Clinical England spoiled the party of an India-Pakistan finale after Jos Buttler's side emerged as the second finalist of the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup.
With Pakistan having confirmed a berth in the final at Melbourne Cricket Ground, expectations and prayers were high for India to beat England when the two sides met in the second semi-final of the competition at Adelaide Oval Thursday.
England openers Buttler and Alex Hales were on a different mission.
The duo wrecked destruction upon the India bowlers as they chased down 169 runs without allowing a dent in the batting line-up and 24 balls to spare and take the Three Lions to their third T20 World Cup final, and first since 2016.
England will take on Pakistan in the tournament decider at the MCG this Sunday amid chances of heavy rain in the coastal capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria.
England on the day were up against a tide of blue.
The 40,094 spectators at the Adelaide stands were mostly there to back the Indian team.
The little crowd that was for England however, lived the moment and later the team went out near the ropes, not for a victory lap but as a humble gesture of appreciation towards the support.
The moment showed what the backing, and victory, meant for the English side.
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Hales and Buttler were in a world of their own.
The only moment when India had the opportunity to break the pair was when Buttler ended up skying the ball high off Mohammad Shami in the last ball of the 14th over.
Suryakumar Yadav at mid-off had to turn around and sprint towards the boundary to take the catch, only to parry it away from the reach of Virat Kohli running towards him from mid-on.
And akin to the condition India were in the game, the ball ran away to the straight boundary.
The destructive Hales finished with a blazing 47-ball 86.
The innings laced with four boundaries and seven over boundaries all around the park had left the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the bowling unit clueless.
From the other end of the crease, the brilliant Buttler posted 80 on the board.
The wicketkeeper-batter faced 49 deliveries and hammered nine fours and three maximums.
The duo finished with an unbroken stand of 170 runs off 96, the highest in the tournament, and highest in terms of runs and by wicket in England cricket history in the format.
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Earlier, 2007 T20 World Cup champions India were invited to bat first on a hard and true deck.
England fast bowlers ensured to make use of the condition as they kept Indian openers Rohit and KL Rahul silent in the first over and by the third ball of over two, Chris Woakes showed Rahul the way back to the pavilion.
Rohit along with in-form Kohli worked on the recovery.
The pair took the score from 9 for 1 to 56 for 2 before Rohit perished in the ninth over, scoring a sluggish 27 off 28.
Three overs later India lost batter of the moment Suryakumar Yadav for just 14 to bring Hardik Pandya to the middle alongside Kohli.
The duo pushed the India innings with a 61-run stand for the fourth wicket before Kohli was dismissed soon after scoring his fourth half century in the tournament.
Hardik remained till the end and breathed fire with a 33-ball 63 before getting hit-wicket in the last ball of the innings.
The right-handed batter dealt in four boundaries and five over boundaries to boost India to a competitive total of 168 for the loss of six wickets.
Right-arm fast bowler Chris Jordan bagged three wickets - the most among the English bowlers - but leg-spinner Adil Rashid topped in terms of economy giving away just 20 runs in four overs for one scalp.