Team India were made to look like minnows before the English side on Thursday night at the Adelaide Oval, as the latter decimated them by 10 wickets, during the T20 World Cup second semi-final.
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Chasing a modest total of 168/6 with respect to a nearly belter of a pitch to bat on, the English opening pair of skipper Jos Buttler (80* off 47) and Alex Hales (86* off 47) beat the Indian bowlers black and blue to complete the run-chase in mere 16 Overs.
After racing through to the score of 63/0 in the Powerplay, there was no looking back for the pair as they stitched together a record-breaking unbeaten partnership of 170 runs off mere 96 deliveries, to sail through to the grand finale.
The aforementioned partnership is also the highest-ever by any pair across all the eight editions of the T20 World Cup so far.
While Buttler smashed 9 Fours and 3 Sixes during his innings, Hales was much severe, having hit 4 Fours and 7 Sixes to puncture the spirits of the majority Indian crowd at the Adelaide Oval.
Hardik Pandya laments India’s agonizing loss vs England
Team India allrounder Hardik Pandya took to his social media handle to express his grief post the humiliating loss which has ended India’s yet another World Cup title hope.
Admitting the defeat as a tough one to take for the entire team, Pandya assured fans that the team would reflect on the loss and will continue fighting to attain glory one day. He also thanked the team’s support staff members and the passionate fans who have turned up in numbers throughout the World Cup campaign.
Devastated, gutted, hurt. Tough to take, for all of us. To my teammates, I’ve enjoyed the bond that we built – we fought for each other every step of the way. Thank you to our support staff for their endless dedication and hardwork for months on end. pic.twitter.com/HlVUC8BNq7
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 10, 2022
Pandya’s innings – 63 off 33 was instrumental in taking the Indian total close to the 170-run mark, after the top-4 batters struggled to get go with their innings at any point.
With the scorecard reading mere 62/2 after 10 Overs, Hardik too took his time to settle in, but went ballistic during the last four Overs, collecting 59 runs during the period.
However, he was disappointing with the ball in hand, leaking 34 runs in his 3-Over spell to end his T20 World Cup 2022 campaign.
