England secured their spot in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 with a dominant 10-wicket victory over the United States in the Super Eights match at the Kensington Oval on Sunday.
Chris Jordan and skipper Jos Buttler were the stars of the match for the Three Lions, helping them to clinch their place in the semi-finals. Chasing a target of 116, England achieved the win without losing a wicket.
Philip Salt (25* runs off 21 balls, 2 fours) and Jos Buttler (83* runs off 38 balls, 6 fours and 7 sixes) opened for England and put together an unbeaten 117-run partnership. The English openers chased down the target in just 10 overs, facing little resistance from the US bowling attack.
Harmeet Singh struggled against England, conceding 36 runs in his two-over spell without taking a wicket. Shadley van Schalkwyk was the most economical US bowler, giving away just 15 runs in his two overs.
Adil Rashid was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his impressive performance, taking two wickets in his four-over spell. Rashid’s crucial wickets helped England dominate the United States from the start.
In the first innings, after winning the toss, Jos Buttler opted to field, and the decision paid off. The English bowling attack restricted the US batting lineup to 115 runs. Steven Taylor (12 runs off 13 balls, 2 fours) and Andries Gous (8 runs off 5 balls, 1 six) struggled to build a partnership, with Reece Topley taking the first wicket of Gous in the opening over.
Nitish Kumar was the standout batter for the US, scoring 30 runs off 24 balls (1 four, 2 sixes), but his innings ended in the 11th over when Adil Rashid dismissed him. Corey Anderson added 29 runs off 28 balls (1 six), but his knock ended in the 19th over when Chris Jordan bowled a low full toss, resulting in a catch by Harry Brook.
Chris Jordan’s exceptional bowling performance continued as he dismissed Ali Khan for a two-ball duck, followed by Nosthush Kenjige, and completed a hat-trick by dismissing Saurabh Netravalkar for a golden duck, wrapping up the US innings at 115.
Jordan led the England bowling attack, taking four wickets for just 10 runs in his three-over spell with an economy rate of 3.50. Sam Curran and Adil Rashid also took two wickets each, while Reece Topley and Liam Livingstone picked up one wicket each.
Brief Score: England 117/0 in 10 overs (Jos Buttler 83*, Philip Salt 25*) beat the United States 115 all out (Nitish Kumar 30, Corey Anderson 29, Chris Jordan 4/10).
