T20 WC: Rohit leads by example, deploys India's spinning powerplay to clinch spot in final

The build-up to this game had been characterised by typical English whinging – that this tournament was set up for India to win, that it was unfair on the rest of the field that India knew where they would play their semifinal (Providence), should they qualify for the last-four stage, while the others would have to wait and watch. That the pitch at the Guyana National Stadium was tailor-made for their exceptional spinners.

By the time the dust settled, Jos Buttler was gracious enough to admit that his side had been outclassed by India. England’s captain was merely stating the obvious; not that Buttler is the kind like many of his countrymen, but how can a 68-run drubbing in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup be wished away by excuses.

India, a gathering force

India were a gathering force coming into this contest. They had won all six previous matches, including three on the trot in the Super Eight stage, each while defending a target. Their batters, Virat Kohli excepted, were in prime touch, the bowling was versatile and penetrative with Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav leading the way in the pace and spin stakes respectively.

England, by contrast, looked undercooked. The defending champions lost to Australia, were saved by the rain against Scotland (when they needed 109 to win in 10 overs), nearly dropped a point to Namibia in the group stage, were upended by South Africa in the Super Eights. Their only notable win coming into the semifinal was against West Indies. If they believed they were on top of their game, which they didn’t, they were in for a rude shock.

Make no mistake, India didn’t have things all their own way. When the toss was held 80 minutes behind schedule due to early morning rain and wet underfoot conditions on Thursday, it was Jos Buttler who hit it lucky. Perhaps with an eye on the weather even though the forecast and the ground reality both suggested that there would be very little rain in the second half of the day, he chose to field first on a slow, sluggish, low-bounce surface where batting would only get trickier as the match progressed. In the immediacy of the 68-run thrashing, Buttler stuck to his guns, insisting that the call to chase was the right one. India weren’t complaining, and that was long before the denouement.

Rohit’s masterclass in innings-building

All three of India’s Super Eight victories followed a similar template. Bat first, size up the conditions, aim for a realistic score which would inevitably result in a par-plus total, and use the excellence of their bowling unit to negate the opposition’s designs. Afghanistan were defeated by 47 runs after India posted 181. Against Bangladesh, India’s 196 was enough to secure a commanding 50-run victory. And on the best batting track they encountered in this tournament, against Australia in Gros Islet, India’s 205 was 24 more than their opponents managed. Rohit wasn’t merely playing mind games when he said at the toss on Thursday that had he won it, he would have batted first.

Rohit has taken ‘leading by example’ to another level in this tournament. He lay the marker down with an unbeaten half-century in India’s opener against Ireland, then pulverised Australia with a 41-ball 92 earlier in the week. The track at the Guyana National Stadium called for a more cautious approach. Hitting through the line was a no-no, timing would always be at a premium because of the slowness with which the ball came on, and the low bounce exacerbated batting challenges. It wasn’t enough for Rohit to verbally tell his teammates how the pitch was shaping up; he had to put on an exhibition, and that’s exactly what he did.

His third half-century of this World Cup wasn’t outlandishly entertaining, but it was a masterclass in the art of innings-building, on what shots to employ and what to avoid with the deck loaded against shot-making. In Suryakumar Yadav, inventive and cheekily unorthodox, he found an ally that helped him add 73 for the third wicket. Through their all-rounders, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, India prised out crucial, rapid runs towards the backend so that a potential 155 mushroomed to an eventual 171.

Formidable spinners

At the halfway stage, England knew their time was up, their goose cooked. Against even a half-decent attack, to score at 8.5 an over on this surface was a tall order; to have to do so against Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep, well…

England perhaps didn’t linger a great deal on the threat Axar posed. Big mistake. Big, big mistake.

Once India’s campaign has moved from the pace-encouraging strips in New York to the West Indies where there has been greater help for the spinners, Rohit has used the taller of his left-arm spinners in the powerplay, hoping to make the most of his accuracy which stems from the simplicity in his bowling. Axar seldom appears the most threatening but often ends up with the tidiest figures. This time, he was more than tidy. He was match-winning.

Buttler and Phil Salt nervily put on 26 in three overs when Rohit tossed the ball to Axar. Unprepossessing, Axar ran in and did what he does best – hit the optimal line, target the stumps. Buttler, adventurous, a touch desperate to impose himself on the bowler straightaway, went for an ambitious reverse sweep off the first ball. Ill-advised, with catastrophic repercussions. The ball looped off the toe end of the bat and Rishabh Pant gleefully pouched the offering. First blood to Axar. First blood to India.

Axar sounds the death knell

The man from Gujarat was just getting started. With the first ball of each of his next two overs, he sent Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali packing. Bairstow must be sick of India’s spinners, given his travails during the Test series in India earlier this year. He played outside the line to a ball from Axar that came in with the arm and lost his off-stump; Moeen, as good a player of spin as any, wandered out of his crease after failing to comprehend where the ball had gone off his inside-edge and pad. Pant was a lot more alert, whipping off the bails in a flash. In 18 deliveries, with three for 14, the unassuming Axar had sounded England’s death knell, and India’s victory bugle. Now, for the South African showdown in Bridgetown on Saturday.