In the pursuit of chasing the target of 172 runs, England suffers early dismissals during a crucial knockout match against India. The Men in Blues and England are scheduled to play in the 2nd Semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 27 at Providence Stadium.

With South Africa qualifying for the finals after defeating Afghanistan in the first semi-finals of the tournament, the outcome of the second semi-finals will decide the second finalist.

Currently, India remains unbeaten in the ongoing tournament after winning three matches in the group stages with a match against Canada washed out due to rain. In the Super 8s, they won all three matches against Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to secure a top position in the points table.

Meanwhile, England secured two victories out of four in group stages with one match getting washed out due to rain. They secured two victories in the Super 8 stages and became the second team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Coming to the match, the toss has been delayed due to a wet outfield. However, England won the toss and opted to bowl. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened the innings while Reece Topley opened the bowling attack.

Reece Topley picked the wicket of Virat Kohli in the fourth ball of the second over. He was dismissed for 9 runs on a good length delivery where he leg-sided and was then looking it over mid-wicket. But the ball flicks the leg stumps dismissing Kohli in the third over. After his dismissal, Rishabh Pant came to bat aiming for a good partnership score in the match.

Sam Curran dismissed Rishabh Pant for four runs in the sixth over. He was sent out on a floated delivery and Pant was shaping for a flick over mid-wicket, but he faced the ball too early which doesn’t elevate, and went straight into the hands of Jonny Bairstow at mid-wicket. By the end of the powerplay, India scored 46 runs for two wickets.

Suryakumar came to bat while Rohit Sharma continued to hit boundaries. By the end of 8 overs, India scored 65 for two wickets with Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav at the crease for 37* and 13* runs respectively.

With rain interrupting the match, Rohit and Suryakumar resumed the match where Indian captain Rohit Sharma smashed 57 runs on 39 deliveries including 6 fours and 2 sixes.

He was dismissed in the fourteen over by Adil Rashid while Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for 47 runs in the 16th over. In the 18th over, Chris Jordan picked the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Hardik Pandya scored 23 runs while Dube was sent out on a golden duck.

By the end of the 18th over, India scored 147 runs losing six wickets. With an impressive run from Ravindra Jadeja and Akhar Patel in the death overs, India scored 171 runs by the end of 20 overs.

With a target of 172 runs, Jos Buttler and Philip Salt opened the innings while Arshdeep Singh opened the bowling attack. Jos Buttler gave an impressive start for the side smashing 23 runs in 15 deliveries. In the first ball of the fourth over from Axar Patel, Jos Buttler was sent out where he tried a reverse sweep straightaway. The ball elevated in the air and Pant took catch for ease.

Bumrah came to bowl in the fifth over picking the wicket of Philip Salt for 5 runs. He bowled out as Philip was not expecting the slower ball and swiped early. The ball cut towards the leg stump and hit the top of it.

With the dismissal of Jonny Bairstow for a duck from the first ball of the 6th over, England lost three wickets for 35 runs in the powerplay. He strikes again picking the wicket of Moeen Ali for 8 runs. With a good length delivery on leg stump, Moeen hung back looking to strike on the leg side, and dribbled towards Pant.

Sam Curran was sent out on a lbw in the first ball of the 9th over of the ninth over. Kuldeep Yadav delivered a lengthy delivery on off-stump and the ball struck his pad. With his dismissal, England lost five wickets for 49 runs.