England lose to India in semi-final despite Jacob Bethell century

Bethell, 22, made England’s third-fastest hundred, in 45 balls, and he took charge like an old pro when more senior colleagues fell early in the chase. His innings was a combination of classical but powerful elegance, combined with all the flair and invention we have come to expect. He now has the full set of hundreds in Test, ODI and T20 cricket, when not so long ago he could not boast of a single one in professional cricket at all.

He could not quite get England home, though. In a run-fest, when sixes rained down on a capacity Mumbai crowd from the first over to the last, India won by seven runs. There were 499 runs scored, all told, and 34 sixes — both records for a T20 World Cup match. The pitch was beautiful for batting, even of pace and bounce, and the boundaries were inviting. It was a difficult night to be a bowler.

For all the focus, then, on the batsmen who took advantage of the conditions — and Bethell and Samson were the two main beneficiaries of that — let us not forget Bumrah, the only bowler to complete his allocation and not go for more than nine runs an over. He was brought on to target Brook initially, and completed that job, and was then used whenever the total looked most vulnerable. His last over, the 18th, brought six runs only and all but sealed the game.

There were also two magnificent catches to record from Axar, an irony given that India’s fielding has been so poor and their catching the worst of all the major teams. His first one, taken after sprinting back 40 yards towards the boundary, did for Brook. His second, even better to dismiss the dangerous Will Jacks, was an assist to Shivam Dube, after another sprint around the boundary. His name will not be on the scorecard for that one, a criminal omission.

If Bumrah’s four overs, some pinpoint yorkers and Axar’s two exceptional catches were the key to India’s defence of 253 for seven, then catching and bowling cost England. Jofra Archer bowled poorly with the new ball and had a difficult night all told, conceding 61 runs, his joint most expensive return in T20 internationals. Liam Dawson was afforded only one over that went for 19, and no England bowler conceded fewer than ten runs an over.

Later, there was some swing for India’s new-ball bowlers but Archer was so short in length with the new ball that it is impossible to know whether that help was there initially. Samson sits deep in his crease and moves deeper still, to wait on the short ball, and England obliged him early on. It might have been so different had Samson, on 15, not been dropped by Brook off Archer at mid-on.

It was an easy chance, one where the ball somehow burst through Brook’s hands, and a bad miss; Samson then sent Archer’s next ball for the biggest six of the night to rub Brook’s nose in it. Abhishek Sharma, looking forlorn, had a predictably early demise, caught in the deep off Jacks, but the powerplay belonged to Samson; a perfect platform set at 67 for one.

England were playing catch-up after that, as the assault continued into the middle and then the final overs. India had talked of being fearless before the match, but it is one thing to talk about being fearless, quite another to be so in a knockout semi-final, but India were true to their word from the off. What an impact Samson has made since coming back into the team, his innings of 89 here coming in 42 balls with seven sixes.

India deliberately kept a left-hand, right-hand combination together, promoting Dube ahead of Suryakumar Yadav for that reason, which meant Dawson could not get back in the game. Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma all played a hand, orbiting around the glowing sun that was Samson. The ease with which Samson played, his control, poise and power, was in contrast to what came next from England’s openers.

It was sad to watch Jos Buttler flailing so desperately, so obviously short of rhythm and composure, and losing his shape almost every shot — far removed from the player he can be. He tried his hardest, and hit one convincing boundary, but it simply hasn’t happened for him in this tournament, nor for Phil Salt, who sent a high catch to cover third ball. When Brook was foxed by Bumrah’s cunning slower ball, England’s hopes seemed thin.

Then came Bethell. He had no choice but to begin in fifth gear chasing such a total, and he sent his sixth, seventh and eighth balls into the crowd, from the first three balls that the wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled. Bethell did not let him settle and Chakravarthy, who seemed to have such a hold over England a year ago, when he took 14 wickets in a five-match series, was taken for 64 runs in four overs.

The key partnership was between Bethell and Jacks, who put in another excellent all-round performance. They added 77 in 6½ overs to keep the run rate in touching distance. After Jacks skied a low full toss to deep cover, had Patel not shown scorching pace around the boundary, and wherewithal to palm off the ball to Dube before his momentum took him out of the playing area, Jacks and Bethell might well have seen England home.

England needed 69 off the final five overs, but Bumrah had two of those to bowl. His penultimate over went for ten runs, his final over for only six, which meant they needed 30 off the final two overs to be bowled by Pandya and Dube. Bethell brought up his hundred by striking Pandya’s first ball, a full toss, for six to bring up his hundred, but then lost Sam Curran and the strike.

With 30 runs required off the final over, Bethell was run out off the first ball, going for an improbable second run, ending his innings flat out on his stomach in the Wankhede dust. What a brave effort it was. India knew then that they were home and dry and they have one more match and New Zealand standing between them and becoming the first home team to win a T20 World Cup, and the first team to defend their crown.

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