In the T20 World Cup semi-finals against India, England openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler demonstrated how to bat in the powerplay. England thrashed India by 10 wickets in Adelaide on Thursday, when their openers came out all guns blazing against the Indian bowling attack.
In the opening six overs, Hales and Buttler decided to chip shots over the midfield, which worked perfectly for them. Hales continued to sweep spinners over the backward square-leg region, scoring the majority of the runs in the powerplay. This was a significant statement from the right-hander, who was kicked off England's team in 2019 after testing positive for recreational drug use.
The duo went on to score 63 runs in their powerplay, the same number of runs that India took more than 10 overs to score.
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Hales and Buttler destroyed the bowlers all over the park and went on to post the greatest ever semi-final partnership in T20 World Cup history, assisting England to a 10-wicket victory. The openers scored 170 runs in 16 overs to knock India out of the competition.
Jos Buttler, who took over as England captain after Eoin Morgan retired, has been struggling with his form leading up to the T20 World Cup. The captain came up big on the day, scoring 80 off 49 balls, while Hales was unbeaten on 86 off 47 balls.
For India, Virat Kohli went on to score his 4th half-century of the tournament and became the first batter to hit 4000 runs in T20 Internationals but even his cautious approach on a good batting pitch must have left England thrilled. Kohli eventually scored 50 off 40 balls and hit 4 fours and a six.
Hardik Pandya had scored a gutsy 40 in a tense chase against Pakistan earlier this month and in the semifinal, he was tuned in and played some breathtaking shots to finish with 63 off 33 balls.
England will take on Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup final at MCG on Sunday, November 13.
READ| IND vs ENG: Hardik Pandya combines Dhoni and Suryakumar trademarks for a helicopter flick, WATCH
