England fall just short against India in epic T20 World Cup semi-final – as it happened
That was modest of Samson, but if anyone else was going to pip him to the match award, it should have been Axar Patel,His fielding was phenomenal, first when he caught Harry Brook in the deep, running back, and then when, uncredited on the scorecard, he got an inspired assist for the catch by Dube that got rid of the tenacious Jacks,In a game of 499 runs, the winner is the team that fielded better,Never mind the players – I am now a spent force, so I’m going to collapse in a heap,Simon Burnton’s match report will be with you shortly.
Thanks for your company, correspondence and strong views on England’s bowling,They did a lot better with the bat, displaying great spirit and, in Bethell’s case, supernatural composure,A superstar is born,Jofra Archer scored 19 off four balls,Jacob Bethell produced a twin for his lovely Ashes hundred by making 105 off 48 balls.
If he had had just a little more of the strike, England might have got over the line.Will Jacks did well again, taking two wickets when England desperately needed them and then scoring 35 to add 77 with Bethell and give the travelling fans a glimmer of hope.But the night belongs to Sanju Samson, who set the tone for the whole game with his 89 off 42 balls.He is, understandably, the Player of the Match.“Even 250 looked chaseable here,” he says.
“Very happy with how the team turned up today… Jasprit Bumrah is a once-in-a-generation bowler.I think it [his award] should go to him actually.”20th over: England 246-7 (Overton 2, Archer 19) Shivam Dube has come on for his first over at an interesting moment.He starts well, finding those yorkers.Jofra Archer whacks a six, the 32nd of the day, and another.
But only no-balls can save England now.They need 16 off the last ball.Another six! But it’s not enough.The fans wave flags, take photos, make every kind of noise.India will play New Zealand in the final on Sunday.
And England will go home, knowing they came very very close,If Harry Brook had held that catch …Bethell made 105 off 48 balls, hitting sixes for fun, then switching to fours,But he couldn’t quite see it through,We have been watching one of the great heroic failures,Bethell hits a straight drive, busts a gut to get back for two, and finds Hardik at long-off targeting his end.
The game is up.19th over: England 224-6 (Bethell 104, Overton 1) With 31 needed off eight balls, Bethell can only manage a cover drive for a single, straight to the man on the edge of the ring.Overton misses the last ball, and Hardik has almost certainly sealed the match by taking 1-3 off the last five balls of that over.England need 30 off the last over, which is about ten too many.Curran almost clips Hardik for six, only to see Tilak Varma taking the catch on the midwicket boundary, cool as you like.
Bethell swings Hardik for six – through the fingers of Axar Patel – to reach a great, great hundred.It has come off 45 balls, the third-fastest for England in T20s.“What a talent he is,” says Eoin Morgan.18th over: England 215-5 (Bethell 96, Curran 18) SKY was conferring with Hardik about whether to give Bumrah his last over now.He goes for it.
Eoin Morgan reckons that could help England, as it allows them to hit freely in the last two overs.Bumrah bowls three yorkers: dot, one, one.Too good! Curran, always resourceful, tucks a full toss away for two.The rate climbs to 17 an over.Are the batters just trying to see Bumrah off? Nasser thinks so.
Bethell clips a single, so does Curran,Six off the over! Great bowling,Bumrah finishes with 4-0-33-1, which England would have given him if they’d been asked,England need 39 off the last two overs,It’s a tall order.
17th over: England 209-5 (Bethell 94, Curran 14) Back comes Arshdeep, whose last over was mostly wides, plus a big wicket.He starts with a wide now, but then gets his yorker spot-on, with some reverse inswing, and Bethell does superbly to jab his bat down on it.Curran gets a two, then just a single – almost as good as a wicket to the Indians now.England need a big hit and Bethell must know that.After another wide, he nails a straight drive down the ground.
Six! I think that’s his first six since his 12th ball,And he adds a squirt for four,Sixteen off the over! England need 45 off the last three,Their chances sneak up to 22pc, but Bethell will have to stay there,16th over: England 193-5 (Bethell 83, Curran 11) Back comes Bumrah.
It’s not boom boom, it’s pace off,One, one… four! Classy from Curran, clipping the yorker into the gap at deep square,The next yorker yields a dot, cheered like a wicket,Two singles to finish,The rate, which stayed so long at 13 or so, creeps up towards 15.
England’s chances are 12 per cent.I’d put them a bit lower than that, but they’ve done so well to stay in the game.15th over: England 185-5 (Bethell 81, Curran 5) SKY brings back Chakravarty for his final over.Bethell, who seems to have a supernatural temperament, cuts for two and drives for four.That’s six of the required 13 or 14 off the first two balls.
In fact seven off two, as the next delivery is a wide.Sam Curran plays himself in for one ball, then pulls for four.That’s 13 off the over! England need 69 from the last five.Chakravarty finishes with 4-0-64-1.In a game of T20 on a flat pitch, any bowler, however good, can get marmalised.
14th over: England 172-5 (Bethell 74, Curran 0) Suryakumar brings back Arshdeep, the less famous of his two fast bowlers.His over has a little bit of everything.Bethell pops him over gully for four, like a small boy reaching up to post a letter.Arshdeep fights back, restricting the batters to ones and twos, flirting with a wide – but then he goes too far and bowls three wides in a row.Just when England’s chances have rocketed to 11 per cent, he gets the prized wicket of Jacks, as Axar’s brilliance on the boundary bails him out.
That’s the end of a sizzling partnership, 77 off 6,3 overs,And now Bethell has to do it on his own,England need 82 off six overs,Wow! Jacks slices a big hit.
It’s heading for six until Axar intercepts it and passes it, like a scrum-half, to Dube.Axar collapses over the boundary, the ball is safely caught, and England’s saviour is not quite going to save them today.13th over: England 160-4 (Bethell 65, Jacks 35) Jacks is fully warmed up now.Facing Axar, he pulls another six, then gets a lucky four as SKY misfields at cover.Axar is bowling so wide that the batters could just leave that ball if they feel like a breather.
But the adrenaline is pumping and they keep trying to smash it.Axar has done pretty well (3-0-35-1) and yet England, somehow, are almost up with the rate.They need 94 off seven overs at 13 and a half.12th over: England 145-4 (Bethell 61, Jacks 24) So England took 11 off Bumrah’s second over, which is good going.Now they face Chakravarty again.
Bethell reverse-sweeps him for four: after getting ’em in sixes (five off his first 12 balls), he’s now getting ’em in fours (five off his last 12 balls).Jacks grabs the baton and hits his first six, slog-swept over midwicket.Chakravarty’s figures continue to bring some solace to the bruised egos in the England dug-out: 3-0-51-1.11th over: England 131-4 (Bethell 55, Jacks 16) Heeere’s Jasprit.Jacks manages to chip him over the covers for four.
timing it like a man with four Player of the Match Awards in his suitcase,“Boom boom Bumrah!” go the crowd, roused by the announcer, much to the distaste of one of the commentators,Jacob Bethell takes a two to reach a fabulous fifty – 51 off 19 balls,That’s the fastest fifty of this tournament, equal with four others,Equal with Finn Allen! Bethell celebrates with a pull for four, pinging it like Gower.
What a star he is.10th over: England 119-4 (Bethell 49, Jacks 11) Axar continues and for Jacks, it’s the over of living dangerously.Jacks is almost run out as a sharp throw comes in from Hardik at backward point.Then Axar appeals for LBW, and England somehow steal two leg-byes.But there are no big shots and the over goes for only six.
At the halfway stage, England need 135 off ten overs,Three of which will be bowled by Bumrah,9th over: England 113-4 (Bethell 48, Jacks 9) Chakravarthy returns with his leg-breaks,Bethell pulls his first ball for four, to bring up the 100 off 49 balls, and slaps the second over cover for four more,Jacks goes for the big swing without getting a sighter and almost loses his off bail.
Next ball, he puts away with a lofted clip for four,That’s 14 off the over, and Chakravarty has the sort of figures that might make England’s bowlers feel a bit better: 2-0-37-1,8th over: England 99-4 (Bethell 39, Jacks 4) Axar Patel’s left-arm darts have often bothered England and so it proves again,Banton lofted his first ball over extra-cover and his second over long-on, but the third was too good to be slog-swept and Axar roared with delight,England respond by promoting Will Jacks, their all-round saviour, and he produces a pull for four
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