In the second Twenty20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday in Adelaide, Hardik Pandya scored 63 runs off just 33 balls to lead India to a respectable 168-6 victory over England.
Virat Kohli scored 50 runs, his fourth half-century of the competition, and formed important partnerships, such as a 61-run fourth-wicket stand with Pandya, who savaged the opposition’s attack in the closing overs.
Chris Jordan took three wickets for England’s disciplined bowlers, but Pandya went on the offensive, hammering left-arm quick Sam Curran for 20 runs in the 19th over after exploding with a string of boundaries.The victor will play Pakistan in the final on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the previous semifinal.
India was given the opportunity to bat by England, who had to make two changes as Dawid Malan and Mark Wood were forced to out due to injuries. KL Rahul got things started with a thunderous boundary off Ben Stokes.
Rahul was caught behind by rising delivery from pitcher Chris Woakes for five.After a shaky start, skipper Rohit Sharma struck four boundaries as Kohli and he tried to rebuild, but Jordan, who was in the lineup for Wood, broke through in his first over.When Sharma mistimed to wide long-on with the score at 57 and India had reached the halfway point at 62-2 off 10 overs, Jordan broke up a 43-run partnership.
Suryakumar Yadav hit a six and a four off Ben Stokes, but he eventually lost the match for 14 to Adil Rashid’s leg-spin.With a boundary off Liam Livingstone, Kohli reached 4,000 runs in T20 international matches and brought India’s total up to 100-3 after 15 overs.
