T20 World Cup, IND vs ENG: Rahul flops in another semi-final; India 62 for 2 after 10 overs

KL Rahul on Thursday produced yet another flop show in a World Cup semi-final for India.

Rahul, who got off the mark on the very first delivery of the innings with a boundary, scored five runs off five balls after England put India to bat in the second semi-final of T20 World Cup 2022 at Adelaide Oval.

This was Rahul's second appearance in a World Cup semi-final and he failed to click once again. Earlier, Rahul was out after scoring just a run in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. India eventually lost the game by 18 runs while chasing just 240 runs at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Meanwhile, Rahul has never performed well against a top-eight side in T20 World Cup. Rahul has scored of 3(8) vs Pakistan, Dubai, 18(16) vs New Zealand, Dubai, 4(8) vs Pakistan, Melbourne, 9(14) vs South Africa, Perth, and 5(5) vs England, Adelaide.

After scoring single digit scores in India's opening three games in the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2022, Rahul touched form in the team's last two games ahead of the big semi-final. Rahul registered half-centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and was high on morale ahead of the last four game against England. Unfortunately, Rahul could not carry on the momentum when it was needed.

After Rahul's wicket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli brought back India's innings on track on Thursday. The two put up 47 runs for the second wicket before the Indian skipper was sent back by Chris Jordan in the ninth over. Rohit struck four boundaries in his knock of 27 off 28.

Suryakumar Yadav and Kohli – the two in-form batsmen – are currently batting for India. After 10 overs, India are 62 for 2.

Before the start of the game, all-rounder Hardik Pandya heaped praise on Surya, saying the Mumbai batsman is easily two years late into the Indian team.

"I'm very excited. Semifinal of a World Cup. Every ball will matter from here. Very excited. At the same time, trying to keep calm and follow the processes that got us here. A lot of people keep asking how do you find yourself calm in these situations. A lot of that comes from preparation. If you prepare well and tick all the boxes, if you're confident about your skills, you will be calm.

"Sometimes I feel that we aren't batting well or maybe they (SKY, Kohli) have been batting too well (laughs). He (Kohli) has been doing this for years, I still think he (SKY) got his international opportunity two years late, God is really kind still and he has been fantastic for us," added Hardik.

India vs England: Playing XIs

India XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant(wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

England XI: Jos Buttler(wk/c), Alex Hales, Philip Salt, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid