England produced a remarkable performance to book their place in the T20 World Cup final, completing a magnificent ten-wicket win over India with four overs to spare and will now face Pakistan in the final.
Jos Buttler, who only took over as England's white ball skipper in June, was widely praised for his captaincy in the win, with predecessor Eoin Morgan stating he "captained his best ever game". And speaking after the win, Buttler lifted the lid on the key decisions made ahead of the match that helped them emerge victorious.
England were already missing three key players with Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow and Reece Topley all forced to miss the tournament due to injury, but they suffered another huge blow when Mark Wood and Dawid Malan were ruled out of the semi-final with injuries.
Wood has been excellent for England at this tournament, taking nine wickets at an average of 12 while being the fastest bowler on show. England had a number of potential replacements in their squad, with David Willey, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills all in contention.
Ultimately, they opted for Jordan due to his experience bowling at the death and the fact the Adelaide Oval's short square boundaries should suit his abilities better. And while Jordan was England's most expensive bowler, he did deliver three of his overs at the back end when Hardik Pandya was batting brilliantly and he picked up the huge wicket of Rohit Sharma early on before dismissing Virat Kohli right when he was looking to tee off.
"To bring in Chris Jordan, someone who's been a mainstay of the team for a long time, adds huge experience," Buttler explained. "I thought the dimensions of this ground suited his game more than someone like David Willey.
"I don't think CJ was thanking me too much for bowling him three overs straight through at the death though. To come in your first game of the tournament and bowl at Hardik at that stage of the game I thought was an incredible effort."
England also picked Phil Salt as Malan's replacement in order to continue with their batting-heavy approach and, although he was not needed as England won the game without losing a wicket, Buttler explained that the extra depth they have allowed them to bat with the kind of freedom India did not.
"We always want to start as fast as we can and aggressive," he said. " 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 line-up it gives you a lot of freedom to play."
And after winning the toss, Buttler decided to bowl first despite four of the six World Cup games staged in Adelaide being won by the team that batted first. He explained the reason behind his decision was largely down to India preferring to chase a target rather than set one and that was vindicated as it took a stunning effort from Pandya for them to reach a par score.
"I ummed and ahed over the toss for a long while actually, what I'd do if I won it," Buttler said. "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."
Rashid also bowled a crucial spell, picking up 1-20 from his four overs, conceding just the one boundary and dismissing the in-form Suryakumar Yadav for his lowest score of the tournament. Rashid has an excellent record at the Adelaide Oval, having picked up 11 wickets at 11.63 during a Big Bash stint with the Adelaide Strikers, and England used him cleverly.
Rishabh Pant has a particularly excellent record against leg spin, averaging 58.25 and striking at 142.65 in all T20s, and there were suggestions he was selected ahead of Dinesh Karthik to specifically target Rashid, who he has faced eight times in international cricket and averages 135 against.
However, England introduced Rashid into the attack in the powerplay and he had bowled his full quota by the end of the 12th over, meaning his entire spell was bowled against right-handers who typically find facing leg spin more difficult as the ball is turning away from them.
"That's why we used him early," Buttler said when asked about India's selection of Pant. "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 those guys out [India's top order] 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."
