IND vs ENG: India edged past England by 7 runs in the semi-finals, booking their spot in the final against New Zealand on March 8th. Jacob Bethell smashed a memorable century for England. But it just wasn’t enough to get his team through to their fourth T20 World Cup final. For India, this marks their fourth trip to the title match in tournament history.
The game at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium was a high-scoring thriller. Batting first, India piled up a massive 253 runs. England came close finishing on 246, but fell short by just 7 runs. Altogether, both teams combined for a staggering 499 runs.
England’s chase looked promising. After 17 overs, they were sitting at 209, needing 45 runs off the last three overs. Bethell and Sam Curran were both set at the crease and England had every reason to believe they could pull this off.
Then came Jasprit Bumrah with the 18th over of the innings. He gave away only six runs and suddenly the momentum swung towards India. The pressure was on, and all eyes turned to Hardik Pandya for the 19th. Bethell blasted a six off Hardik’s first ball, putting England right back in it, but on the third ball, Hardik got Curran out. That wicket changed everything and then England needed 32 from just nine balls.
Hardik kept his nerve, and England managed only two runs off the next three deliveries. His over gave up just nine runs in total. Between Bumrah and Hardik’s two overs, England only managed 15 runs and lost a key wicket. The task became too much. Shivam Dube finished things off, dismissing Bethell for 105 on the very first ball of the final over.
With the bat, Sanju Samson led the way for India, hammering 89 runs. Shivam Dube added 43, and Ishan Kishan chipped in with 39, helping India reach that imposing total of 253. On the bowling side, Bumrah was outstanding and he took one wicket and gave away just 33 runs from his four overs.
Brief Scores:
India 253/7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Shivam Dube 43; Will Jacks 2/40) beat England 246/7 in 20 overs (Jacob Bethell 105; Hardik Pandya 2/38) by 7 runs.
