England humiliates India, setting up a rematch of the 1992 World Cup final.
The MCG final now features England versus Pakistan.
In their uninterrupted opening stand, Hales and Buttler really stand out.
On Sunday, the champion of the tournament will be crowned.
ADELAIDE: With the help of a record-setting opening partnership from Alex Hales and captain Jos Buttler, England routed India by 10 wickets at Adelaide Oval on Thursday to advance to the final of the Twenty20 World Cup.
If England defeats Pakistan in Sunday’s final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they will become the first team in the history of white-ball cricket to hold both the 50-over and T20 World Cups simultaneously.
Hales, who returned to the starting lineup as the opener, and Buttler, who took over as captain, were instrumental in the team’s victory in their chase of 169 runs with four overs to spare, which left the massive crowd of India fans in disbelief.
Hales batted 86 not out and Buttler hit 80 not out while completing the statement win with a six off of pacer Mohammed Shami.
Given that Hales was banned from participating in England’s 2019 victory due to a recreational drug scandal, his participation in this year’s victory was all the sweeter.
He was out of the England setup for over three years before Jonny Bairstow’s injury on the golf course made room for him.
Hales, a veteran of Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League, said, “This will be right up there for sure.”
To play India in a World Cup semi-final is a monumental event. Thrilled with my performance.
One of the best nights of my career, and it feels even better because it’s happening in a country I love and where I’ve spent a lot of time.
The 170-run stand between the two English players was their team’s highest in tournament history, setting up a tantalizing showdown with Pakistan 30 years after their epic 50-over World Cup final at the MCG, which Pakistan won.
Buttler remarked that playing against strong competition gave them the “perfect match” feeling.
“We arrived energized, and the mood in the room was positive… From the looks of things, I thought all eleven of you were here today.
Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl, putting India in to bat. His bowlers did well to restrict India early, but contributions from Hardik Pandya (63) and Virat Kohli (50) helped the south Asians recover from a slow start and post 168 for six.
It looked like a defendable total, but Buttler and Hales blasted England to 63 for no loss at the end of the powerplay and then 98 at the halfway mark.
India captain Rohit Sharma admitted, “It’s pretty disappointing how we turned out today.”
Even though we struggled with the ball, I thought we still batted pretty well in the end to get to that score.
Our ball control skills fell short. This was not a wicket where a team could reasonably expect to chase down the target in 16 overs.
“The key is to put your strategies into action. The situation will become precarious if you are unable to carry out the necessary steps.
In India’s starting XI you’ll find Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Arshdeep Singh.
Team England includes captain and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler as well as batsmen Alex Hales, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, and Adil Rashid.