England Falls to India in T20 World Cup Semi-Final

England were heavily beaten in a 68-run defeat by India in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana, after two rain delays.

Jos Buttler’s side had started the tournament as defending champions and struggled slightly with the ball to contain the flow of runs, with Rohit Sharma hitting an important 57 runs at the top of the order, as they put on 171 runs.

India’s innings was affected by a rain delay, but it did not appear to hold them back. When it came England’s turn to bat, they started with a brief promise, and Butler made 23 runs from just 15 balls, but his wicket sparked the collapse from which they never recovered.

Harry Brook top-scored with 25 and they never threatened to get near the India total.

The draw has been stacked in India’s favor. Unlike England, who only found out where they would play this semi-final at the last minute, India and their fans have known for months. It was designed to benefit those watching TV in Asia rather than local or international audiences.

The reality is England only really flickered into life once against West Indies and spent the rest of their time losing comfortably to Test sides or duffing up associates. After the dreadful World Cup defense in India in October, it is proof this is a white-ball team in decline that needs regenerating but with major misgivings over the ability of Butler and Mott to deliver a vision for the future. It is time for a shake up.

Losing on a tricky pitch in Guyana was not a surprise because across a month in the Caribbean not enough senior England players were capped when put under pressure.