NEW DELHI: England captain Jos Buttler acknowledged that they were comprehensively outplayed by India in the T20 World Cup semi-final, but also acknowledged that, looking back, it was a tactical mistake on his side to leave Moeen Ali unbowled in a Providence spinning wicket in Georgetown, Guyana.
In a rain-shortened semi-final on Thursday, the Indian duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav captured three wickets each as the reigning champions were reduced to 103 in 16.4 overs while chasing 172.
“Yes, disappointing. I think India outplayed us. They fully deserved the win,” Buttler said in the post-match media interaction, according to PTI.
“They scored above average. I was hoping to limit them to 145-150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there.”
After winning the toss, the England captain named an unchanged starting XI and opted to use Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone as bowlers, possibly to cope with the wet conditions, instead of Moeen Ali.
In their eight overs, Rashid and Livingstone conceded just 49 runs, and in the 14th over, the former also shut out India captain Rohit Sharma’s thrilling effort off 39 balls for 57 runs.
Asked if there was a failure in plans or execution, Buttler said: “A bit of both. I think they bowled well as well. I think we bowled a bit unlucky in the power play, there were some tough situations there.”
“But yes, I think after looking back and reflecting, I would have included Moeen (Ali) in the match, of course. So yes, there were details here and there,” Buttler admitted.
When Rohit deployed the close fielders, it felt like he was playing Test cricket in India. The ball spun brutally and remained low.
“I think everyone knew what to expect from this wicket. I think traditionally the bounce is low. And yes, I think India bowled very well and coped better than us in those conditions.”
When asked about his playing combination, Buttler said: “We thought a lot about the selection, whether we kept the same balance that had been working well or whether we needed four seamers on that particular wicket. “That was a really difficult decision we made. “. we did and we ended up staying with what we had.
“India played a very good game of cricket, regardless of who the team was or what happened in the toss. They were going to be a tough team to beat and we had to be at our best if we wanted to win the match and we were missing some of our best today.”
Buttler believes the final match between South Africa and India will be decided by narrow margins.
“The two teams leading in the final will be playing each other by a narrow margin and it will be a great match. They are two really good teams,” he said.
Buttler’s team was on the verge of early elimination after a loss against Scotland and a loss to Australia in the group stage. They were only able to beat one country that participated in the Tests: the West Indies.
But Australia gave them a lifeline when they beat Scotland, and they almost made it to the Super 8 by beating Namibia under the DLS technique.
“To get to a World Cup semi-final is an achievement. Obviously we wanted to go all the way. That’s what we came here for,” said Buttler, who led them to the T20 World Cup title in 2022 after taking charge of the Whites. . -Eoin Morgan captaincy of the ball.
“We faced a lot of challenges and adversity throughout the tournament and we have stuck together and played well enough to get to this stage. But unfortunately, at this stage, we have fallen short.”
“I think we’ve all progressed and we’ve played well and not well enough, but I think what we’ve been doing behind the scenes, the way we’ve prepared, the way we’ve trained, the way we’ve played in patches has been really good.
“There is a lot of talent in the team. And yes, today we faced a great team in these conditions,” he said.
When asked if there would be new faces next time, he said: “Yes, I think… I can’t do that. I haven’t absorbed the defeat. I’m thinking a lot about this match and what happened and yes, I think they say that “There is some time between today and the next games, and we can see what happens.”
On his future plans and whether he will continue as captain until the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February, he said: “To be honest, I’m looking forward to spending some time away from the game.
“Sitting here, emotional about a loss, I don’t need to delve too deeply into it now. I just hope I have some space in the game.”
In a rain-shortened semi-final on Thursday, the Indian duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav captured three wickets each as the reigning champions were reduced to 103 in 16.4 overs while chasing 172.
“Yes, disappointing. I think India outplayed us. They fully deserved the win,” Buttler said in the post-match media interaction, according to PTI.
“They scored above average. I was hoping to limit them to 145-150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there.”
After winning the toss, the England captain named an unchanged starting XI and opted to use Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone as bowlers, possibly to cope with the wet conditions, instead of Moeen Ali.
In their eight overs, Rashid and Livingstone conceded just 49 runs, and in the 14th over, the former also shut out India captain Rohit Sharma’s thrilling effort off 39 balls for 57 runs.
Asked if there was a failure in plans or execution, Buttler said: “A bit of both. I think they bowled well as well. I think we bowled a bit unlucky in the power play, there were some tough situations there.”
“But yes, I think after looking back and reflecting, I would have included Moeen (Ali) in the match, of course. So yes, there were details here and there,” Buttler admitted.
When Rohit deployed the close fielders, it felt like he was playing Test cricket in India. The ball spun brutally and remained low.
“I think everyone knew what to expect from this wicket. I think traditionally the bounce is low. And yes, I think India bowled very well and coped better than us in those conditions.”
When asked about his playing combination, Buttler said: “We thought a lot about the selection, whether we kept the same balance that had been working well or whether we needed four seamers on that particular wicket. “That was a really difficult decision we made. “. we did and we ended up staying with what we had.
“India played a very good game of cricket, regardless of who the team was or what happened in the toss. They were going to be a tough team to beat and we had to be at our best if we wanted to win the match and we were missing some of our best today.”
Buttler believes the final match between South Africa and India will be decided by narrow margins.
“The two teams leading in the final will be playing each other by a narrow margin and it will be a great match. They are two really good teams,” he said.
Buttler’s team was on the verge of early elimination after a loss against Scotland and a loss to Australia in the group stage. They were only able to beat one country that participated in the Tests: the West Indies.
But Australia gave them a lifeline when they beat Scotland, and they almost made it to the Super 8 by beating Namibia under the DLS technique.
“To get to a World Cup semi-final is an achievement. Obviously we wanted to go all the way. That’s what we came here for,” said Buttler, who led them to the T20 World Cup title in 2022 after taking charge of the Whites. . -Eoin Morgan captaincy of the ball.
“We faced a lot of challenges and adversity throughout the tournament and we have stuck together and played well enough to get to this stage. But unfortunately, at this stage, we have fallen short.”
“I think we’ve all progressed and we’ve played well and not well enough, but I think what we’ve been doing behind the scenes, the way we’ve prepared, the way we’ve trained, the way we’ve played in patches has been really good.
“There is a lot of talent in the team. And yes, today we faced a great team in these conditions,” he said.
When asked if there would be new faces next time, he said: “Yes, I think… I can’t do that. I haven’t absorbed the defeat. I’m thinking a lot about this match and what happened and yes, I think they say that “There is some time between today and the next games, and we can see what happens.”
On his future plans and whether he will continue as captain until the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February, he said: “To be honest, I’m looking forward to spending some time away from the game.
“Sitting here, emotional about a loss, I don’t need to delve too deeply into it now. I just hope I have some space in the game.”
