MUMBAI, India (CMC):
In a pulsating high-scoring semi-final encounter at the Wankhede Stadium, Barbados-born Jacob Bethell’s astonishing 105 from 48 balls proved just short of miraculous as England fell seven runs short of a record-breaking chase, handing India a nerve-shredding victory and a place in the T20 World Cup final.
Set a daunting target of 254, the highest ever conceded by England in T20 cricket, the visitors looked down and out early in their innings.
But the 22-year-old Bethell, English cricket’s rising star, produced a scarcely believable knock that threatened to etch his name into the annals of the country’s greatest white-ball victories.
Arriving at the crease with England reeling at 64-3, and later 95-4, Bethell took the attack to the Indian bowling attack with breathtaking audacity.
He kept his side’s hopes flickering and, when he cracked boundaries from the final two balls of the 17th over, the equation came down to a gettable 45 runs required from the final three overs.
The capacity crowd, who had been jubilant earlier, thanks to Sanju Samson’s blistering 89 from 42 balls, fell into a nervous hush.
However, India possessed the ultimate trump card. The great Jasprit Bumrah, ice-cool under immense pressure, delivered a masterful 18th over, conceding just six runs to swing the momentum back.
The required rate climbed once more. In the 19th, Sam Curran fell for 18, caught courtesy of a composed piece of bowling from Hardik Pandya.
With 30 needed from the final over, the monumental task fell to Bethell and Jamie Overton. The fairytale, however, was not to be.
In a desperate attempt to keep the strike, Bethell was run out, departing to a standing ovation from both sets of fans. Jofra Archer smashed three late sixes when the game was all but done, but England ultimately finished on 246-7.
England will look back ruefully on a crucial drop by Brook in the third over, who put down Samson on just 15, a mistake India punished ruthlessly by posting their highest T20 score against England.
The victory means co-hosts India will face New Zealand in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
