Kohli falls early again

India’s Virat Kohli is clean bowled by England’s Reece Topley in Guyana yesterday. Pics/AFP

The predictions held true and the rain bucketed down more than once, reducing the early part of India's semifinal against England at the Guyana National Stadium to a stop-start affair.

Play began an hour and a quarter behind schedule on Thursday morning with the defending champions and Rohit Sharma's men aspiring to set up a Saturday showdown in the final against South Africa. With the weather in mind, Jos Buttler had no hesitation in asking India to bat first on a slow pitch with low bounce, opting to chase even though Rohit said he would have batted first in any case, given the dryness of the track.

India skipper Rohit Sharma plays one square of the wicket

Not a great start

India didn't get off to a great start, losing the out of sorts Virat Kohli in the third over to the towering left-arm quick Reece Topley, missing an agricultural hoick balls after unleashing an imperiously wristy whip-drive over wide long-on for six. It extended Kohli's miserable run in the tournament to a seventh innings; he now has 75 runs and been dismissed five times in single-digits. In five previous T20 World Cups between 2012 and 2022, Kohli made only two single-digit scores.

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Rohit supreme again

Fortunately for India, beaten at the same stage in the last edition by England, Rohit continued his supreme form. Coming off 92 against Australia on a far better batting surface in Gros Islet, Rohit tailored his game to meet the demands of the situation without losing sight of the fact that he needed to keep the board moving. There was even a rare reverse sweep against leggie Adil Rashid, though he did also see Rishabh Pant tamely flick Sam Curran to mid-wicket.

Rohit had moved to 37 off 26 and his Mumbai mate Suryakumar Yadav was keeping him company on 13 when the skies opened up, some 37 minutes into the innings. At the extended interruption, India were 65 for two in eight overs, with no one quite sure what a good score would be amid all the potential stoppages.