Magazine : 
ICC Men's T20 WC'24: Rohit, Axar, Kuldeep Star as India Sets Up Final Against SA
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel took three wickets each to propel India into the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final against South Africa, defeating defending champions England by 68 runs in the second semifinal at the Providence Stadium. Captain Rohit Sharma reached his 32nd T20I half-century with a composed 57 runs off 39 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav contributed 47 runs from 36 balls, helping India set a challenging total of 171/7 on a challenging pitch. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav delivered outstanding performances with the ball, dismantling England's batting lineup as they were dismissed for 103 runs.
Chasing 172, Jos Buttler hit four boundaries, including three off Arshdeep, to give England a strong start with 26 runs coming in the first three overs. But Axar and Jasprit Bumrah joined forces to leave England in tatters. On Axar’s first ball, Buttler looked to reverse-sweep but gave a top edge to keeper Rishabh Pant.
Bumrah utilized his off-cutter effectively to disturb Phil Salt's leg-stump, while Axar Patel induced a delivery that stayed low, crashing into Bairstow's off-stump and dismissing him without scoring, leaving England struggling at 39/3 at the end of the power-play. England's woes deepened further when Moeen Ali attempted to flick Axar but only managed to lob the ball off his thigh pad. As he strayed from the crease, Rishabh Pant swiftly gathered the ball to stump him out.
Kuldeep Yadav extended England's troubles by dismissing Sam Curran leg-before-wicket with a delivery that struck middle stump, followed by bowling Harry Brook through his attempted reverse sweep, hitting leg stump. He further deceived Chris Jordan with a delivery that spun back to trap him leg-before-wicket. Miscommunications led to run-outs of Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid, while Jasprit Bumrah's lbw dismissal of Jofra Archer sparked celebrations, exorcising the haunting memories of Adelaide 2022 in Guyana 2024. India's quest for the elusive trophy remained firmly on track with this dominant performance.
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