Key events
Table of Contents
ENGLAND NEED 169 TO WIN
For much of that innings, England had a degree of control. But with India there is usually chaos at the death, and today was no exception. They (I say they, it was mainly Hardik Pandya) smashed 88 from the last seven overs to take India to what feels like a par total.
A word for Chris Jordan, whose figures of 4-0-43-3 don’t do justice to some very good death bowling.
WICKET! India 168-6 (Pandya hit wicket 63)
Pandya times Jordan devastatingly over midwicket for six, then pulls a full toss for four. He whips the last ball to the boundary as well – but treads on his stumps in the process and is out hit wicket. Those four lost runs might be vital. Even so, that’s an awesome innings from Hardik Pandya: 63 from 33 balls with five sixes, including 59 from his last 24 deliveries.
WICKET! India 158-5 (Pant run out 6)
Pant blazes a wide full toss for a single, which brings the rampant Pandya back on strike. He pings a yorker to the cover sweeper for a single, an outrageously good shot for one, and then Pant misses a wide yorker.
Pandya charges down the wicket, deliberately running Pant out so that he can regain the strike. In the circumstances, that’s smart cricket. (Had it been a catch, the new batter would have been on strike, but because it was a run out they are allowed to cross.)
Three balls remaining.
Chris Jordan will bowl the last over…
19th over: India 156-4 (Pandya 52, Pant 5) Sam Curran’s last over disappears for 20! Pant makes room to carve his first ball over backward point for four, then flicks a sizzling yorker for a single.
Another wide yorker is steered deftly for four by Pandya, who then pulls a monstrous six over midwicket. The over finishes with a vicious clip towards cow corner that not even Stokes can stop. That brings up a punishing half-century from Pandya. He scored 4 from his first 9 deliveries; he’s belted 48 from the last 20.
Sam Curran, England’s premier death bowler, finishes with R-rated figures of 4-0-42-0.
18th over: India 136-4 (Pandya 37, Pant 0) That was a fine catch from Rashid, and it ends a seriously eventful over. The new batter is Rishabh Pant.
WICKET! India 136-4 (Kohli c Rashid b Jordan 50)
Virat Kohli is out, and if that doesn’t isn’t worth an exclamation mark then I don’t know what is! But first, let’s flash back to the start of the over…
Jordan tries to surprise Pandya with a short ball first up. Pandya surprises Jordan by swatting it in to the crowd at midwicket. That’s his second six, and he gets his third next ball with an incredible shot. Jordan didn’t quite nail a leg-stump yorker, and Pandya helicopter-flicked it sweetly over backward square leg.
Jordan, who was tagged at the death in last year’s semi-final, must be having flashbacks. But his response is admirable: a bouncer that beats Pandya and then a perfect yorker that Pandya can only squeeze for a single.
Kohli drives two through extra cover to bring up his usual half-century: 39 balls, four fours, one six. But he falls next ball, squirting a wide yorker to Rashid at short third man. Virat Kohli is out!
17th over: India 121-3 (Kohli 48, Pandya 24) Here comes Sam Curran. He’s been England’s banker at the death in this tournament, but this is an entirely different challenge.
His first ball is short, wide and slammed savagely over the short square boundary for six by Pandya. Kohli punches the air with delight.
The next ball is heaved to deep square leg, where the sprawling Hales does very well to save two runs. Curran nails a wide yorker that is scrunched down the ground, with the non-striker Kohli scarpering back for two. That’s excellent running.
But it’s also an excellent comeback from Curran: six from the first ball, five from the next five.
Three overs to go, and there is absolutely no consensus about what would be a par score.
Don’t think this pitch is totally straightforward. 170 could be a winning score
— simon hughes (@theanalyst) November 10, 2022
Need a big finish. This isn’t enough on this surface. Need 160 minimum by the look of it
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 10, 2022
16th over: India 110-3 (Kohli 48, Pandya 13) Kohli smiles at his reprieve and then drives Jordan’s next ball through extra cover for four. Glorious batting.
A misfield from Livingstone gives him a single, and then Pandya pulls another to deep square. India score 10 for the third consecutive over.
KOHLI IS NOT OUT!
Well, I thought it was plumb but in fact it was only clipping leg stump. That means it’s umpire’s call and Kohli survives. I can’t decide whether that’s a remarkably good decision from Paul Reiffel or a really poor one.
15.2 overs: India 102-3 (Kohli 43, Pandya 10) Chris Jordan has bowled 10,000 yorkers in the nets, all for a moment like this. If all goes to plan, he’ll be out form this end. He starts inauspiciously, with a leg-side wide to Pandya, and then knocks Kohli off his feet with a sensational yorker.
Paul Reiffel says not out but England go for the review. If it’s pad first, it’s plumber than plumb.
15th over: India 100-3 (Kohli 43, Pandya 9) Livingstone does indeed continue; I suspect this is Woakes’s fourth over that he’s bowling, which would love three from Jordan and two from Curran.
After his usual watchful start, four from nine balls, Pandya smears a terrifying boundary just past the umpire’s head. After a couple of useful dot balls for England, Kohli waves a superb boundary through extra cover. Not even Jordan, running round from long off, could stop that.
India have scored ten from each of the last two overs. If they keep that up they’ll get to 150 – but I suspect they’ll be eyeing closer to 170.
England going with the short straight on fielder (technically short straight hit, but that’s not as good a name)
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) November 10, 2022
14th over: India 90-3 (Kohli 38, Pandya 4) Kohli slashes Woakes past short third man for four, his first boundary since the seventh over. He is so good at vrooming through the gears at the death, so England won’t feel remotely comfortable while he is at the crease.
Woakes is wided when Pandya misses a hook stroke. It looked pretty clear to me. A single off every other delivery makes it ten from the over.
13th over: India 80-3 (Kohli 31, Pandya 2) Livingstone returns, and Pandya edges consecutive deliveries just short of a fielder, first short third man and then backward point.
There’s a bit in this pitch for the spinners, which will interest Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin. A good over from Livingstone, three from it. England have filled their fifth-bowler quota, though they might give Livingstone another one after that.
12th over: India 77-3 (Kohli 29, Pandya 1) Rashid ends another masterful spell with figures of 4-0-20-1. The only boundary he conceded was off his first delivery.
The level of difficulty to hit a spinner for 6 over extra cover, is right up there. Off seamers it’s way easier cos of the pace on the ball.
Off a spinner you have to make the pace and absolutely cream it!— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) November 10, 2022
WICKET! India 75-3 (Suryakumar c Salt b Rashid 14)
Adil Rashid has picked up the big wicket! Suryakumar charged down the track and sliced the ball high in the air towards deep point, where Phil Salt took a simple catch. It was a really good delivery, slower and turning just enough to take the edge. Suryakumar goes for 14 from 10 balls; England will take that all day and all of the night.
11th over: India 74-2 (Kohli 27, Suryakumar 14) Ben Stokes returns to the attack. The first ball beats Suryakumar’s attempted violence, but you can’t keep him quiet forever. Or even 10 minutes. After a relatively slow start – 4 from 7 balls – he lifts a spectacular hook over the keeper’s head for six. He probably didn’t mean it to go that fine, but he certainly intended it to for six. The next balls is blazed over extra cover for four. It’s on!
“Far too pumped for any rational analysis here,” writes Andy. “Perhaps harsh on Brook! V good take from Curran though and great over from Jordan.”
10th over: India 62-2 (Kohli 26, Suryakumar 3) Suryakumar sweeps Rashid off middle stump for a single. The ball drifted in nicely, and for a split-second England thought he was going to be plumb LBW.
Kohli, who is batting with formidable certainty, lifts two more down the ground. But then he berates himself for only managing to whack a full toss for a single.
This is good stuff from Rashid, 3-0-17-0. Time for drinks.
9th over: India 57-2 (Kohli 23, Suryakumar 1) SKY flicks his first ball to deep square for a single.
“Disagree that that was a minor chance for Brook (5th over),” writes Andy. “Went like a rocket but not at full stretch and got his full palm on… at least a half chance. Brook’s fielding has been iffy in tournament in general.”
Tough crowd!
WICKET! India 56-2 (Rohit c Curran b Jordan 27)
Chris Jordan, who is in for Mark Wood, replaces Livingstone. He doesn’t nail his yorker second ball, and Rohit pings him imperiously over extra cover for a one-bounce four. The non-striker Kohli punches his bat in celebration.
But – pick this cheesy segue out – it’s England who are celebrating later in the over when Rohit falls for 27! He smeared Jordan high over midwicket, and Curran ran in from the boundary before diving forward to take a superb two-handed catch.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Suryakumar Yadav.
8th over: India 51-1 (Rohit 23, Kohli 22) A moment of fortune for Rohit, who has a hack at Rashid and slices the ball on the bounce to short third man. There’s a bit of turn for Rashid and India are happy enough with five singles from the over.
Rohit has 23 from 24 balls, Kohli 22 from 19.
7th over: India 46-1 (Rohit 21, Kohli 19) Liam Livingstone replaces Sam Curran (2-0-11-0). Kohli smashes the first ball he faces back over the bowler’s head for four, a shot of delicious contempt, and there are eight runs from the over.
This, as Mike Atherton notes, is where England would love to have Mark Wood around to cause some mayhem.
And this is another absurd Kohli stat.
Kohli’s record of surviving World Cup PP continues: it’s now 168 balls since his last (& only dismissal in the phase). England took the first three overs (11 for 1); India fought back in the next three (27 for 0). Rohit employing the sweep early v Rashid. #T20WorldCup
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) November 10, 2022
6th over: India 38-1 (Rohit 20, Kohli 12) A statement of intent from Rohit, who sweeps Adil Rashid’s first ball emphatically for four. There was a time when Rashid went nowhere near the Powerplay but he has bowled the sixth over a few times in this tournament, most crucially against Sri Lanka.
Rashid pulls the over back pretty well, with just three singles from the last five balls. There was almost the chance of a return catch when Rohit smacked the last ball back towards the bowler. Rashid dived low to his left but couldn’t quite get there.
“England have 11 batters, seven bowlers and two wicketkeepers and a captain who seems to understand his options,” says Gary Naylor. “It doesn’t guarantee success, but it doesn’t half help.”
True, although so does having specialists like Virat, Suryakumar, Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep.
5th over: India 31-1 (Rohit 14, Kohli 11) Rohit’s off and running. He hits Curran through midwicket for successive boundaries, a languid clip followed by a flamboyant tennis shot. He smashes the next ball towards backward point, where the flying Brook puts down an almost impossible one-handed chance. Technically it’s a drop; in reality he saved three runs.
An eventful over continues with an unsuccessful LBW appeal against Kohli. I thought England might review, just because it’s Kohli, but Jos Buttler was calm enough to realise it had pitched outside leg. This is great stuff!
4th over: India 21-1 (Rohit 5, Kohli 10) Blimey. Kohli drives Woakes’s first ball magnificently over extra cover for six. A single takes him to 1100 runs in T20 World Cups, at the obscene average of 85, and there are 10 runs from the over.
Rohit is struggling to time it, though we’ve seen him do this in the past and end with 110 off 70 balls.
“I wonder if Buttler’s decision to bowl first is a self-challenge?” says John Starbuck. “There have been a fair few wicketkeeper-openers and it’s always seemed odd to me, since after a full innings of keeping they have to get their batting gear on and play a hugely important role. Are there any stats about the really good keeper-openers, especially those who captain, and their success rates?”
You want to talk about this now? (Buttler’s record isn’t very good when opening, captaining, keeping and batting second: 93 runs at 13.28.)
3rd over: India 11-1 (Rohit 4, Kohli 2) Sam Curran angles his first ball across Kohli, who pushes nervously and is beaten. The next ball is shorter and does take the edge, but it drops just short of Moeen at slip. Sheesh, that was close.
Curran concedes just a single from a terrific over, which ends with an unsuccessful (and more than a little optimistic) LBW appeal against Rohit. England have started really well.
2nd over: India 10-1 (Rohit 4, Kohli 1) Evening Virat.
WICKET! India 9-1 (Rahul c Buttler b Woakes 5)
Gottim! Chris Woakes strikes with his fourth ball. It kicked from back of a length, and Rahul edged a flashing cut stroke through to Jos Buttler.
That was smart bowling from Woakes, whose first three deliveries had been full and straight, too straight in fact, to Rohit Sharma. This was much shorter, much wider, and seemed to take Rahul a bit by surprise.
1st over: India 6-0 (Rahul 5, Rohit 1) And they’re off. Stokes’s first ball is a wide outswinger that KL Rahul back cuts for four. “This looks, already, a very, very good pitch,” says Ravi Shastri, after two balls.
There’s a bit of swing for Stokes, and Rohit Sharma is beaten chasing a full, wide delivery. Rohit pushes the next ball to mid-off to get off the mark, and then Rahul plays and misses at an excellent delivery. A fascinating first over, with something for everyone. Okay not everyone.
“Good evening from Brisbane,” says Phil Withall. “I have a small problem. I want England to win, I really want England to win. However, the prospect of 100,000 Indian and Pakistani fans in the MCG is rather exciting. The repetitive drone that is the Barmy Army does get more than a tad repetitive for my tastes. I may be being unfair, I admire their undying support and commitment but the trumpet…”
You want to talk about trumpets now?
Ben Stokes will bowl the first over. England would love an early wicket or seven.
The players line up for the anthems. Some look relaxed, others intense. There’s more than one gameface for an occasion like this.
Both teams get what they want at the toss. Kohli chasing factor removed. Wood out is a big blow for England. The Green Machine awaits… 🏴🇮🇳 🇵🇰
— mark butcher (@markbutcher72) November 10, 2022
I’m off to grab a coffee. See you in a bit for – gulp – India v England in the World Cup semi-final.
“Rob,” says Yog Wadhwa, “Indians are without their first-choice fast bowler and spinning allrounder – Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.”
I know, I was being flippant. It shows the depth of both squads that the first XIs still look so strong. I’d fancy an India C team to make the semi-finals.
“Your mention of India winning the last four series between the teams got me thinking about the unpredictability of T20 as the chaos theory version of cricket,” says Tom Van der Gucht. “Everything, at some point, as to happen: England are therefore due a win against them… Hopefully…
“But, in terms of the cricketing gods playing a larger game with the teams merely their chess pieces, a final between Pakistan and India would be the more glorious conclusion… So, I suppose it comes down to the old clash between science and religion as to who will progress.”
England are without almost half of their best T20 XI – Bairstow, Malan, Archer, Wood and Topley. Let’s get the excuses in early, eh.
Team news: Wood misses out
Mark Wood has failed his fitness test and is replaced by Chris Jordan. That might be a blessing in disguise for England, although of course England would love Wood’s breathtaking pace. The only other change is Phil Salt for Dawid Malan. Salt is carded to bat at No3, though Eoin Morgan says he would open with him because of his ability to go hard from ball one in the Powerplay.
India are unchanged, which means Rishabh Pant – another hitter who is very strong square of the wicket – is preferred to Dinesh Karthik. Look at that middle order, and gulp if you’re an England fan: Kohli, Suryakumar, Pant, Pandya.
India KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
England Buttler (c/wk), Hales, Salt, Stokes, Brook, Ali, Livingstone, Curran, Woakes, Jordan, Rashid.
England win the toss and bowl
Well that’s interesting. England have been nervous chasers this year, but it’s been their preferred approach since the revolution in 2015.
Rohit Sharma drily notes that India would have batted anyway.
It’s a beautiful evening in Adelaide, so you can put the DLS sheet away. The pitch is used, though it’s nearly a week since the last game so the curator has had plenty of time to freshen it up. All the commentators think it looks like a belter.
The toss isn’t straightforward, not least because – absurd statgasm alert – all 11 T20Is on this ground have been won by the team that lost the toss. Psychologically, batting first important for England but the can come on nicely under the lights.
Early team news
Dawid Malan is definitely out with a groin injury, and Mark Wood is doubtful. Phil Salt and Chris Jordan – whose yorkers are a good option on a ground with such short square boundaries – are likely to come in.
India have one big decision to make: Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant.
Simon Burnton’s big-match preview
Preamble
At last. Since white-ball cricket was invented in 2015, England and India have been the best teams in the world. But in that time, they have danced around each other at major tournaments. They’ve met only once, never in the knockout stages. They were on course for a humdinger of a final in 2016 (World T20), 2017 (Champions Trophy) and especially 2019 (World Cup), but on each occasion one of them was beaten in the semi-finals.
They won’t meet in the final this year either, but we’ll happily make do with a blockbusting semi-final: India v England in Adelaide for the right to play – oh yes – a rampant Pakistan in the final on Sunday. It’s been a long time coming. But unlike many long-awaited rumbles – Mayweather v Pacquiao, Tyson v Lewis, Barlow v Baldwin – this will take place with both parties close to their peak.
Though England and India each have a bigger rival, their matches still have a unique intensity. (Don’t mention the M word, but keep an eye out for it if the game gets fractious.) There is also huge mutual respect, fostered mainly through the IPL. Both teams recognise in each other the thing that elite sportsfolk crave the most: a worthy adversary.
India go into today’s game as slight favourites. They’ve won their last four T20 series against England, which must count for something; they are No1 in the world rankings and have played better cricket than England in this tournament – even though, paradoxically, they were closer to the brink during their win over Bangladesh. There’s also a argument that India are under more pressure to win – firstly because they haven’t won a global tournament since 2013, secondly because they are India, thirdly because they are India.
England, as an endearingly candid Moeen Ali said the other day, would like another white-ball trophy to confirm their greatness. They have a history of raising their game for the toughest opponents, certainly at World Cups, and a few key players – Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Mark Wood (though he is an injury doubt), Sam Curran – are bang in form. If you are into the whole positive-accentuation thing, those who aren’t in form are due.
Buttler’s new-ball contest with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has caused him all sorts of trouble in the recent past*, could be vital. England also need plans for Virat Kohli, who averages 123 in this tournament and a scandalous 84 at all T20 World Cups – and for Suryakumar Yadav, the freest spirit in world cricket.
Suryakumar should love the short square boundaries at the Adelaide Oval. England could do with – here comes the cheesy pun – a bit of blue-SKY thinking, because nobody seems to have a clue how to bowl to a man who can hit any ball for six. It might just be an extended purple patch, but at the moment it feels like he is redefining middle-order batting. He has a T20I strike rate of 180, and abracadabrad 117 from 55 balls against England in the summer.
The good news for England is that they won that game. The bad news is that it was a dead rubber because they’d already lost the series. In short, nobody knows anything, but it’s England v India in a World Cup knockout game for the first time since Graham Gooch’s sweepathon in 1987**. If your mouth isn’t watering, you should seek urgent medical advice.
* In T20Is Buttler has scored 30 from 32 balls off Bhuvneshwar – and been dismissed five times
** The infamous group game in 1999 was effectively a knockout, though that only became apparent at the start of the second innings