England captain Jos Buttler said that he erred in not bowling spinner Moeen Ali on a surface that favours spin at the Providence Stadium during the semi-final matchup against India in Guyana, as their ICC T20 World Cup championship defense came to an abrupt end.

The two undefeated teams will play each other on Saturday. India will play South Africa in the T20 World Cup final after the Rohit Sharma-led team defeated England by a commanding 68 runs at Providence Stadium in Guyana.

The Indian spinners who took the brunt of England’s onslaught swept away the past. The trauma of 2022 was long forgotten as the Indian squad exacted revenge for their 10-wicket loss against England.

With six wickets each, Indian spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav thoroughly controlled Guyana’s spin-friendly surface. Adil Rashid bowled four overs for England, giving up 25 runs and taking the most valuable wicket of India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, while Moeen Ali did not deliver a single over.

Against India, Buttler said he ought to have let two spinners bowl, as the Men in Blue’s left-arms annihilated the reigning champions and left them staggering at 103.

“Livingstone and Rashid, our two lads, bowled very well. In retrospect, I should have bowled Moeen, given the way the spinners were bowling and the way the spin was playing. We are really pleased with everyone’s work. Buttler said in a post-game statement, “We remained together and lost when it counted the most.

Coming to the game, India won 171/7 thanks to Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja’s late flourish, riding high on the back of Rohit’s fifty, and Suryakumar Yadav’s aggressive cameo pyrotechnics at Providence Stadium.

The Three Lions came out swinging as they chased the goal 172, determined to keep their title intact, but the undefeated Indian team proved to be too formidable for the reigning champs. The Indian supporters began to get glimpses of the 2022 World Cup semi-final as England scored at a robust run rate of more than eight.

Although Buttler and Phil Salt, the openers, got off to a good start, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah combined to destroy the top order.

By that moment, England needed to score 100 runs off of the 46 balls they still had available, or 72/7.

After Jofra Archer, who had struck a fantastic 21 from 15 balls, was thrown out leg before wicket by Bumrah, it was all over for the reigning champions as England’s innings ended at 103.

By that moment, England needed to score 100 runs off of the 46 balls they still had available, or 72/7.

After Jofra Archer, who had struck a fantastic 21 from 15 balls, was thrown out leg before wicket by Bumrah, it was all over for the reigning champions as England’s innings ended at 103.