India crash out of 2022 T20 World Cup: Key takeaways
What's the story
England thrashed India in the second semi-final of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval.
The Englishmen claimed a 10-wicket win while chasing 169.
Jos Buttler and Alex Hales helped England secure a convincing win.
Earlier, Virat Kohli broke a flurry of records with another half-century.
Hardik Pandya dazzled with a 33-ball 63.
England will take on Pakistan in the final.
Final
Second T20 World Cup final
England have reached their second final in the T20 World Cup.
Their last appearance in the final came in 2010 when England were crowned champions.
They defeated Australia in the final.
On the other hand, India's wait for an ICC trophy continues!
The inaugural T20 World Cup (2007) champions had an opportunity to reach their second final.
Start
A slow start by India
India's slow start in the Powerplay cost them the match.
KL Rahul departed early, while Kohli and Rohit Sharma kept India afloat in the next four overs.
India racked up 38/1 in the first six overs.
Although Kohli played a couple of resounding strokes, India were rather conservative in this phase.
Paradoxically, Hales and Buttler propelled England to 63/0 in the Powerplay.
Rahul
Rahul's poor show against marquee sides
Rahul has been under the scanner for his low scores against marquee sides.
He has played five games against the top-eight ranked teams in the T20 WC.
His scores in these games read 3(8) vs Pakistan (Dubai), 18(16) vs New Zealand (Dubai), 4(8) vs Pakistan (Melbourne), 9(14) vs South Africa (Perth), 5(5) vs England (Adelaide).
Notably, Rahul slammed fifties against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Bowling
India's bowling got exposed
India's bowling was comprehensively exposed against Hales and Buttler.
Unlike the previous few matches, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh were wayward with their lines.
They were unable to give India an early breakthrough this time.
Moreover, India's gamble to bowl Axar Patel early did not work.
He conceded as many as 30 runs in four overs.
Rohit
Rohit fails to deliver with the bat
Although India looked like a force to reckon with under Rohit, the Indian captain did not fire with the bat throughout the tournament.
Barring his fifty against the Netherlands, he did not survive the Powerplay much.
His scores in the tournament read 4, 53, 15, 2, 15, and 27.
He averaged a meek 19.33 with a strike rate of 106.42.
Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal warmed the bench
The Indian team management made a surprising move by excluding leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
Chahal was in the squad this time, however, he did not play a single match.
Notably, he bagged the Purple Cap in IPL 2022.
Furthermore, the leading wicket-taker of the 2022 World Cup is a leg-spinner (Wanindu Hasaranga - 15 wickets).
Kohli
Kohli rules Adelaide!
Virat Kohli continued with his exploits despite all odds, having slammed his fourth fifty of the ongoing tournament (50).
King Kohli continues to rule at the Adelaide Oval.
He now has the most international runs by a visiting batter at this venue in Australia (957).
Kohli, the leading run-scorer in the format, also became the first batter to complete 4,000 T20I runs.
Pandya
Pandya rescues India's innings
Hardik Pandya smashed his third T20I fifty during the match.
It was Pandya's maiden fifty in the tournament.
While Pandya was watchful initially, he shifted gears in the end overs.
He ended up scoring 63 off 33 balls (4s: 4, 6s: 5).
India, who fell at least 20 runs short, wouldn't have crossed even the 160-run mark, had Pandya not unleashed his carnage.