India’s dream of lifting the T20 World Cup for the second time ended on Thursday after a heartbreaking 10-wicket loss to England. A one-sided contest at the Adelaide Oval, saw England put up a brilliant all-round performance to smash their way into the final against Pakistan.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Chris Woakes dismissed KL Rahul in the second over. The English bowlers tightened the screws further in the powerplay, offering no room for the Indian batters. India could manage just 38 runs in six overs. 

After skipper Rohit Sharma could not capitalize on his start and was dismissed in the ninth over after a 28-ball 27, it was once again down to Suryakumar Yadav to help build the innings.

However, Adil Rashid silenced the crowd by dismissing India’s leading run-scorer in T20Is this year. Suryakumar tried to heave the ball over covers but was caught on the boundary by Philip Salt.

With India tattering at 110/3 in 16 overs, Hardik Pandya kick-started India’s counter-attack with 11 runs in Sam Curran’s over, which included a thumping cut for a six in front of the square. Kohli completed his fourth half-century of the tournament but was dismissed immediately.

Pandya dashed his way past Chris Jordan and Curran in the next three overs to give India a grandstand finish. After two blistering hits off Jordan which flew over the boundary in the 18th, Pandya collected three fours and a six off Curran in the penultimate over. 

He completed his half-century in the final over and finished with a 33-ball 63, at a strike rate just north of 190. Hardik Pandya’s feisty finish and another gritty knock by Virat Kohli helped India score 168/5 in 20 overs. 

After the break, the English openers broke loose in the most deadly way possible as skipper Jos Buttler led by example for the English. He collected two boundaries in the opening over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 

However, it was Alex Hales who did the bulk of the scoring. He got going with a terrific six over covers, following it up with more big hits off Axar Patel and Mohammed Shami. The openers smashed 63 runs in the powerplay without losing a wicket. 

Buttler and Hales ensured the scoring rate was above 10 despite getting a hold on the game in the field-restricted overs. Hales brought up his half-century in the eighth over. Jos Buttler completed his fifty in 36 deliveries and got to the landmark with a six over a deep square leg. 

England chased the total in just 16 overs without losing a wicket to set up a summit clash against Pakistan, in what will be a repeat of the 1992 World Cup final in Melbourne. 

Brief Scores

India 168/6 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 63, Virat Kohli; Chris Jordan 3/43) 

England 170/6 in 20 overs (Alex Hales 86*, Jos Buttler 80*)

Player of the match: Alex Hales