England, under Mott & Buttler, won the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. But they'll be facing some tough questions back home. They couldn't get past the Group Stage in the 2023 ODI World Cup and although they made it to the semis here, England were able to register just one win against a Test-playing country. From India's point of view, Adelaide 2022 has been avenged but they have a bigger goal in front of them which is to end their 11-year ICC title drought. They are up against a team that's playing a World Cup final for the first time. We've had two lopsided semifinals but the final at Barbados will be a clash between two unbeaten sides in this competition. We'll be back to bring you all the action on Saturday from that mouth-watering finale. For now, it's goodbye from all of us down here...
Rohit Sharma: Very satisfying to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit. To win this game like that was a great effort from everybody. We adapted to the conditions really well. The conditions were a little challenging, we had to adapt and that's been the success story for us so far till this game. We have adapted to the conditions really well, played the conditions really well. The bowlers and the batters, if they play according to the conditions, things falls in place and that's exactly what happened for us today. Very pleasing to see how we came through this game. At one stage, we were feeling 140-150 and as the game went on, we got some runs in the middle, me and Surya. We got that partnership, then we said another 25 runs more. I can set the target in my mind, but I don't want to let anyone know about it, to the batters ... because ... they are all all instinctive players and I want them to go out there and play freely without thinking too much about what's the par score. We bat well, we understand the condition well, we will get to a good score and that's exactly what happened. We got to 170 which I thought was a very good score on that pitch and then the bowlers were fantastic. They (Axar and Kuldeep) are gun spinners. When the conditions like that are in front of them, It's difficult to play some shots. The pressure is on them as well to come and execute those balls but they were calm and knew what to bowl. We had a little chat after the first innings - try and hit the stumps as much as possible, keep the stumps in play. He (Kohli) is a quality player. Any player can go through that. We do understand his class and we do understand his importance in all these big games. Form is never a problem. When you've played cricket for 15 years, form is never a problem. He's looking good, the intent is there, he's probably saving for the final. Absolutely (backing Kohli for the final). We have been very calm as a team. We understand the occasion (final), it's a big occasion. For us it's important we keep calm. Staying composed helps you make good decisions and that''ll be required. We got to keep making good decisions throughout the 40 overs. That'll help us making the game through. In this game, we were very steady and calm. We didn't panic too much and that has been the key for us. You got to play good cricket and that's what we want to do in the final as well. We'll try our best, that's all I can say. The team is in good shape, they are playing well. All I can hope is to put up another good show come the finals.
Jos Buttler: India certainly outplayed us. We let them get 20-25 runs too many. It was a challenging surface that they played well on. They outplayed us and fully deserved the win. Very different conditions (than 2022), credit to India. They played a really good game of cricket. With the rain around, didn't expect the conditions to change that much. Don't think it really did. They outbowled us. They had an above-par score. I don't think that toss was necessarily the difference between the teams. They've got some fantastic spinners. Our two guys (Rashid and Livingstone) bowled well. In hindsight, should have bowled Moeen in that innings with theway spin was playing. They had an above-par score and with a brilliant bowling attack, it was always going to be a tough chase. With everything that's happened throughout the whole tournament, really proud of everyone's effort to be here. You can only play who's put in front of you. We've had lots of adversities throughout the competition, we stuck well together as a group, played some really good cricket in patches but came up short when it mattered the most.
India is the first team to win defending a total in a T20 WC knockout game since Sri Lanka's 27-run win (DLS) over West Indies in the 2014 semi-final in Mirpur. The last 12 were won by the chasing side.
Stats update by Roshan Gede
There have been 13 instances of a team winning the toss and opting to field in a T20 World Cup knockout (semis or the final), only two of which ended in defeats: WI vs SL in the 2009 semi-final at The Oval and England today.
The last instance of a team having an unbeaten run throughout a Men's ICC tournament was the Champions Trophy 2013 (India).
The two unbeaten teams in the competition will face-off in the final, no team has had an unbeaten run throughout a T20 World Cup previously.
Most wickets in a T20 WC edition for India
15 - Arshdeep Singh (2024)
13 - Jasprit Bumrah (2024)
12 - RP Singh (2007)
11 - Ravichandran Ashwin (2014)
Biggest win margins for India in T20 WC
90 runs vs ENG, Colombo RPS, 2012
73 runs vs AUS, Mirpur, 2014
71 runs vs ZIM, Melbourne, 2022
68 runs vs ENG, Providence, 2024 SF
66 runs vs AFG, Abu Dhabi, 2021
Biggest win-margins in T20 WC knockouts (by runs)
74 runs - WI vs AUS, Colombo RPS, 2012 SF
68 runs - IND vs ENG, Providence, 2024 SF
57 runs - SL vs WI, The Oval, 2009 SF
36 runs - WI vs SL, Colombo RPS, 2012 final
Pace vs Spin in this game
Pace: 8/163 in 17.4 overs (ER: 9.23)
Spin: 7/107 in 19 overs (ER: 5.63)
India’s longest winning streaks in T20Is
12 - Nov 2021 to Feb 2022
11* - Dec 2023 to June 2024
9 - Jan 2020 to Dec 2020
Most wins in a T20 WC edition
8* - South Africa (2024)
7* - India (2024)
6 - Sri Lanka (2009)
6 - Australia (2010)
6 - Australia (2021)
Axar Patel | Player of the Match: I have bowled in the powerplay in the past, so I had to bowl in the powerplay, that was the plan. The wicket was stopping and keeping low, so tried to bowl in the right areas. The wicket was slow, so I tried to bowl slower in this match, it worked for me. Wouldn't have worked had I bowled quicker, would have been easier for their batters. Our batters told us that the wicket wasn't easy, so 160 was a good total according to us. That partnership (between Rohit and SKY) was magnificent, they scored the occasional boundaries and rotated the strike. Not thinking about Barbados at the moment, will celebrate this player of the match award first.
16:01 Local Time, 20:01 GMT, 01:31 IST: India storm into the T20 World Cup final with a thumping win over the defending champions. Buttler opted to field and Rohit was happy to bat first on a dry surface. Despite losing Kohli and Pant cheaply inside the powerplay, Rohit and Suryakumar stitched a crucial half-century partnership. Even a 75-minute rain break didn't hamper their momentum much. Crucial contributions from Hardik, Jadeja and Axar took India's total to 171. Although it looked above-par, India would have been wary of England. Buttler started on a good note, struck three boundaries off Arshdeep's 2nd over. Axar struck off his very first ball by removing the dangerous Buttler, who fell trying to reverse-sweep, and England lost their plot completely after that. The in-form Salt was deceived by Bumrah and then India choked England with spin. Three wickets apiece for Axar and Kuldeep, a couple of run-outs and then Bumrah completed the formalities to put the final nail in the coffin for Buttler and Co.
16.4
Bumrah to Jofra Archer, out Lbw!! LBW appeal, up goes the finger. Jofra Archer reviews it though. 142.8kph, pace on and very full. Jofra Archer walks across a long way, gets low to sweep and is hit very low on the back leg. No bat, confirmed on UltraEdge. Over to ball-tracking and it's clipping the leg-stump (umpire's call). The onfield call stays. India win by 68 runs! Jofra Archer lbw b Bumrah 21(15) [4s-1 6s-2]
Bumrah to Jofra Archer, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!
DRS!
16.3
Bumrah to Topley, 1 run, 142.5kph, backs away a long way to pull this in-slanter, only manages an inside edge onto his pad
