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Captain Rohit Sharma's fifty and belligerent cameos firework at the Providence Stadium by Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja's late flourish powered struggling India to 171/7 against defending champions England in their ICC T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday.
A superb effort from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the final two overs helped India post a competitive total while Suryakumar (47) and Hardik (23 off 13) played crucial cameos. For England, Chris Jordan starred with the ball as he returned with a figure of 3-37, bagging the wickets of Hardik, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel. Put to bat first, India captain Rohit Sharma got off with a boundary in the first over. Rohit got a thick outside edge that went off for a boundary through point. However, in the third over, India suffered a massive blow as Reece Topley hit the bail of the leg stump, sending out of form batter Virat Kohli for 9. However, the India captain kept the aggressive approach going, hammering Topley for two boundaries, gathering 11 runs in the 5th over. After 5 over India's score read 40/1. Sam Curran brought his team back into the game as he removed Rishabh Pant, who played a poor shot that landed in the hands of Jonny Bairstow, waiting for this opportunity at short mid-wicket. India were 65/2 after eight overs when rain stopped play for just over an hour, with Virat Kohli bowled by Reece Topley for 9, and Rishabh Pant caught by Jonny Bairstow off the bowling of Sam Curran for just 4. With a magnificent six Rohit brought up his back-to-back half-century. India captain Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav stitched up fifty runs to keep the team's momentum going. The duo smoked Curran for 19 runs in the 13th over. Adil Rashid broke a crucial 73-run partnership between the Indian duo, removing well-set batter Rohit for 57. In the 18th overs, Hardik Pandya smoked Chris Jordan for back-to-back two maximums before the pacer struck back to remove India vice-captain for 23. On the very next ball, Jordan sent Shivam Dube packing for a duck. A superb effort from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the final two overs helps India post 171 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in Guyana. In the last over India managed to pick up 12 runs to post 171/7 thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 17. Brief score: India 171/7 (Rohit Sharma 57, Suryakumar Yadav 47; Chris Jordan 3-37) vs England. (ANI)
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