India's Providence: Final again

Rohit hits fifty before bowlers take charge and made the most of the conditions as India beat England by 68 runs in Guyana, set up final date with South Africa

- GOMESH S

WHEN India finished their first innings in Georgetown with 171/7 against England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup on Thursday, it felt a little like deja vu.

Two years ago, on the same occasion a T20 World Cup semifinal against the same opponents, India had finished with 168/6 whilst batting first. A toporder batter in Virat Kohli had scored a fifty (50 off 40 balls) while a middle-order batter in Hardik Pandya (63 off 33) provided the kick. At the Providence Stadium, it was Rohit Sharma's turn. The Indian captain scored 57 from 39 balls, with Suryakumar Yadav (47 from 36) and Hardik (23 off 13) doing their part to take India to 171/7. From the outset, it all felt the same so far.

Except, it wasn't.

When they posted 168/6 in Adelaide in 2022, the conditions were different. It was a good batting surface where the Indian top-three went into a shell. How good the surface was became all the more clear when Jos Buttler and Alex Hales took down the Indian bowling attack with ease.