Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: India stormed into the final of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, defeating England by 68 runs in the second semifinal in Guyana on Thursday.
Batting first in the rain-soaked ground, India scored 177 for the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, the defending champions folded for 109 runs in 16.4 overs.
This is India’s first T20 World Cup final since 2014 when it lost to Sri Lanka in Bangladesh.
Although India lost Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4) early in the innings, the third-wicket partnership between Captain Rohit Sharma and Surya Kumar Yadav added 73 runs off just 50 balls. Rohit struck 57 runs off 39 balls, while Surya Kumar scored a 36-ball 47. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja scored 23 and 17 runs, respectively, while Axar Patel contributed with 10 runs.
Chris Jordan took three wickets for England but gave away 37 runs in his three-over spell, while Reece Topley, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Sam Curran took one wicket each.
Chasing 178 to book a spot in the final, England lost Captain Jos Buttler in the fourth over for 23 runs. Phil Salt (5) and Jonny Bairstow (0) followed in successive overs. Harry Brook showed some fight scoring 25 runs off 19 balls, while Jofra Archer and Liam Livingstone scored 21 and 11 runs, respectively. Seven England batters failed to reach double digits.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav each took three wickets for India, while Jasprit Bumrah contributed with two wickets.
India will meet South Africa in Barbados on Saturday.
