Rohit Sharma was slammed badly for QUESTIONABLE CALL, but it became a MASTERSTROKE in T20 World Cup

Team India dumped the intimidating defending champions England in the most convincing way possible in semi-final 2 of the T20 World Cup 2024. Heading into the contest, the wounds of the 10-wicket loss suffered in the 2022 edition of the tournament were still afresh. But as it happened, the 68-run margin victory at the Providence Stadium, in Guyana, could be defined as a sweet revenge over the Jos Buttler led-side. At the halfway stage, when the men-in-blue posted a total of 171 at the loss of 7 wickets, it seemed like a Deja vu of the same heavy loss. However, it turns out that, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid had the nucleus ready to down England.

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IND vs ENG: Rohit Sharma's decision proved to be a masterstroke

Rohit Sharma, who cut out a distraught figure at Adelaide Oval two years ago, made sure that his team do not repeat the same mistakes. It involved effective planning, initially rejected by many experts and knowers of the game, but on Thursday, his selection call of the past hit a bullseye. On April 30, 2024, when the Team India squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 was announced, many pointed fingers at Rohit for selecting four spinners- Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yuzvendra Chahal- for the competition. Four spinners in the squad came out as unusual, as historically Team India locked in on two or in a rare case three spinners. In the presser conducted at that time, Rohit was asked to reason his call. To which, he stated, "I wanted 4 spinners. The reason, I won't reveal now." Two months later, the revelation has come out wide and awake.

Three of the four spinners featured in the India vs England T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final, and two of them- Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav- picked up 6 wickets together (3 apiece). When Team India was batting, Adil Rashid was getting an immense purchase from the surface, and it became clear that later on Indian spinners could also make the batsmen dazzle through their variations. The assertion became a reality as England batters fell prey to the web designed by Kuldeep and Axar. The two snared 6 wickets together and gave away only 42 runs in their combined 8 overs. England could not recover from the damage Axar and Kuldeep inflicted and were eventually bundled out at 103 after 16.4 overs. Axar Patel was adjudged the player of the match for his all-round performance.  Aside from taking 3 wickets at 23 in his quota of 4 overs, Patel contributed with the bat too. He scored 10 off 6.

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Spin to win for Team India

The spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja have dominated in every match till now. Their consistency could be labelled as one of the crucial factors behind India's advancement to the final of the T20 World Cup 2024. Moreover, as ideal results have been reaped, it needs to be put out that Rohit Sharma's decision to bring more spinners on board than usual has proved to be a masterstroke.

With the semi-final done, Team India is just one step away from ending the prolonged wait for an ICC trophy. On Saturday, India will have the chance to secure the title when they take on South Africa in the grand finale of the marquee T20 tournament.