‘Bits and pieces here and there’ – Jos Buttler reveals what went wrong against India in semi-final

England’s T20 World Cup 2024 journey ended in the semi-finals. Taking on the in-form Indian team, England were completely outplayed in Guyana. Chasing a target of 172 runs, England were bundled out for 103 as India won the game by 68 runs and booked their ticket in the summit clash of the tournament. 

On a pitch that got progressively slower with time, India made sure to use the services of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. However, England skipper Jos Buttler took centre stage and came forward to admit his mistake in not using Moeen Ali as his second spinner. 

“A little bit of both. I thought they played well as well, I thought we bowled a little bit without luck in the power play, a few close calls there. But, yes, I think the benefit of hindsight and reflecting, I would have got Moeen [Ali] in the game of course. So, yes, bits and pieces here and there,” Buttler was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“Yeah, disappointing. I think we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. So, yeah, I thought they had an above-par score. I was hoping to restrict them to 145 – 150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there,” he added.

I thought they out-bowled us: Buttler

England’s two spinners on the day, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone, returned combined figures of 1 for 49 from eight overs, England already looked to be in trouble. In the second innings, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav wreaked havoc for the Men in Blue. 

Both spinners took three wickets each, as England were bundled out for just 103 runs. After the game, Buttler did state that he felt like India out-bowled the Three Lions. 

“Obviously, they’ve got some fantastic spinners, Our two guys bowled well, but in hindsight, I should have brought Moeen [on] in that innings, with the way that the spin was playing. Obviously with the rain around in those conditions, I probably didn’t think it was going to change that much, and I actually don’t think it really did. I thought they out-bowled us. They had an above-par score. So I don’t think necessarily the toss was the difference between the teams,” Buttler said.

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