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England openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales hammered India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide on Thursday (November 10). While Hales smashed an unbeaten 86 off 47 balls, Buttler hit 80 off 49 deliveries to help England secure a final berth in the premier tournament.
The duo shared an unbeaten partnership of 170 runs off 96 balls as they took Indian bowlers to the cleaners, smashing 10 sixes and 13 boundaries.
Fans on Twitter expressed their anger towards India openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for another failure at the ongoing T20 World Cup. They took the example of England's opening pair to roast the Men in Blue’s opening duo.
It is worth mentioning that Rahul scored just five runs against Jos Buttler and Co., while Rohit failed to lead from the front. He departed for 27 off 28 balls in the crunch game.
Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya stepped up with half-centuries, but in the end, 168 runs proved too low for India.
One tweet noted that Indian openers Sharma and Rahul should learn how to bat from Buttler and Hales.
Here are some of the other reactions:
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma fail to rise in critical games for India in T20 World Cup
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma failed to deliver in crucial matches for India throughout the T20 World Cup. Rahul scored four, nine and five against Pakistan, South Africa and England, respectively. His couple of half-centuries came against lower-ranked sides Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Similarly, Rohit registered four, 15, and 27 versus Pakistan, the Proteas, and England in the tournament. He slammed his only half-century in the T20 World Cup against the Netherlands.
Rohit Sharma – 116 runs in six games
KL Rahul – 128 runs in six matches
Speaking to Star Sports, Rohit blamed the bowling department for failing to deliver as India bowed out of the tournament.
"Pretty disappointed how it turned out today. We batted well at the back end to get that score. We were not up to the mark with the ball, we couldn't turn up today. It's all about handling the pressure in knockout games. All these guys have played enough to understand that."
He added:
"These guys have played under pressure in IPL games, it's all about keeping calm."
The Men in Blue will next be in action against New Zealand in the white-ball series. They are scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs, starting in Wellington on Friday (November 18). Several senior players, including Virat Kohli and Rohit, have been rested for the series.
Team India will also play three ODIs and two Tests against Bangladesh in December.
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