ICC World T20 2018: Four reasons why India lost to England in the semis

England beat India by eight wickets to win the second semi-finals of the 2018 ICC Women's World T20 and with that win, they booked a final date with their nemesis Australia.

India, on the other hand, had a great tournament as they topped the group that had New Zealand and Australia and qualified for the semis without losing a single match, something that wasn't expected from them at the start of the tournament.

In the semis against England, India surrendered to Heather Knight and co. as they were beaten with 17 balls to spare. With the wicket assisting the spinners, England outplayed India in all three departments.

Credit has to be given to almost all the England players as it was a complete team effort. First, the fielders backed up the good work done by the bowlers and in the chase, Natalie Sciver and Amy Jones took England home with some sensible batting.

However, there are a few areas in which India lacked. Let us take a look at four things that India did wrong in the semis.

---

#4 India's batting collapse

Smriti Mandhana gave India a good start with the bat

After choosing to bat first, India were off to a brisk start as opener Smriti Mandhana took on the England bowlers right from the word go as she hit five fours and one six before she was dismissed for a 23-ball 34 off the last ball of the field-restriction overs when she tried to hit Sophie Ecclestone but ended up checking her shot and offered the bowler an easy catch.

Her fellow opener Taniya Bhatia fell soon after and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Jemimah Rodrigues in the middle. The duo put on 36 runs for the third wicket in just 31 balls and gave India a good platform to go for the kill on a wicket that was very difficult to bat on. That's when it all began as Jemimah was run out for 26 and a few balls later, Kirstie Gordon delivered the knockout blow as Veda Krishnamurthy and the big fish, Kaur in a space of five balls. From 89/3, India were reduced to 94/5 and soon, it became 112 all-out.

Some of the wickets, including the one of experienced Kaur, was just baffling. On a wicket where 130 seemed to be a par total, India tried to look beyond it and threw away their wickets which ended in a collapse. Had they been sensible and just rotated the strike with an odd boundary every now and then, things could have been different.

#3 Underwhelming captaincy from Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, could have done a lot better

With a target of just 113, England's main aim would have been batting all 120 balls. They just needed to score less than run-a-ball to achieve the target. In the field restriction overs, only two fielders are allowed outside the circle and Kaur had the right field and after the seventh over when the field spread out, India had just four fielders inside the circle and it allowed England to rotate the strike and keep the scorecard ticking.

Almost every ball the Indian spinners have bowled, especially Poonam Yadav, have been played on the backfoot by the Englishwomen and hit towards the midwicket as the off-side is packed inside the circle. With the fielders in the leg-side positioned in the outfield, it became too easy for England to milk the runs without taking any risk in the middle overs.

India just stuck to their plan A, which is a defensive plan for a flat wicket. On such wickets, the field setting should have been aggressive and Kaur should have kept more fielders inside the circle and applied pressure on England.

#2 Fielding woes

Taniya Bhatia dropped a tough catch

Chasing a total of just 113, the Indian fielders should have converted all the half chances. But, Poonam Yadav put down a sitter, fielding at square-leg to give Natalie Sciver a chance when she came out to bat. A few balls later, Taniya Bhatia put down a difficult catch to give Sciver yet another reprieve.

Sciver, who was batting on 2 off 3 balls when Poonam dropped her, made the full use of the opportunity she got as she piled on the agony on the Indians by helping England cross the line with ease with a steady 38-ball 52.

Also, there were instances when the batters were allowed to run 2 easily, thanks to the throw from the deep. Instead of throwing the ball on a flatter trajectory, some of them looped it to the keeper/bowler allowing some easy runs.

#1 Bowlers not stepping up

The leading T20I wicket-taker in 2018 ended up wicketless

This is the best conditions India would have asked for in the tournament as it was similar to the ones the players get back home in India. It assisted the spinners, had uneven bounce, the ball was stopping and still, they managed to take just two England wickets.

Instead of having a set plan, the bowlers reacted to what the opposition did as they altered the length based on what happened on the previous ball and ended up getting hit. By the time they realized, it became too little, too late for Kaur's girls. Even with dew on the ground, there should have been a better defence of that total.