T20 World Cup 2024
Buttler rues for not bowling Moeen Ali against India
|| CF DESK ||
England captain Jos Buttler conceded that India outplayed his team in the T20 World Cup semifinals at the Providence Stadium.
The defending champions failed to chase the target of 171 due to the effective spin bowling of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Buttler admitted that he should have utilized his other spinner, Moeen Ali, who did not bowl a single over against India.
"A little bit of both. I thought they played well as well. I thought we bowled a little bit without luck in the power play, a few close calls there. But, yes, I think the benefit of hindsight and reflecting, I would have got Moeen [Ali] in the game of course. So, yes, bits and pieces here and there," said Buttler.
The England captain rued that his team allowed India to score 20-25 extra runs and acknowledged that India's bowlers outperformed them.
"Yeah, disappointing. I think we were outplayed by India. They fully deserved the victory. So, yeah, I thought they had an above-par score. I was hoping to restrict them to 145 - 150 probably on that pitch. It was always going to be a tough chase from there," he added.
Buttler also lauded India for playing a "good game of cricket," stating he did not expect conditions to change much after the rain.
"They outplayed us and fully deserved the win. Very different conditions (than 2022), credit to India. They played a really good game of cricket. With the rain around, didn't expect the conditions to change that much. Don't think it did. They outbowled us," he added.