India clinched their place in the T20 World Cup 2024 final with a commanding 68-run victory over England, propelling Rohit Sharma to become the most successful T20I captain globally. This triumph marked Rohit's 49th win as India's captain, surpassing Pakistan's Babar Azam, who has 48 wins. After the match, Rohit expressed his satisfaction, emphasising the team's hard work and unity. He highlighted the collective effort and praised the players' ability to adapt to challenging conditions, which has been key to their success.
Rohit mentioned, "It was very satisfying to see our performance in this game. At one point, we aimed for 140-150, but as the game progressed, we managed to score more. Surya and I built a partnership and then targeted an additional 25 runs."
He added, "We batted well, understood the conditions, and achieved a good score. Reaching 170 was impressive on that pitch, and the bowlers were fantastic."
This semi-final victory extended India's second-longest T20I winning streak to 11 matches, spanning from December 2023 to June 2024. Their previous best was a 12-match winning streak from November 2021 to February 2022. In the T20 World Cup 2024, South Africa leads with 8 wins, followed by India with 7 wins.
Both teams are poised to make history in the final on June 29, as neither has won the title while remaining unbeaten. India's match against Canada was washed out, leaving them with 7 wins. Regardless of the outcome, a new record will be set as one team will claim the title while remaining undefeated.
During the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma expressed his pride in the team's performance, saying, "Winning this game was very satisfying. It was a great effort from everyone. We adapted well to the challenging conditions. If we play according to the conditions, things fall into place. I hope we put on another good show in the final."
Earlier, Sharma scored a quick half-century to lead his team to 171/7 after England won the toss and chose to bowl first. The right-hander (57 from 39 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (47 from 36 balls) formed a crucial 73-run partnership for the third wicket. England's Chris Jordan took 3-37.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli struggled with the bat, getting bowled by Reece Topley for 9 in the third over. Rohit defended Kohli, stating, "Virat is a quality player; any player can go through such phases. We understand his class. After 15 years of playing, form is never an issue. He's probably saving it for the final."
England's captain Jos Buttler admitted in the post-match presentation that he should have used off-spinner Moeen Ali, who did not bowl during India's innings. Buttler remarked, "India outplayed us, and we let them score 25 runs too many. They deserved their win. In hindsight, I should have bowled Moeen given how spin was effective."
This defeat concludes an underwhelming campaign for England in the Caribbean, losing three of their four matches against Test-playing nations, marking the end of their brief era of white-ball dominance.
The undefeated Indian team, reaching their first Men’s T20 World Cup final in ten years, will face South Africa in the final on Sunday morning at Bridgetown’s Kensington Oval.