T20 World Cup India vs England: Talking points - England hammer India with record T20 partnership

England's Captain Jos Buttler (R) walks past the India's Captain Rohit Sharma after the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 semi-final.

As cliche as it sounds, England outplayed India in every single department at the Adelaide Oval, in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup. India succumbed to yet another semifinal loss, its fourth in the last five ICC World Cups (ODI and T20), as the Men in Blue crashed and burned to a 10-wicket loss on Sunday.

Put into bat first, India struggled in the first 10 overs, as it has done throughout the tournament, and accelerated towards the end to put up a competitive total of 168/6 in the 20 overs. Virat Kohli continued his good form with a 40-ball 50 but it was Hardik Pandya who set the tone toward the back end of the innings. He top-scored for India with 63 of 33 balls, and was devastating in the final four overs to see India through to a fighting total.

A fighting total it wasn't as it turned out, as Jos Buttler and Alex Hales blew the opposition out of the water. The duo put on the highest-ever partnership in a T20 World Cup, for any wicket, as England made a mockery of the total by finishing the game in 16 overs.

Let us look at some of the talking points as England qualifies for its third T20 World Cup final.

1) Indian openers fail yet again

The opening pair of KL Rahul (5 of 5) and Rohit Sharma (27 of 28) has not survived past the powerplay overs in this World Cup, and today was no different. Rahul started off with a bang, scoring a boundary of the very first ball, but that's where the good news stopped. He lasted only four more balls before edging Chris Woakes to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Sharma lasted just a few more overs but his approach was timid, something that has plagued India in the powerplay overs throughout.

If we're being serious about any success in the future, Rohit and Rahul shouldn't play another T20 for India.

— Saahil Sharma (@faahil) November 10, 2022

2) Powerplay approach

England took the exact opposite route as India as openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler went berserk in the first 10 overs, taking full advantage of the new ball and the fielding restrictions in the first 6 overs. India's powerplay produced 38/1 while England raced to 63/0 in the first 6 overs. The gap widened at the 10-over mark as India could muster only 62/2 while England was at 98 for no loss.

England: 63/0 in first 6 overs. India was 38/1.

This is the difference. Our openers lack intent to score fast in the early overs.

— Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6) November 10, 2022

India's timid approach has cost them dearly, especially since Pandya accelerated brilliantly at the death. A better start could have made the difference for India, as it definitely did for England

Sensational acceleration from Hardik Pandya: had 4 (9) and 24 (21), but finishes with 63 (33).

— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) November 10, 2022

3) Hales making up for lost time

Alex Hales put on a six-hitting show at the Adelaide Oval, smacking 7 maximums into the crowd. The opener was in England exile for a long time after being dropped from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad, and few thought he'd play for England ever again, including himself. However, he has taken this second chance in his career with both hands impressing for the Three Lions at the top of the order. Going into the final on Sunday, Pakistani bowlers should be wary of his batting.

4) Did India miss a trick with Chahal?

Wrist spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone enjoyed the turn on offer at the Adelaide Oval. The duo bowled 7 overs between them and conceded only 41 runs while picking up the important wicket of the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav for cheap.

YUZI CHAHAL……

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 10, 2022

Many feel India missed a trick with benching Yuzvendra Chahal, especially on a used pitch that offered assistance to wrist spinners, as the fast bowlers were belted all over the park.

Coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma chose not to risk Chahal in an all-important semifinal since he hadn't played a single game so far. In hindsight, this has proved to be a costly mistake.

5) Buttler inside crease

On a lighter note, Jos Buttler was on his 'best behaviour' when his frenemy and IPL teammate was bowling. Buttler and Ashwin were involved in a famous 'Mankading' incident in the IPL a few seasons ago while they were in opposing teams, and this form of dismissal has been the talk of the cricketing world in the lead up to the World Cup.

Jos Buttler too deep inside his crease. pic.twitter.com/YXvgk0k0A3

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 10, 2022

But it seems Buttler has taken the cue after ICC normalised the mode of dismissal by terming it a run out in the non-striker's end.