England are knocked OUT of the T20 World Cup in India thrashing

England’s T20 World Cup defence has come to an underwhelming end after they were outclassed by India by 68 runs in the tournament’s second semi-final on a slow, low pitch in Guyana.

Amazonian rain had threatened to spoil England’s chances, but instead they were undone by a combination of Rohit Sharma’s classy half-century, and an Indian attack whose bowlers lapped up the conditions.

Needing an improbable 172 to set up a final against South Africa in Barbados tomorrow/on Saturday, England were humbled for 103. It all felt like one of their doomed Test innings on a turner at Chennai or Ahmedabad, leaving a difficult decision for managing director Rob Key as he weighs up the future of coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler.

The early damage was done by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who with his first ball removed Buttler, toe-ending a reverse sweep, then adding Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, who may both have featured in international cricket for the last time. In between, the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah rearranged Phil Salt’s leg stump. The chase was over almost before it had begun.

Kuldeep Yadav then hurried through the middle order, trapping Sam Curran and Chris Jordan leg-before, either side of bowling Harry Brook round his legs as he too bungled a reverse sweep.

England’s T20 World Cup defence came to an underwhelming end as they were threashed by India in the semi-final

India were the better side throughout, posting 172 with the bat and bowling England out for 103 in response

Wickets fell at regular intervals, with Harry Brook’s 25 the top score in a dismall batting display

Brook’s 25 was the top score of a sorry innings, and it needed some late blows from Jofra Archer to drag them into three figures. The run-out of Liam Livingstone after a mix-up with Archer summed up England’s disorientation.

This was a massacre almost on a par with South Africa’s nine-wicket demolition of Afghanistan in Trinidad the night before. And it was resounding revenge for India’s 10-wicket defeat by England at the same stage of the previous T20 World Cup two years ago in Adelaide.

When the camera panned to Buttler in the dugout, his head was slumped: for the first time in five years, England hold neither of the white-ball trophies. An era is over. Now, somehow, they must press refresh.

‘India certainly outplayed us and fully deserved the win,’ he said. ‘We let them get 20-25 runs too many. It was a challenging surface.’ 

England’s best chance to make India sweat might have come and gone before the start, when Buttler – winning his sixth toss out of eight – opted for the security blanket of bowling first on a pitch that seemed likely to get tougher as the game progressed.

Even then, they might have taken control when Sharma – only five runs into his eventual 57 off 39 deliveries – carved Jofra Archer towards backward point. But Salt misjudged the path of the ball and watched it fly over his hands for four.

Only three days earlier, Sharma had battered Australia for 92 off 41, the innings of the tournament. Had England removed him early, the mood of the game might have changed – especially with Virat Kohli falling soon after to Reece Topley for just nine to continue his miserable World Cup.

Instead, after Curran had removed Rishabh Pant cheaply, Sharma constructed the match-winning partnership of 73 in 8.2 overs with the equally gifted Suryakumar Yadav, second only to Australia’s Travis Head in the rankings. Not even a rain break of an hour and a quarter could put them off their stride.

India will now take on South Africa after they scored a heavy win over Afghanistan in their own semi-final

England may see the semi-final as a succes, but they won only one game of their four against Test-playing nations

Jasprit Bumrah started his work off by rearranging Phil Salt’s leg stump to help put England on the back foot early

Yet their progress, not always fluent, hinted at the struggles awaiting England, with the spin of Adil Rashid and Livingstone proving difficult to get away.

That shone a spotlight on Buttler’s decision to ignore Moeen Ali’s off-breaks altogether, presumably because five of India’s top six were right-handers. It was a big call, and Buttler later admitted it was a mistake: while Rashid and Livingstone conceded just 49 between them in eight overs, the four seamers – Topley, Archer, Curran and Jordan – went for 120 in 12.

England will argue that, unlike Australia and co-hosts West Indies, they reached the semi-final of the World Cup. Yet the headline is misleading. Of their four matches against Test-playing opposition, England lost three, and progressed through the group stage and the Super Eights only because they thrashed Oman, Namibia and the USA.

Mott claimed before this game that England had got better as the tournament went on, though that ignored the defeat by South Africa two days after spirits had been lifted with a stirring win over West Indies.

The bottom line is that, in two World Cups, England have won three games out of 12 against Test opponents. Key must now decide if that is a basis on which to rebuild. As for this excellent Indian team, it will take an almighty effort by South Africa to deny them a first World Cup in 13 years.