T20 World Cup: England lose to India in semi-final despite Jacob Bedell’s century | cricket news

England fell seven runs short of their T20 World Cup semi-final against India after being bowled out for 254, and despite Jacob Bethell’s stunning 105 off 48 balls, it was not enough to qualify for the final against New Zealand on Sunday.

England had conceded over 250 in a T20 international for the first time as India posted a massive 253-7 after being inserted at the toss, but Bethell’s 45-ball hundred took Harry Brook’s side to the pinnacle of a stunning victory.

Bethell shared a superb 77-run partnership with Will Jacks (35 off 20) for the fifth wicket, with England needing 82 from the final six overs when the latter departed.

Axar Patel, who earlier took a superb tumbling catch over his shoulder to dismiss Brook (7), also produced a stunning relay effort for the Jacks from the boundary line.

Sam Curran (18 off 14) was unable to clear boundaries effectively, while returning Jasprit Bumrah (1-33) was generally miserable, ensuring England’s required rate rose steadily despite Bethell’s heroics of a hundred at one end.

Bethell reached triple figures as he hit 7 sixes off the first ball of Hardik Pandya’s second over and went on to hit eight fours. However, only three more runs were added from the next five balls, including Curran’s death, leaving Bethell needing 30 off the last ball to be run out first.

Finally getting past England, Jofra Archer hit three sixes to get them closer to their initial target, but it was India who went on to successfully defend their title in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Samson starred again as India set a T20 World Cup record.

Sanju Samson had earlier proven to be the cornerstone of India’s astonishing total (a new T20 World Cup record), smashing seven sixes and eight boundaries in his 42 off 89, but should have been dismissed after just 15 runs.

Offering Brook a chance to chip in midway through the third over, the skipper somehow managed a simple catch and Sampson made him and England pay.

Abhishek Sharma (9) was holed out to deep midwicket in Will Jacks’ second over, but Ishan Kishan came in and blasted 39 off 18 as part of an explosive 97-run stand with Samson for the second wicket.

India were 100 for 10 in the ninth over as Liam Dawson got the better of Curran for 20 in the 19th over.

Desperate for an answer, England finally found one when Adil Rashid (2-41) removed Kishan, but Samson found another more than useful foil in Shivam Dube (43 from 25).

Samson ultimately fell to the Jacks (2-40), forced to restart from the 14th over, and unselfishly perished in pursuit of more boundaries instead of playing for a potential century.

India’s momentum was not derailed despite his departure as Dube, Hardik (27/12) and Tilak Varma (21/7) continued to dish out punishment to England’s attack. Archer in particular got a treat as his cost for four overs was 61.

For England’s batsmen, tasked with producing the second-highest T20I run chase of all time, the required approach was at least clear and Bethell certainly had a good time.

England were down 38-2 and put Bethel in jeopardy when Brook (7) was taken down low in the top of the fifth. He quickly hit a six off the second ball and three more to start Varun Chakravarthy’s next over.

Varun bowled Buttler two deliveries later (25 off 17), but otherwise it would have been a terrible night for the leg-spinner as he conceded 64 from four overs.

A quick-fire Tom Banton (17 for 5) cameo and further contributions from Bethell and Jacks helped England surge past 100 runs off the first ball of the ninth over, with Bethell bringing up his 19-ball half-century with his 11th century.

However, Jacks’ wicket to Axar’s fine work for a boundary ultimately proved decisive as Bethell did not get enough support to see England over the line.

Brooke’s decline and ‘unbelievable’ Bethel

England captain Harry Brooke:

“We had a hot crack at it and unfortunately we were on the wrong side.

“I will raise my hand and say that I made a huge mistake in abandoning Samson, because he catches the winning game. That is the old famous phrase.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way on the field tonight, but we fell off other days. We had a little bit of poor execution here and there, so we probably didn’t execute as well as we could have.

“Bethell has been an absolutely unbelievable player. I think he will make a lot of money in his career and will certainly have a long career in England.”

“He showed the world tonight how good he is. That inning is a very big positive to take from this tournament.”

McCollum: I want to remain a director.

England manager Brandon McCollum:

“I’m incredibly proud of the tenacity the players showed to play as close as we did in hostile conditions, with the full support of the Indians.

“I think Harry Brook has grown as a leader and has led incredibly well. The younger players have grown as well and we should be proud of them.”

“I love this job. It’s a great job. Of course there are challenges, but that’s the nature of the job.

“I think we’ve achieved some really great things over the last few years, but there’s still so much to achieve across all formats.

“I just want to keep watching and see what happens. For now, all I want to do is go home and see some fast horses and play some shocking golf.

“It’s time to reflect. Let’s take stock of the situation and take an objective look at what’s working and what’s not working. We’ll see what happens and I want to help the team take the next step.”

Watch the T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand live from the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. sky sports cricket and Sky Sports Main Event Starting at 1pm on Sunday (first ball at 1:30pm).

2026 Men’s T20 World Cup Knockouts

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semifinal

Wednesday March 4th

Thursday March 5th

• India beat England by 7 runs (Mumbai)

critical

Sunday March 8th

• New Zealand Vs. India (Ahmedabad, 1:30 p.m.)