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Former England captain Nasser Hussain has denied rumours that India had favourable pitches, conditions and schedule in the T20 World Cup after their emphatic 68-run victory over the defending champions to reach the final. Prominent former England cricketers, including Hussain’s former teammates Michael Vaughan and David Lloyd, have been quite vocal in their opposition to the ICC’s decision to allocate India the second semi-final regardless of their Super Eight ranking, and the fact that Rohit Sharma’s side are the only top-tier team not to play a single match under lights in the tournament. But Hussain is different.
Hussain, a former England No. 3 and now a well-known announcer, said India deserved to be in the final as they had battled through a variety of conditions to come through. India last faced Australia in the Super Eights but were blessed with a gentle batting track in St Lucia, finishing at 205/5 and beating the 2021 champions by 24 runs. In the semi-final, they encountered a slow track at the Providence Stadium in Guyana where the ball often dropped quite low, making it difficult for the batsmen to swing through the lines.
“The story of Thursday’s match will be that India were all set to reach the T20 World Cup final. The surface, the venue, everything looked in India’s favour. But look more closely and India are in the semi-final against England having just beaten the 50-over world champions Australia on a bouncy, good pitch in St Lucia, then returned to a low, slow pitch to win comfortably. Fair play in the way they played and it feels right that the two unbeaten teams in the tournament, India and South Africa, go head-to-head in Barbados on Saturday,” Hussain wrote in his column in the Daily Mail.
Hussain said India’s 171/5 was above par, thanks in large part to 73 runs from captain Rohit Sharma (57 off 39) and Suryakumar Yadav (46 off 37). India struggled with the early loss of Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4) and a rain-induced disruption to the game but Rohit and Surya kept them going.
“India’s score was only slightly higher than the 168 they managed in the 2022 semi-final defeat to England at the Adelaide Oval but the conditions were completely different here in Guyana. With the seamers keeping the ball low and the spinners turning the ball instead of bouncing it, India’s score of 171 for seven was quite tough to defend and Rohit Sharma showed what he is made of by hitting yet another half-century without using one of his favourite shots, the pull shot,” Hussain said.
Hussain praises Hardik’s cameo
Credit must also go to all-rounders Hardik Pandya (23 off 13), Ravindra Jadeja (17 off nine) and Akshar Patel (10 off six) who played cameos towards the end. Hardik’s successive sixes off Chris Jordan in the 18th over and Jadeja’s two boundaries off Jofra Archer in the 19th over were decisive.
“Suriyakumar Yadav made up for the lack of bounce in the ball by opening up spaces in the ground with his scoops and wrist flicks that other batsmen could not easily access, and the ball was ably supported by a strong cameo from Hardik Pandya,” Hussain said.
England fought back but performances from Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav meant they could not chase the lead as the defending champions were restricted to 103 in 16.4 overs before being bowled out.
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