On Thursday, June 27, the Indian cricket team thumped England by 68 runs in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024, booking a spot in the final against South Africa. In his comment about the one-sided contest, Michael Vaughan spoke about how India are better on “lower slower spinning pitches,” prompting Ravichandran Ashwin to troll him with a mathematical formula in response.
For the unversed, the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana, was a rain affected one, which led to the start getting delayed by an hour and 15 minutes. After winning the toss, Jos Buttler, the England captain, decided to field first, and Reece Topley drew first blood by dismissing Virat Kohli for just nine runs.
After Rishabh Pant lost his wicket early, the captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav stitched together a match-defining stand of 73 runs. A late flurry of boundaries from the lower middle order propelled the Indian total to 171/7, which was considered an above par total on a low and slow pitch.
In the run chase, barring the captain Jos Buttler and Harry Brook, none of the English batters came to terms with the conditions, losing their wickets in quick succession. England were bundled out for just 103 runs within 17 overs after Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah shared eight wickets amongst themselves.
After the conclusion of the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024, Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, congratulated the Indian cricket team, but not without pointing out how the conditions favoured them more than the opposition. He wrote on X, “India thoroughly deserve to be in the final .. The best team in tournament so far .. Was always going to hard for England on this pitch .. India just so much better on lower slower spinning pitches .. #T20IWorldCup”.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who didn’t quite think on the lines of Michael Vaughan, took to his official X account, and quoted him with an Integrals formula to troll him for it. His post read, “∫ 1 dx = x + C. ∫ a dx = ax + C. ∫ xn dx = ((xn+1)/(n+1))+C ; n≠1. Hence, India won.”
Moreover, the Indian cricket team will now be travelling to Bridgetown, Barbados, to play against South Africa in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Kensington Oval.