T20 World Cup: Axar and Kuldeep power India to the Final, taking three wickets each

• India has qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup after defeating England in the semifinal.
• Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav played a key role, taking three wickets each.
• India will take on South Africa in the final on Saturday.

India is set to take on South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. The clash between the two unbeaten sides has been after the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated England by 68 runs at the Providence Stadium, Guyana.

The Indian team avenged their 10-wicket defeat that came at the hands of England in 2022. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav led the Indian bowling attack with both of them picking up three wickets in their respective spells and helping India clinch a 68-run win. Jasprit Bumrah bagged two wickets while defending the 172-run target.

India will play their first T20 final in 10 years. The last time they stepped into the stadium to play a final saw them lose against Sri Lanka in 2014. Rohit Sharma's side will be looking forward to ending India's drought for an ICC trophy since 2013's Champions Trophy and also winning their first T20 WC since 2007's inaugural edition in South Africa.

England captain Jos Buttler and Philip Salt provided the defending champions with a good start, hitting boundaries initially. With England scoring at a healthy run rate of more than 8, visions of the 2022 World Cup semi-final started to slowly rise within the Indian fans.

The floodgates opened, and Jasprit Bumrah was the first one to capitalise on it. He set Salt up with a perfect slower off-cutter to go past Salt's defence and send him back with a score of 5.

Axar caught Jonny Bairstow off guard with a delivery that skidded off the surface. Bairstow played for the turn that never came. The ball struck the off-stump, ending the English batter's night for a three-ball duck.

Rohit decided to put the nail in the coffin by introducing the 'Chinaman' spinner Kuldeep Yadav into the attack.

With Kuldeep on the other end, Axar picked his third of the night with Moeen Ali slipping and failing to put his bat past the crease. Pant dislodged the bails, sealing Moeen's trip back to the dressing room for 8.

Kuldeep struck on the first ball of his second over, pinning Sam Curran in front of the stumps on the first ball of his second over.

Kuldeep took a three-wicket haul by removing Harry Brook and Chris Jordan. India took a step closer to victory after a mixup that led to Liam Livingstone's dismissal.

India captain Rohit Sharma lavished praise on the gun spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel for the spectacle they produced in the game.

"They (Axar and Kuldeep) are gun spinners. When the conditions like that are in front of them, it’s difficult to play some shots. The pressure is on them as well to come and execute those balls, but they were calm and knew what to bowl. We had a little chat after the first innings - try and hit the stumps as much as possible, keep the stumps in play," Rohit said in the post-match presentation.

Jofra Archer gave English fans something to cheer about with a couple of boundaries. But England eventually folded on 103 and crashed out of the competition, with India marching into the final.

Suryakumar Yadav (47) and Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) played crucial cameos to aid India's cause.

With inputs from agencies.

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