India skipper Rohit Sharma’s fine batting was matched by the brilliant bowling of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as India thrashed defending champions England by 68 runs to enter the final of the T20 World Cup. India’s quest for a global title is well on track. It has been 11 years since they stood on the podium as champions. Only a few hours and a ferocious South African team stand between them and victory. Men in Blue will battle the Proteas in the summit clash on June 29, Saturday at Kensington Oval Barbados.

Bowling first, the England pacers provided their team with a great start. Reece Topley stunned the Indian fans by cleaning up Virat Kohli for just 9. Kohli gifted his wicket, trying to play an unhealthy shot. Sam Curran then dismissed quick-scoring Rishabh Pant (4) to put India under great pressure. But Rohit, who has always received flak for not scoring on big matches, batted brilliantly on a track where the ball consistently kept low.

Rohit smashed 6 fours and 2 sixes to score 57 off 39 balls. Credit should also be given to Suryakumar Yadav for his crucial knock of 47. Hardik Pandya smacked two mighty sixes in his 13-ball 23. Ravindra Jadeja (17) and Axar (10) chipped in with useful contributions, helping India to reach 171/7 in 20 overs. For England, Chris Jordan starred with a three-wicket haul.

England captain Jos Butler hit 4 fours to give his side’s chase a good start. A change in the bowling worked well for India as Axar removed Butler (23) in the 4th over. In the next over, Jasprit Bumrah bowled out dangerous Phil Salt (5). Axar then cleaned up Jonny Bairstow for a duck. In his next over, the left-arm spinner bowled cleverly to deceive Moeen Ali (8) and England reeled at 46/4. Harry Brook and Jofra Archer chipped in with 25 and 21 respectively while Kuldeep ran through England’s lower order, bowling them out for 103. Axar and Kuldeep starred with three-wicket hauls.