India, South Africa to play for T20 World Cup title

GUYANA (West Indies): India dethroned England to march into the final of the T20 World Cup as spinners ruled the roost at the Guyana National Stadium (Providence).

India have now set up the final against South Africa to be played on Saturday at Kingston Oval Bridgetown.

On a difficult low-bounced pitch, the Indian spinner took complete control of the second semi-finals, defending a competitive 172 victory target. England were bowled out for 103 in the 17th over leaving India victorious by 68 runs.

Kuldeep Yadav (3-19) and Axar Patel (3-23) removed top five England batsmen in less than 10 overs with just 49 runs on the board.

The trend continued with no England batsman staying long to take the attack back to Indian bowlers. Cross-batted shots and getting run-outs were the reasons for England’s failure.

Harry Brooks (25) and Jos Butler (23) were the notable run-getters for England.

“I only tried to bowl on good spots, knowing well that wicket has some spin and low bounce in it,” Axar Patel who was declared Man of the Match, said.

Earlier, India reached a competitive 171 for 7 after resuming their innings from 65 for 2 in eight overs when skies broke down.

Indian batting efforts were again led by skipper Rohit Sharma (57) who struck two sixes and six fours during his 47-ball knock. Sharma’s knock again held Indian innings together following yet another failure from Virat Kohli (9). Kohli’s poor run continued, scoring just 84 runs in eight matches he played so far in the World Cup. Rohit Sharma yet again was at his best following his match-winning innings against Australia in Super Eight. Together with Suryakumar Yadav (47), he scored 73 runs for the third wicket to provide a solid foundation. Two repeated blows which saw India losing Sharma and Yadav within two overs, begged back India’s progress before Hardik Pandya (23) and Ravindra Jadeja (17 not out) added some quick runs to give India a fighting chance.

Though Chris Jordan (3-37) stood out with three wickets, England spinners including Adil Rashid (1-25) and Liam Livingstone (0-24) made a real impact. “We adapted to the conditions well and played accordingly,” Rohit Sharma said.