Rohit leads from front again, takes India to 171/7

Indian teams's skipper - Rohit Sharma, demonstrated the batting technique on a pitch with low bounce as India managed to score 171 for seven in the rain-hit second semifinal of the T20 World Cup against England on Thursday.

Virat Kohli got out quickly while trying to increase the score, but Rohit had a strong partner in Suryakumar Yadav as they helped India reach a competitive score.

The eagerly anticipated match was affected by sporadic rain, causing a delay of one hour and 15 minutes in the start of play. India came to a stop again at a score of 65 for two after eight overs.

As many as 250 additional minutes have been allotted to the game but there is no reserve day.

Shortly after Kohli and Rohit started batting following England's decision to field first, it became evident that the pitch was slow and had low bounce, making it more challenging for the batsmen.

Both Rohit and Kohli attempted to hit the pace duo of Reece Topley and Jofra Archer hard and early in the match but were unsuccessful in making contact.

Displaying enthusiasm to confront the bowlers, Kohli frequently advanced down the pitch against both Topley and Archer but without any success. He eventually struck a fuller ball from Topley for a six over mid-wicket. 

On the other hand, Rohit adjusted well to the conditions and opted to play the ball towards the end and towards the wickets.

Setting the standard for other batsmen, Rohit then achieved two consecutive boundaries in Topley's third over before putting pressure on England's top spinner Adil Rashid once India reached 46 for two during the powerplay.

Then there was the captivating match between Rohit and Rashid, during which the Indian skipper utilized both the reverse and conventional sweep to gather two boundaries from the leg-spinner's first over.

England used the leg-spin of Rashid and Liam Livingstone from both ends after the forced break but they could not stifle Rohit and Suryakumar.

India scored 19 runs in the 13th over bowled by Curran, as Suryakumar hit two sixes and Rohit hit a pick-up shot for a maximum, also reaching his second consecutive fifty.

After Curran's impressive 13th over the next fours were quiet until Hardik Pandya broke the silence with two powerful sixes on both sides of the pitch to boost the innings.

Ravindra Jadeja, who was sent in before Shivam Dube, scored two important boundaries off Archer in the second to last over, while Dube's time at the crease was cut short after facing just one ball.

Axar Patel hit a six off Jordan in the last over to help India exceed the 170-run mark. In the final five overs, the team accumulated a total of 53 runs.