Rohit hails India for ‘adapting really well’ in Guyana; Buttler admits England leaked ‘20-25 runs too many’ in semi-final

India skipper Rohit Sharma hailed his team for adapting brilliantly to the tricky conditions in Guyana after thrashing England by 68 runs in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

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India posted a match-winning total of 171/7 on a challenging wicket at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana after England skipper Jos Buttler opted to field following a rain-delayed start. Rohit once again led from the front with a match-winning half-century, scoring 57 off 39 balls with Suryakumar Yadav (47) and Hardik Pandya (23) chipping in with valuable knocks.

England, in response, were bundled out for a meagre 103 with spinners Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) and Axar Patel (3/23) making the English batters dance to their tunes and collecting three wickets each as a result.

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Reflecting on his team’s clinical victory, Rohit felt India were able to adapt to the challenging conditions in Guyana, where the previous highest total in a match involving Full Members was 159 and where spinners were expected to flourish.

“Very satisfying to win. Worked very hard as a unit and it was a great effort from all. We adapted really well, conditions were challenging. That’s been the success story for us so far. If bowlers and batters adapt, things fall in place. At one stage, 140-150 looked par.

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“But we got runs in the middle, SKY and I were going and thought we can get 20-25 more. I didn’t want to give that away, wanted to let the batters play on instinct. 175 was a very good score, bowlers were fantastic. Axar, Kuldeep are gun spinners. Tough to play shots against them in these conditions. They were calm under pressure,” Rohit said after guiding his team into a second successive World Cup final in less than a year, albeit in a different format.

The ‘Hitman’, who had produced a majestic 92 in India’s 24-run victory over Australia before dishing out a 36-ball fifty against the Englishmen, also came to long-time teammate Virat Kohli’s defence after the batting superstar was dismissed for yet another low score.

Kohli was castled by Reece Topley to depart for a run-a-ball 9 right after smashing the left-arm pacer for a six. He had been dismissed for a five-ball duck against Australia on a St Lucia wicket that was a lot better to bat on, and has scored just 75 runs in seven outings in what has been a World Cup to forget so far.

“We understand his class. Form is never a problem when you’ve played for 15 years. Probably saving for the final,” Rohit added.

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Buttler, meanwhile, admitted his team had conceded “20-25 runs too many” after opting to bat, which put them under pressure from the word go once it was their turn to bat. The wicketkeeper-batter tried taking the attack to the Indians, collecting four boundaries before becoming the first English batter to fall, with things going downhill for them from thereon.

“India outplayed us. We let them get 20-25 runs too many on a challenging surface. Two years on, different conditions, credit to India. Deserve the win,” Buttler said, reflecting on how things have changed for both teams since they met in the 2022 semi-final in Adelaide, which ended with a thumping 10-wicket victory for the Englishmen.

“With the rain, didn’t think it’d change much. Don’t think it did, they bowled better. They’ve got fantastic bowlers. In hindsight, should’ve bowled Moeen the way the spin was playing. They had an above-par total and it was always a tough chase. Proud of everyone’s effort in the comp. We’ve had a lot of adversity, played really good in patches,” Buttler added.

Player of the Match Axar, meanwhile, said he kept it simple during his spell and did not try too many things on a wicket that was challenging enough for the batters.

“I’ve bowled in the powerplay in the past many times. Knew the wicket was assisting and didn’t try too many things. Wicket is slow, so didn’t want to push the pace too much. Batters told us wicket wasn’t easy to hit on, so 150-160 was a good total.

“SKY-Rohit stand was magnificent. The way they played - take the odd boundary and rotate strike - was what we needed,” the left-arm finger spinner said after accepting the Player of the Match award.