England booked their place in the T20 World Cup final with an emphatic ten-wicket win over India, setting up a mouth-watering clash against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday.
Jos Buttler and Alex Hales shared the highest opening partnership of the tournament to guide England home in spectacular fashion, with Adil Rashid the pick of their bowlers as they limited India to 168-6.
Hardik Pandya struck an excellent 63 off just 33 balls after Virat Kohli laid a decent platform with another half-century, but they ultimately had nowhere near enough runs on the board with Buttler and Hales in such imperious form.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, England picked up an important early wicket with Chris Woakes getting KL Rahul caught behind in the second over of the match. Captain Rohit Sharma also struggled to really get going and holed out for a 28-ball 27 off Chris Jordan, who came into the side to replace Mark Wood after he was ruled out with a hip injury.
England continued to pick up wickets at crucial times, with Rashid taking the huge one of Suryakumar Yadav for just 14. Kohli and Pandya then decided to take the innings deep before looking to accelerate, but Kohli fell to Jordan just one ball after reaching his half-century, with Rashid taking an excellent catch.
And while Kohli was unable to make it count at the death, Pandya did with a truly excellent 63 off just 33 balls, which included five boundaries off the final two overs to propel India up to 168-6. However, his assault proved to be a case of too little too late as Buttler and Hales took immediate charge of the chase, striking 63 in the powerplay.
The pair quickly brought up their hundred partnership off just 61 balls, with Hales swatting Pandya for six over the midwicket boundary. India rotated through six bowling options but had absolutely no answer for England's openers, who sealed a memorable victory with four overs to spare when Buttler fittingly smashed Mohammed Shami down the ground for six.
Rashid outstanding again
The leg-spinner entered this tournament with concerns over his recent form, having taken just eight wickets at an average of 48.87 and an economy rate of 9.09 in 13 T20Is since the start of the summer.
Those concerns only grew when he failed to take a wicket in England's first three World Cup games, although he was denied the wicket of Glenn Phillips when Moeen Ali dropped a sitter against New Zealand.
However, the 34-year-old has been a crucial part of England's white ball revolution and has come to the fore when it mattered most in their last two games. Having picked up 1-16 in the must-win final Super 12 game against Sri Lanka, Rashid followed it up with an excellent spell against India.
He picked up 1-20 in his four over spell, keeping things tight while also picking up the massive wicket of the in-form Yadav for just 14. "That is a special spell from Adil Rashid," former England all-rounder Ravi Bopara told BBC Test Match Special. "It could prove to be match-winning."
Pandya's late assault
England had done an excellent job of keeping India quiet, limiting them to 80-3 after 13 overs. However, largely thanks to Pandya, they blasted 88 off the final seven overs with the all-rounder striking 63 off just 33 balls after walking out to bat during the 12th over.
He initially took his time to get in, scoring 13 off 15 before teeing off in the final four overs. He struck the first ball of the 17th over for six over cover point and then smashed back-to-back sixes off Jordan in the 18th.
Pandya also smashed five boundaries in the final two overs to get India up to 168-6, accidentally treading on his own stumps on the final ball of the innings.
"That is an outstanding half-century for Hardik Pandya," former England bowler Jonathan Agnew said on BBC Test Match Special. "A combination of brutal hitting and elegance."
Buttler vs Kumar
No bowler has dismissed the England skipper more frequently in T20I cricket, with Kumar getting Buttler out five times in 32 balls and conceding just 30 runs. Before the game, Buttler insisted he did not "fear" coming up against Kumar and promptly struck three fours off him in the first over of England's chase.
It set the tone perfectly and his side barely put a foot wrong from that point onwards, with Buttler and Hales sharing England's highest ever opening partnership in T20Is as they blasted an unbeaten 170.
They overtook the previous record of 143, which was shared by Hales and Michael Lumb back in 2013 against New Zealand, but short of the 182 which remains England's highest partnership for any wicket, a record set by Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan against New Zealand in 2019.
Hales' redemption
Having only made the squad due to the freak leg break Jonny Bairstow suffered playing golf, Hales is making the most of a second chance at international cricket he never thought he would get.
In England's last three games he has been truly outstanding, scoring 52 and 47 in the must-win Super 12 matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, before blasting an unbeaten 86 off just 47 balls to fire his into the final.
The opener has hit form when England have needed him most and he has a real redemption opportunity on Sunday, having been exiled from the side back in 2019 after failing a second recreational drugs test, receiving some scathing criticism from then captain Morgan and missing the historic 50-over World Cup win on home soil as a result.
"I never thought I'd play in a World Cup again so this is so special," Hales said after being named player of the match. "It's one of the best nights of my career."
England's stunning progress
It is an astounding mark of England's depth in white ball cricket that they managed to produce such a clinical performance with five key players missing through injury. Bairstow was a huge loss for England on the eve of the tournament, while Jofra Archer is one of the best T20 bowlers in the world but has not played international cricket since March 2021.
England also suffered a big blow when Reece Topley, their standout white ball bowler in the summer, was ruled out of the tournament after injuring his ankle during a fielding drill before the final World Cup warm-up game against Pakistan.
Things got even worse when both Dawid Malan and Mark Wood suffered injuries which forced them to miss the semi-final. But England did not need to worry as Hales, who replaced Bairstow, batted brilliantly and Chris Jordan, who replaced Wood, picked up three wickets.
If ever there was a sign of England's stunning progress in white ball cricket it was this, a crushing win over India in a World Cup semi-final with a number of key players missing. And to do it on the same ground where they embarrassingly crashed out of the 2015 World Cup to Bangladesh, a result which triggered their turnaround, will make it all the sweeter.
