England raced through to the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup after beating India in the semifinals on Thursday.
They will now be facing Pakistan in the finals of the tournament on Sunday.
Skipper Jos Buttler is receiving a lot of praise from all corners for his excellent captaincy during the semifinals with former skipper Eoin Morgan stating that Buttler ‘captained his best game ever.’
Although England were missing out on key players like Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, and Reece Topley, they got another major blow when Mark Wood and Dawid Malan did not participate in the semifinal.
However, England did not lose heart and picked up their key bowlers who have experience playing in Adelaide.
Along with this, they won the toss and ultimately decided to bowl first as they knew India were good at chasing.
In the post-match press conference, Buttler talked about all his important decisions.
Says Buttler,
To bring in Chris Jordan, someone who’s been a mainstay of the team for a long time, adds huge experience. I thought the dimensions of this ground suited his game more than someone like David Willey.
After bringing in Chris Jordan for Mark Wood, England then brought in Phil Salt as a replacement for Malan to add more depth to their batting lineup.
We always want to start as fast as we can and aggressive. Adil Rashid was down at number 11 today, and that gives us the freedom to come out aggressive, that depth. You couldn’t ask for a better run-chase. With such a long batting lineup, it gives you a lot of freedom to play.
Buttler also discussed taking his time after winning the toss on what he wanted to do.
I ummed and ahed over the toss for a long while actually, what I’d do if I won it. Gut feel said to chase today. Against India I feel sometimes they’re a bit more dangerous when they know exactly what they have to do. It worked today, it might not have worked another time but I’m glad I went for it today.
Adil Rashid was excellent with the ball on Thursday as he picked up the very crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. Buttler was all praises for his leg spinner.
That’s why we used him early. I think he bowled the best I’ve seen him bowl in a long while today, he bowled on the seam, he tried to spin it hard and we had to get these guys out and I thought he was the best chance to do that. To pick up the key wicket of Surya, it was such a huge performance from Dilly today.
Follow Crickdom on Twitter for more.
