hope was for Buttler to score half the runs himself: when he reverse-swept the 19th ball of the chase behind, the game was as good as over.

 

Cricket is a team game – you don’t Ravi Shastri looking Axar Patel to be a game changer yet he contributed with the bat, had shone abilities with his catching and his bowling was immaculate.  He was brought on  after Jos Buttler had whacked Arshdeep Singh for three fours in an over and with his very first ball took out the biggest threat. England's captain went down to reverse-sweep the left-arm spinner but offered a toe-end to Pant. Each of Axar's first three overs had a wicket off the first ball. Jonny Bairstow once again choosing to stay leg side and getting bowled, and Moeen Ali's England career potentially ending with him unsure of where the ball had gone only to realise it was right there in Pant's hand as he broke the stumps.  He left England shattered at 46 for 4 with a stifling 3 for 23, which earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. England were 49 for 4 when Kuldeep got into the act, bamboozling Sam Curran, and then outsmarting Harry Brook. 

A brilliant win as India stormed into finals undefeated and a simlar performance should ensure their lifting the ICC T20 WC Cup 2024. 

Remember that June 22, 1983 when at Manchester, Old Trafford the grand semis of Prudential World Cup  was played  with the unlikely entrant India and arrogant favourites England.  Arrogant as all British press dismissed India and wrote about England playing finals at Lords against West Indies even before the toss !!    

Bob Willis won the toss, their openers put on 69 at more than 4 an over — a fantastic platform those days. The wicket was slow, and not at all ideal for stroke-play. Indian bowlers and particularly the duo of Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad choked the scoring.  England batsman struggled after a very good start from Greame Fowler and Chris Tavare.    Indian batting was much organized and they could romp home with 32 balls to spare.  Gavaskar 25; Krish Srikkanth 19; Mohinder46; Yashpal 61 – Sandeep Patil 51* and Kapil 1* saw them through. After Srikkanth and Gavaskar exited, Amarnath and Yashpal steadied the innings. Runs came at a slow, steady rate. The two picked the gaps and ran hard. It was this 92-run partnership that washed away all hope and when after 2/3rds – they opened up.  Mohinder hitting Marks for a 6 and Yashpal hitting Allot straight for a 6 and then audaciously moved inside and dispatching England’s fastest bowler Bob Willis over square for another.   A brilliant piece of fielding and throw by Allott ended the partnership and then Yashpal skied towards the end.    Sandeep Patil thrashed Willis again.  With scores level,   Willis called all his men over to the off-side to ensure their reaching the pavilion faster.  Sandeep Patil ended with an unbeaten half century.  Mohinder was the man of the match.

 
Hoping to see Rohit Sharma lifting the ICC T20 WC 2024
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
28.6.2024