India vs England Semifinal Key Moments: Rohit, spinners guide India to third T20 World Cup final

India's captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup second semifinal cricket match between England and India at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence, Guyana, Thursday, June 27, 2024. AP/PTI

Skipper Rohit Sharma's grace was matched by the might of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as India exorcised the ghosts of 2022 by handing defending champions England a 68-run thrashing to enter the final of the T20 World Cup here on Thursday.

Rohit thus became the first Indian captain to lead the country in three ICC global finals in a space of 12 months -- 2023 World Test Championship, 2023 ODI World Cup and now the T20 World Cup.

The Indian skipper, who has always received flak for not scoring on big days, contributed an invaluable 57 off 39 balls on a track where the ball consistently kept low, as India posted 171 for 7 in 20 overs.

Credit should also be given to Suryakumar Yadav for his 47 off 36 balls and Hardik Pandya for his two mighty sixes in a 13-ball-23. Ravindra Jadeja (17) and Axar Patel (10) also chipped in with useful contributions.

In reply, England lost five wickets at the halfway stage and never recovered to be all out for 103 in 16.4 overs.

Axar (3/23 in 4 overs) and Kuldeep Yadav (3/19 in 4 overs) shared the spoils with the ball. The redoubtable Jasprit Bumrah (2/12 in 2.4 overs) did his bit with a classic slow off-cutter that saw the back of the dangerous Phil Salt.

The 2007 champions will meet South Africa in the final in Barbados on Saturday.

In 2022, India were pummelled by 10 wickets in the semi-final at Adelaide after England had restricted them to a similar total. But the conditions at Providence Stadium made batting difficult.

The master tactician Rohit read the pitch's riot act even before the start and knew that facing Kuldeep and Axar on this track was going to be a very difficult ask.

On a track where the balls kept low, all one needed was to bowl wicket-to-wicket and Axar did exactly that, forcing Jos Buttler to play an indiscreet reverse sweep while Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali were fooled by the pace of the deliveries.

At the other end, Kuldeep also varied his pace with a deceptive loop and deliveries that turned sharply into the batters, making their life difficult. The fielding was also brilliant.

Here are the key moments of the match:

1st Innings

England win the toss, decide to bowl first

Kohli falls early, Topley gets the wicket. India 19/1

Pant goes for 4, Curran gets the wicket. India 40/2

Rain delays play, India 65/2

Rohit Sharma completes his 50! India 110/2

Suryakumar Yadav is OUT! India 124/4

Hardik Pandya out, caught Curran bowled Jordan, India 146/5

Shivam Dube goes on DUCK. India 146/6

Axar Patel gets out at 10. India 170/7

India set a target of 172 runs for England in semi-final clash

2nd Innings

England start their chase against India, target 172

Buttler is out, Axar gets the breakthrough. England 26/1

Bumrah cleans-up Phil Salt. England 34/2

Bairstow goes on DUCK! Axar strikes. England 35/3

Moeen Ali goes, Axar strikes again. England 46/4

Kuldeep Yadav bowls a Dusra to get Sam Curran LBW out. England 49/5

Brook goes, Kuldeep gets another scalp. England 68/6

Jordan goes, Kuldeep gets another wicket. England 72/7

Livingstone runs himself out. England 86/8

Adil Rashid is run out. England 88/9

India beat England by 68 runs