(Source X)
Jasprit Bumrah played a crucial role with two wickets as India convincingly defeated defending champions England by 68 runs in Guyana on Thursday, securing their spot in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa. The match concluded with Bumrah’s dismissal of Jofra Archer, caught LBW with a precise in-swinging yorker.
As the Indian players started celebrating and exchanging handshakes, Bumrah approached the umpire to join in, but initially received his cap instead. When he attempted again, he found himself in an awkward moment, left hanging. Once the third umpire confirmed the dismissal, signaling the end of the game, the players left the field. It wasn’t clear from the footage if Bumrah eventually managed to complete his handshake amidst the commotion.
In a reversal from their dominant victory over India in the 2022 semi-finals, England suffered a collapse, managing only 103 all out in pursuit of 172 for victory. India’s spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav (3-19) and Axar Patel (3-23) played pivotal roles, claiming six wickets collectively.
India had earlier posted 171-7 in a rain-interrupted innings after losing the toss. Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with a score of 57, marking his third fifty of the tournament, while Suryakumar Yadav contributed 47 runs to the total.
Rohit Shamra was a happy man after the win, as he said:”Very satisfying to win this game. We worked really hard as a unit. To win this game like that was a great effort from everyone. We adapted to the conditions really well. It was a challenge and we adapted. We played the conditions really well.”
South Africa secured a dominant nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first semi-final on Wednesday, securing their spot in Saturday’s final in Barbados.
Both India and South Africa maintain perfect records in this tournament, having not suffered any losses so far.
India aims to claim their first significant title since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy. They fell short in last year’s 50-over World Cup final on home soil against Australia.
