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Defending champions England were outplayed by India in the second T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal as Rohit Sharma and company bagged a thumping 68-run win to make it to their third consecutive final of an ICC event. Jos Buttler, who seemed to have missed a few tricks, reflected on his tactical mistakes in the game.
As England managed to bag seven wickets against India in the first innings, Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowler, scalping three wickets. On a pitch that offered turn, England skipper Buttler went ahead with Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid as the spinners and didn’t bring Moeen Ali into the picture.
In response, India fielded three spinners- Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. Rohit Sharma introduced Axar in the powerplay, with the all-rounder picking up two wickets inside the first six overs. While Jadeja went wicketless, Axar and Kuldeep finished with three scalps each.
About the strategic mistake of not giving Moeen Ali the ball, Buttler said during the post-game press conference (via Cricbuzz):
“Obviously, they've got some fantastic spinners. Our two guys bowled well, but in hindsight, I should have brought Moeen [on] in that innings, with the way that the spin was playing. Obviously, with the rain around in those conditions, I probably didn't think it was going to change that much. And I actually don't think it really did. I thought they out-bowled us. They had an above-par score. So I don't think necessarily the toss was the difference between the teams.”
Jos Buttler admits India outplayed England
The England captain also reflected on his decision to chase on a bowling-friendly pitch. Buttler backed the decision, adding that the defending champions conceded 20-25 runs more than what could have been a par score to chase.
Speaking of the team’s plans and their execution, he stated in the post-match presser:
“A little bit of both. I thought they played well as well. I thought we bowled a little bit without luck in the power play, a few close calls there. But, yes, I think the benefit of hindsight and reflecting, I would have got Moeen [Ali] in the game of course. So, yes, bits and pieces here and there. Yeah, disappointing. I think we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. So, yeah, I thought they had an above-par score. I was hoping to restrict them to 145 - 150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there.”
India will now face Aiden Markram-led South Africa in the high-intense summit clash on Saturday, June 29.
