India has beaten England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024, which is not a surprise to anyone. The real question is how a team like England found its way to the semifinals of the tournament. They have overachieved, certainly, and should have been kicked out during the group stage, but Australia did them a favor.
It’s fascinating that they lost to Australia, South Africa, and India yet still found their way to the semifinals. It should have been Australia or the West Indies in their place, as England couldn’t even compete against the big teams. Australia kept them on their knees, and India took away any self-respect they had left.
Leadership plays a big role. Jos Buttler is a fine T20 batter, but he’s not a T20 captain. Knowing that the pitch is slow and Indian batters would use the third man to fine leg area for scoring runs, Buttler couldn’t find a way to stop them. India scored around 60 runs in this zone, using their feet and angles effectively. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja all found ways to score runs in that zone quite untroubled.
What was Phil Salt doing, trying to smash Jasprit Bumrah out of the ground like that? It was a “you miss I hit” delivery from Bumrah, and Salt made a fool of himself by not being smart enough to tackle the biggest threat. England’s batting needs a thorough change now.
Moeen Ali has to give up now. His contribution to England’s success has not been impressive at all. Jonny Bairstow, too, needs to step away and let a youngster seal the big spot. Liam Livingstone is not utilizing the talent he has; he’s too slow to get going. Sam Curran is a mystery to himself; his batting is abysmal and his bowling unpredictable.
The way Ali got out was really a shame. Despite having so much experience, he chose to come down the track and hit Axar Patel. When did he perform well in this tournament? He played as a specialist batter throughout the tournament but failed to produce an innings of any substance.
The intent was never there. Barring Jos Buttler and Harry Brook, everyone looked uneasy. Probably, they didn’t know how to play in these conditions. Some experienced players couldn’t even rotate the strike and, in a way, kicked themselves out of the game by being too conservative.
Still, England will feel blessed to have played in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2024. Never once did they look confident or comfortable. Good fortune kept them moving in the tournament, but it had to end this way. The reality check was necessary for them.
India’s comprehensive victory over England highlighted the chasm in quality and tactical acumen between the two sides. England’s inability to adapt to conditions and their ineffective leadership and batting lineup were starkly exposed. This tournament has shown that England needs to rethink their strategy and personnel if they hope to compete at the highest level in future T20 World Cups.
