India has booked a place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final after surviving a late England surge to win a pulsating semi-final by seven runs at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, setting up a title clash against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
On a night of relentless hitting, India’s 253/7 became the highest total in a T20 World Cup knockout match, and it proved just enough even as Jacob Bethell’s blistering 105 kept England within touching distance until the final over. England finished on 246/7, falling short despite a frantic late charge that briefly threatened to turn the match on its head.
India exploded to a knockout record
Asked to bat first, India began at full pace. Sanju Samson launched early, carving boundaries off Jofra Archer, while Abhishek Sharma attacked in the opening overs before falling for nine in the second over — his third dismissal to off-spin in the tournament — leaving India 20/1.
Ishan Kishan joined Samson and the pair detonated the powerplay. They repeatedly pierced the infield and cleared the rope, bringing up 50 inside five overs. India reached 67/1 after six overs, with Samson already in commanding touch and Kishan matching him stroke for stroke.
Samson raised his half-century in 26 balls, peppering the boundary with clean timing and powerful slog-sweeps. Liam Dawson’s first over went for 19, and India surged to 100 in 8.3 overs as the two left England searching for control on a true surface.
Kishan’s 39 off 18 ended when he picked out Will Jacks at long-off, bringing down a 97-run partnership and leaving India 117/2 in the 10th over. By the halfway mark, India were 119/2 and still building.
Samson continued the assault through the middle overs, taking Adil Rashid for sixes and targeting Archer again to keep the run rate well above 12 an over. His innings ended on 89 from 42 balls — eight fours and seven sixes — when he attempted another big hit and was caught by Phil Salt, with India 160/3.
Even after Samson’s dismissal, India did not slow. Captain Suryakumar Yadav added a brisk 11 before being stumped off Rashid, while Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya provided the finishing platform. Dube struck 43 from 25, and India crossed 200 in the 17th over. A bizarre run-out ended Dube’s innings at 212/5, but Pandya’s 27 off 12 and Tilak Varma’s 21 off seven ensured India’s closing overs were brutal.
India finished with 19 sixes, equalling the most in a T20 World Cup innings, and set England a target of 254 — a chase that demanded both an extraordinary start and sustained control against a deep bowling attack.
England wobbles early, then Bethell changes the match
England opened the chase aggressively through Jos Buttler, who struck boundaries in the first over, but Hardik Pandya struck in the second, removing Phil Salt for five after an edge carried to Axar Patel. England were 13/1 in 1.1 overs.
The pressure grew when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Harry Brook for seven with a slower ball, a wicket that also brought Bumrah his 500th international wicket. England were 38/2 in the fifth over, still swinging but losing momentum.
Buttler tried to lift the chase, making 25 off 17, yet he fell late in the powerplay and England slumped to 64/3 after 5.5 overs. It was the kind of start that normally ends chases of this size.
Jacob Bethell refused to accept that. He launched a counterattack with a hat-trick of sixes against Varun Chakravarthy, then followed with a boundary to drag England to 68/3 at the end of the powerplay. When Tom Banton arrived, he struck Axar for two consecutive sixes — but Axar responded immediately by shattering his stumps. Banton’s 17 off five ended at 95/4 in the eighth over, leaving England still a long way behind.
Bethell, however, kept accelerating. He punished Varun again in the ninth and brought England to 100 in 8.1 overs. By the midpoint of the chase, England were 119/4, still requiring a miracle, but Bethell had found a partner in Will Jacks — England’s in-form batter through the tournament — and the pair began hunting the target down in chunks.
Bethell reached his fifty from just 19 balls, with England’s chase suddenly gaining shape. Jack’s mixed clean hitting with smart placement, and England surged past 150 in the 13th over as the fifth-wicket partnership gathered pace.
A superb relay catch on the boundary ended Jack’s innings for 35 off 20, breaking a 77-run stand and leaving England 172/5 in the 14th over needing 82 from the final six overs. Bethell remained, and so did England’s belief.
India holds nerve, then wins it in chaos
Even with England five down, Bethell kept swinging. Varun’s four overs went for 64 despite taking a wicket, and the equation tightened to 69 needed from 30 balls with England 185/5 after 15. Bumrah’s 16th over went for only eight, but Arshdeep’s 17th was expensive, with wides and a Bethell six helping England cross 200 with more than three overs remaining. England needed 45 from 18 balls, and the stadium’s tension shifted.
Bumrah delivered the 18th and conceded only six, dragging the target back out to 39 from two overs — a decisive squeeze in a match where control was rare.
Hardik began the 19th, and Bethell brought up his century in 45 balls, but Tilak Varma’s boundary catch then removed Sam Curran, slowing the chase again. England entered the final over needing 30 from six balls.
Shivam Dube was handed the last over. England still had Bethell, who had launched eight fours and seven sixes in a breathtaking 105 off 48 — until a run-out in the first ball of the over removed him. Hardik’s fielding and a sharp throw ended the innings that had nearly stolen the match. Jofra Archer’s 19 not out from four balls gave England one last surge, but the target remained out of reach.
India closed out a semi-final that swung violently from certainty to panic and back again — a match shaped by Samson’s record-setting foundation, Bethell’s astonishing counterpunch, and Bumrah’s calm at the death.
Brief scores: India 253/7 (Sanju Samson 89, Shivam Dube 43, Ishan Kishan 39) beat England 246/7 (Jacob Bethell 105, Will Jacks 35; Hardik Pandya 2/38, Bumrah 1/33) by 7 runs.
Support our Journalism
No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal — and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.
