England fell seven runs short in a frenetic chase of 254 in the T20 World Cup semi-final against India, but Jacob Bethell’s incredible 105 off 48 balls was not enough to qualify for Sunday’s final against New Zealand.
Bethel’s 45-ball hundred took Harry Brook’s side to the pinnacle of a remarkable victory, as India posted a massive 253-7 at the toss, making England conceding over 250 runs for the first time in a T20 international.
Bethel forged a fine 77-run partnership with Will Jacks (20 off 35) for the fifth wicket, but by the time the latter departed England needed to score 82 with six overs remaining.
Axar Patel, who had earlier dismissed Brook (7) with a nice rolling catch over his shoulder, did his part with a nice relay shot on the boundary line for the Jacks.
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Axar Patel took two sensational catches in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England.
Sam Curran (18 off 14) was less effective at hitting the boundaries, while the returning Jasprit Bumrah (1-33) was typically stingy and ensured that England’s required rate rose steadily, despite Bethel’s 100 heroics in part.
Bethel hit their seventh six and eight fours off the first ball of Hardik Pandya’s penultimate over to reach three figures. But three more points were added from the next five pitches (including Curran’s death), and Bethel needed 30 points by the time the last ball ran out of the first.
The match finally ended with a win over England, with Jofra Archer hitting three sixes as they moved closer to their original target, but it was India who advanced to successfully defend their title in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Samson takes center stage again as India set T20 World Cup record
Sanju Samson had earlier proved a new T20 World Cup record as the mainstay of India’s extraordinary total, hitting 89 off 42 with seven sixes and eight, but should have been dismissed after just 15.
Midway through the third over, Brook had a chance to chip, but the skipper managed to pull off a simple grab and Samson made Brook and England pay the price.
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Early in the T20 World Cup semi-final, Harry Brook dropped Sanju Samson with an easy catch for a chance to take him out.
Abhishek Sharma (9) holed out to deep midwicket in Will Jacks’ second over, but Ishan Kishan came in and scored 39 off 18, competing with Samson for the second wicket with an explosive 97 runs.
India reached 100 in the ninth over as Liam Dawson’s 19-run over was topped by Curran’s 20-run hammer.
England’s search for answers finally came when Adil Rashid (2-41) removed Kishan, but Samson found another useful foil in Shivam Dube (43 off 25).
Samson ended up losing to the Jacks (2-40), starting over 14 times and selflessly perishing in pursuit of further boundaries as opposed to playing for a potential century.
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Harry Brooke reflected on his side’s performance against India and the chances he missed when he brought down the great Sanju Samson.
His departure did not significantly dent India’s momentum as Dube, Hardik (27 for 12) and Tilak Varma (21 for 7) continued to punish England’s attack. Archer in particular was treated to a 4-over 61.
When tasked with completing the second-highest T20I run chase in history, it gave England’s batsmen at least some clarity in their approach, which was needed, and Bethel certainly enjoyed it.
England were 38-2 when Brook (7) fell cheaply to start the fifth over and Bethel was forced to the crease. He immediately hit the second ball for a six and three more to start Varun Chakravarthy’s next over.
Varun bowled Buttler (25 off 17) after those two deliveries, but it was otherwise going to be a tough night for the leg-spinner Buttler, who conceded 64 in four overs.
A cameo appearance from fast-batting Tom Bunton (17 hits for 5), as well as more impressive contributions from Bethel and Jacks, saw England cross the 100-run mark in the first ball of the nine overs, with Bethel scoring a 19-ball half-century in the 11th over.
However, Jack’s wicket ultimately proved decisive as Bethel didn’t have enough support to get England over the line in the end, although there was also some fine work on the boundary by Axar.
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Nasser Hussain doubles down on England’s decision-making and missed chance to beat Australia in Ashes series.
Brooke is falling and Bethel is “incredible”
England captain Harry Brook:
“We gave it a red crack, but unfortunately we were on the wrong side.
“I’m going to throw up my hand and say it was a big mistake to miss Samson because the catch wins the game, that’s that famous phrase.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way on the field tonight, but it didn’t go our way on other days. We performed a little bit poorly here and there, so we probably didn’t perform as well as we could have.”
“Bethel was unbelievable. He’s going to make a lot of money in his career and he’s definitely going to have a long career in England.”
“Tonight he showed the world how good he is. Those innings are a huge positive to take from this tournament.”
McCollum: I want to stay as head coach.
England head coach Brendon McCullum said:
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Brendon McCullum has reflected on England’s winter performances in Test and white-ball cricket and said he wants to stay on as head coach.
“I am incredibly proud of the toughness our players showed to win a game as close as we did in a hostile field with the full support of India.
“I think they’ve been incredibly guided by Harry Brook, who has developed as a leader. The younger players have developed as well, so they should be proud.”
“I love this job. It’s a great job. It’s not without its challenges, of course, but that’s the nature of the job.
“We feel we have achieved some really great things in the last few years, but there is still a lot to achieve across all formats.
“I want to keep going, so let’s see what happens. Now it’s all about going home, watching fast horses and playing some shocking golf.”
“It’s a little bit of time to think, to let things land and look objectively at what’s working and what’s not. We’ll see what happens, but I want to help lead the team to the next stage.”
The T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand from the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 1pm on Sunday (1.30pm first pitch).
2026 Men’s T20 World Cup Final Tournament
Always UK and Ireland. All matches will be streamed live on Sky Sports
Semi-final
Wednesday, March 4th
Thursday, March 5th
India beat England by 7 points (Mumbai)
final
Sunday, March 8th
New Zealand vs India (Ahmedabad, 1.30pm)
