NEW DELHI: India held their nerve to beat England by seven runs in a pulsating Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday despite a breathtaking 105 from Jacob Bethell. After Sanju Samson’s brilliant 89 laid the foundation, India posted a mammoth 253/7 and England fell agonizingly short of the record at 246/7.Phil Salt (5), Harry Brook (7) and Jos Buttler (25) fell early but Bethell, supported by Will Jacks (35), kept England in check. The left-hander smashed seven sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball blitz before a run in the final over finally allowed India to celebrate in front of 35,000 cheering fans.
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India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted to the tension as England’s chase unfolded. “I was very nervous, the heart rate would have been 160-175. By the time we entered it was already 80% full, we hope we gave a good performance to the crowd. There will be pressure to go for the title in India but the players and support staff will be excited,” he said.“Unbelievable feeling. Playing in India, leading an unbelievable side. Samson knew what he knew when he went in. The team demanded it from him, it was spot on. I told Harry how much more we needed to score against them. They were always in the chase but the way the bowlers pulled the game away was unbelievable,” Surya added.“You know how capable Bumrah is. We have to credit T Dilip, our fielding coach. The boys are responding well. The boys have gone for more yardage, it shows. Until No. 3 is all sorted, once we saw Rashid, Dube was a perfect match,” he said.Earlier, when Brook was asked to bat, India tore through England’s attack, hitting 19 sixes and 18 fours. Samson signaled his intent with a four and a six off Jofr Archer in the first over but was given a reprieve in the 15th over when Brook dropped a direct chance at mid-on.Samson cashed in big, racing to a 26-ball half-century, aided by some wayward bowling as Liam Dawson went over 19 runs for the first over. He put on 97 runs from 48 balls with Ishan Kishan for the second wicket before being dismissed by Adil Rashid in the 10th over (117/2). Samson continued his dominance until Jacks came back and was caught by Phil Salt in the 14th over (160/3).Shivam Dube contributed 43 off 25 balls with four sixes before being run out by a Brook direct hit. Hardik Pandya added 27 off 12 and Tilak Varma 21 off seven to take India past 250.For England, Jacks was the most successful bowler with 2/40, while the erratic Archer suffered, conceding 61 runs from four overs.India will now take on New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad, aiming to become the first team to defend the title and the first to win it on home soil.
