India v England LIVE: T20 World Cup semi-final reaction after Jos Buttler’s team hammered in 68-run defeat
England face a tough challenge to defend their T20 World Cup title when they take on India in Guyana
England have been heavily beaten in a 68-run defeat by India in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana, after two rain delays.
Jos Buttler’s side had started the tournament as defending champions and struggled slightly with the ball to contain the flow of runs, with Rohit Sharma hitting an important 57 runs at the top of the order, as they put on 171 runs.
India’s innings was affected by a rain delay, but it did not appear to hold them back. When it came England’s turn to bat, they started with a brief promise, and Buttler made 23 runs from just 15 balls, but his wicket sparked the collapse from which they never recovered.
Harry Brook top-scored with 25 and they never threatened to get near the India total.
The draw has been stacked in India’s favour. Unlike England, who only found out where they would play this semi-final at the last minute, India and their fans have known for months. It was designed to benefit those watching TV in Asia rather than local or international audiences.
Follow all the live action from the match in Guyana with our blog below:
India vs England T20 World Cup semi-final toss
Jos Buttler wins the toss and chooses to bowl.
The England captain said: “Everyone has talked about the lower bounce at this ground. With the rain around earlier we think it will be a bit of an advantage to bowl first.
“We’ve been peaking at the right time and we’ve been playing some good cricket and we will stick with the same team today.”
Pitch inspection
If you forget the fact that we should be halfway through the first innings at this point, there is good news!
The toss will take place in 10 minutes and the match will start at 4.45pm BST.
Pitch inspection alert
There will be a pitch inspection at 4.15pm BST! Stay tuned for the outcome of that and hopefully a possible start time
How long could the delay last?
Well until the rain stops we won’t have an idea what we’re working with.
But the latest that the match could start and a full game still get underway is 7.40pm BST.
A minimum of 10 overs is required, and the latest start time for that is 9.40pm BST.
So there is plenty of time left for this to get underway.
India vs England semi-final delayed due to rain
It has brightened up in Guyana, England are back out playing football, but it remains to be seen how long the ground will take to dry out.
If the sun comes out in can dry up quite quickly in that part of the world.
India vs England semi-final delayed due to rain
A quick reminder that should the game be rained off, and we are a long way from that yet, India would go through having topped their group while England came second.
India vs England
The super sopper is out and there is no chance of play imminently, the toss is not expected to take place for at least another half an hour:
India vs England
Here’s India:
Rain delays play
The rain has just started to come down again in Guyana and the covers that had been removed are going back onto the field.
England had been out knocking a football around, but they will now head back to the dressing room.
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