“England out-thought India and made them look an average team” says Eoin Morgan

• Eoin Morgan  praised the squad’s ten-wicket defeat of India at Semi Finals
• Hardik Pandya gave the Indian innings a huge lift with a 33-ball 63
• Buttler and Alex Hales had other ideas, flawlessly chasing down the score to win by ten wickets

Eoin Morgan, the captain of England that won the 2019 ODI World Cup, praised the squad’s ten-wicket defeat of India in the Men’s T20 World Cup second semifinal at Adelaide Oval, claiming that Jos Buttler and company made Rohit Sharma’s side seem like an average team.

Hardik Pandya gave the Indian innings a huge lift with a 33-ball 63, smashing four fours and five sixes at a strike-rate of 190.91, as India took 68 runs off the last five overs to score 168/6. Virat Kohli slammed four fours and a six in his 40-ball 50, his fourth fifty of the tournament.

Buttler and Alex Hales had other ideas, flawlessly chasing down the score to win by ten wickets. Hales scored 86 not out off 47 balls, and Buttler scored an unbeaten 80 off 49 balls as the pair combined to knock ten sixes and 13 fours, securing a match against Pakistan on Sunday in Melbourne.

“England out-thought India and made them look an average team. The latter stages are about letting players run free and they did that,” Eoin Morgan commented

Morgan, who left international cricket in July of this year, was complimentary of Buttler, who took over as his leadership. “In the form Jos is in, he is probably the hardest batsman in world cricket to bowl to. His England side have shown a huge amount of character.”  The former left-handed batter also emphasised how important it was for England to win handily before turning their attention to the championship game. “It’s important England take time to sit back, smell the roses and acknowledge how good they have been today. Then draw a line under it and take things from tonight into Melbourne.”

Michael Atherton, a former England captain, predicted that England would defeat Pakistan and take home the title.

“There is an intriguing echo of 1992, in the way Pakistan came through the group stages through the backdoor almost and then played England in the final. I think there will be a different result this time.”

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