"Wanted To Spoil The Party": Jos Buttler On Preventing India Vs Pakistan Final In T20 World Cup
England captain Jos Buttler had said before the semi-final against India that he would make sure an Indo-Pak final doesn't take place in T20 World Cup. He kept his words as England eliminated India from the tournament.
England captain Jos Buttler kept his promise of preventing an India vs Pakistan final take place in the T20 World Cup 2022. England, taking on India in the second semi-final, hammered Rohit Sharma's men by 10 wickets to storm into the final. Earlier, Pakistan had also secured a convincing victory over New Zealand in the first semi-final to qualify for the summit clash. With England's win over the Indians, Jos Buttler also kept his word by ensuring that the final doesn't take place between India and Pakistan.
Buttler was asked by a journalist during the post-match press conference about his words before the semi-final. The England skipper said that he was quite aware of the fact that many people wanted an Indo-Pak final but his team was determined to "spoil the party".
Journalist: Brilliant cricket, but you kept your promise that you'll spoil the party for India-Pakistan. How would you say that?
Jos Buttler: Yeah, I think certainly there were a few people wanting that final, of course, but certainly for us, we're desperate to get there. We wanted to -- like I said, spoil that party, and I'm sure there's -- having seen the first game of the tournament between India and Pakistan, there's a lot of people that would have loved to have seen another edition of that, but they'll have to wait for another time.
Buttler also credited his and other England players' time in the Indian Premier League as the reason behind the side not getting affected by the loud noise from Indian fans in the stadium.
“I think we have quite a lot of IPL experience in our team, as well, which certainly situations like tonight don't surprise you. We've played in India a lot, understand the noise that comes with the fans of Indian cricket, especially when sort of certain guys walk onto the field or when they're batting and the impact they can have.
But having had so much experience as a team playing in the IPL, I don't think it's as much of a factor anymore,” he said.
Buttler was brilliant with the bat against India, scoring an unbeaten knock of 80 runs. Even his opening partner Alex Hales remained unbeaten on 86 as England chased down the target of 169 runs in just 16 overs.
England will now square-off against Pakistan in the final on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India Cricket Team
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Jos Buttler