T20 World Cup: ‘We’re outplayed by India, hoping to restrict them to 145-150’, admits Buttler

Georgetown (Guyana): England captain Jos Buttler admitted that India outplayed them after a 68-run drubbing in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup at Providence Stadium. The wicketkeeper-batter also rued the opportunity of not using Moeen Ali’s overs in the match.

Buttler won the toss and invited India to bat first under rain threat. However, India captain Rohit Sharma’s another batting masterclass of 57 from 39 balls backed with Suryakumar Yadav’s 47 from 36 guided India to 171/7 in 20 overs, which was actually 15-20 runs above the par score.

“A little bit of both. I thought they played well as well. I thought we bowled a little bit without luck in the power play, a few close calls there. But, yes, I think the benefit of hindsight and reflecting, I would have got Moeen (Ali) in the game of course. So, yes, bits and pieces here and there,” said Buttler after the match.

“Yeah, disappointing. I think we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. So, yeah, I thought they had an above-par score. I was hoping to restrict them to 145 – 150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there,” he added.

In response, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav spun the web on England’s batters and bundled them for 103 in 16.4 overs with both taking three wickets each. On the other hand, England’s spin duo of Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone – returned combined figures of 1 for 49 from eight overs, their pacers conceded 120 runs from 12 overs at 10 runs to the over.

The most significant blow came from Axar Patel, who removed the England captain with his opening delivery. He then went on to dismiss Jonny Bairstow and Moeen with the first delivery of his second and third overs, respectively, before Kuldeep claimed three wickets of his own to completely derail England’s chase.

“Obviously, they’ve got some fantastic spinners. Our two guys bowled well, but in hindsight, I should have brought Moeen [on] in that innings, with the way that the spin was playing. Obviously with the rain around in those conditions, I probably didn’t think it was going to change that much.

“And I actually don’t think it really did. I thought they out-bowled us. They had an above-par score. So I don’t think necessarily the toss was the difference between the teams,” Buttler said.

England’s campaign come to an end with the defeat in Guyana as they failed to defend their title and faltered in the semifinal alike India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semis in Adelaide.

“Yes, I think reaching a semifinal of a World Cup is an achievement. We wanted to obviously go all the way. That was what we came here for. We faced lots of challenges and adversity throughout the whole tournament and we’ve stuck together well and played well enough to get to this stage. But unfortunately, at this stage, we’ve fallen short,” the English skipper said.

“I look back to Leeds when we all met up. I think everyone has made progress and we’ve played well and not well enough, but I think the stuff that we’ve been doing behind the scenes, the way we’ve prepared, the way we’ve trained, the way we’ve played in patches has been really good. And there’s a lot of talent in the team. And yes, we came up against a top team today in these conditions.

“To be honest, I’m just looking forward to some time away from the game. I think, as I sit here, emotional 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,” he concluded.

–IANS