England's captain, Jos Buttler, acknowledged that his team was thoroughly outplayed in their 68-run defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final in Guyana. However, he maintained that his choice to bowl first after winning the toss was not a decisive factor in the outcome.
Buttler admitted that conceding first use of a spin-friendly pitch, which was likely to deteriorate throughout the day, allowed India to post a challenging total of 171 for 7. Rohit Sharma contributed 57 runs from 39 balls, supported by Suryakumar Yadav’s 47 from 36 balls. Buttler noted that India's score was "20-25 runs too many."
In response, England was dismissed for 103 in 100 balls. Axar Patel delivered a crucial blow with his first ball of the match in the fourth over, dismissing Buttler for 23 from 15 balls with a reverse-sweep caught by the keeper. Patel continued to dismantle England's batting lineup, claiming Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali in successive overs, finishing with Player-of-the-Match figures of 3 for 23. Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wrist-spin further decimated the middle-order, ending with 3 for 19.
Buttler admitted post-match that they were outplayed and allowed India to score too many runs. He praised India's performance, acknowledging that they deserved the win.
A morning rain delay postponed the start of play by over an hour, and another rain interruption occurred mid-way through India's innings. England stuck with their seam-heavy lineup from the Super Eight, including Reece Topley and Chris Jordan, over an additional spinner like Tom Hartley or Ben Duckett.
In hindsight, England's spinners, Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid, were their most effective bowlers, giving away only 49 runs in eight overs (6.13 rpo), while the four seamers conceded 120 runs in 12 overs (10 rpo). Moeen Ali was not utilised, likely due to the damp early conditions. Buttler later acknowledged that this was a mistake and that the performance of Rashid and Livingstone had highlighted the threat posed by India's spinners on the same pitch.
Buttler reflected on the match, stating that India’s spinners outperformed theirs, and while the toss wasn’t a decisive factor, India had an above-par score.
This defeat was as comprehensive as England’s ten-wicket victory at the same stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Adelaide. After that victory, England became the first men’s team to hold both the 50- and 20-over world titles simultaneously. However, both titles have now slipped from their grasp. While a semi-final exit was an improvement over their 50-over World Cup performance last year, England still left the tournament after losing three of their four matches against major opponents.
Their early loss to Australia left them needing external help to progress from the group stage, and a narrow defeat to South Africa in St Lucia resulted in a tougher semi-final draw against India. India’s performance was a pointed revenge for the Adelaide defeat, with Rohit Sharma describing it as "satisfying."
Buttler reflected on the team's changed fortunes, praising India for their good game and acknowledging their deserving win. He expressed pride in his team’s efforts throughout the tournament, particularly given their challenging progression from Group 2, which included a critical win against Namibia under challenging conditions.
Buttler concluded by acknowledging the team’s resilience and good performances in patches but admitted they fell short when it mattered most.