Aoba Tanaka 
England captain Jos Buttler acknowledged that India thoroughly outplayed his team in the T20 World Cup semifinals at Providence Stadium. Chasing 171, the defending champions faltered against India’s spinners, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, leading Buttler to reflect on his decisions during the match, particularly the omission of spinner Moeen Ali.
Jos Buttler chose to chase on a pitch that became progressively slower and offered consistent turns. Reflecting on this decision, he admitted that India scored 20-25 runs more than what was considered par, attributing this to both flawed plans and execution.
“A little bit of both. I thought they played well as well,” Buttler said. “We bowled a little bit without luck in the power play, with a few close calls there. But, yes, in hindsight, I would have brought Moeen Ali into the game. Disappointing, we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. I thought they had an above-par score, hoping to restrict them to 145-150 on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there.”
England’s two spinners, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone, managed 1 for 49 from eight overs, while their pacers conceded 120 runs from 12 overs. In stark contrast, India’s spinners bowled 11 overs, taking 6 wickets for just 58 runs. Axar Patel’s first delivery dismissed Buttler, followed by crucial strikes removing Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, while Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets to derail England’s chase.
“Our two guys bowled well, but in hindsight, I should have brought Moeen on with the way spin was playing,” Buttler remarked. “I didn’t think conditions would change much with the rain around, but they out-bowled us and had an above-par score. I don’t think the toss was the difference.”
England’s defeat in Guyana marked their failure to mount strong campaigns in two consecutive world title defenses. This semifinal appearance was an improvement from their 50-overs campaign in India last year. However, England only managed to beat one Test side, West Indies, in this tournament, and narrowly avoided elimination against Namibia in a rain-affected match.
“Reaching a semifinal of a World Cup is an achievement. We wanted to go all the way. We faced challenges and adversity throughout the tournament, stuck together well, and played well enough to get to this stage. But unfortunately, we’ve fallen short,” Buttler reflected.
“Looking back, everyone has made progress. We’ve played well and not well enough, but the preparation, training, and performances in patches have been good. There’s a lot of talent in the team. We came up against a top team in these conditions.”
Concluding, Buttler expressed a need for a break: “To be honest, I’m just looking forward to some time away from the game. After a loss, I don’t need to dive too deep into it [reflecting on the tournament and the future] right now. I just look forward to some space from the game.”
#india #england #cricket #news #sportznews #newssportz #t20worldcup #t20 #buttler #axar #cricketnews #worldcup #josbuttler #buttler
