Sanju Samson stood up once again and took advantage of a reprieve early on. The keeper-batter Sanju Samson made a fantastic 89 off 42 balls and the rest of the batters played around him as they played useful cameos like from Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma all played their parts as India posted 253/7 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Will Jacks and Adil Rashid picked up 2 wickets apiece.
In reply, England made a fight of this and gave India a mighty scare as young Jacob Bethell showed his masterclass by scoring a majestic 105 off 48 balls as he single-handedly kept England in the contest. Others like Will Jacks, Sam Curran, played its part and around him as England almost got over the line. But India through Bumrah and Hardik Pandya as well held their nerves to eke out a 7-run win and will play New Zealand in the final.
Sanju Samson’s powerful 89 powers India to 253/7 in 20 overs.Â
Put into bat first, keeper batter Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma came out to bat for India while Jofra Archer had ball in hand for England. Sanju Samson continued to impress and he took on Archer head on. Abhishek too hit a couple of boundaries off Jacks but Jacks had the last laugh in the as he dismissed Abhishek for another low score as he fell for 9 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name when the score was 20 to Jacks.
Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. But it was the Sanju Samson show but he got lucky while he was batting on 15 and India’s score was 24 when Harry Brook dropped the catch at mid-on. And it was a costly miss as there was no looking back for India and Samson. Kishan complimented him well and the powerplay score was 67/1 in 6 overs for India.
The duo continued their great work as the English bowlers were taken to the cleaners. India brought up their 100 in the 9th over and looked great out there as both batters were striking the ball really well. They put on 97 for the second wicket before Ishan’s cameo ended on 39 off 18 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Adil Rashid. Shivam Dube came out to bat next and got off the mark as India were 119/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the contest.
Sanju and Dube continued the momentum as Sanju looked great out there. The duo added 43 runs for the 3rd wicket before the well set Samson finished his innings dismissed for 89 off 42 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes to his name to Jacks. Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next. Dube continued the onslaught as Surya hit a few good shots as the partnership was worth 30 runs for the 4th wicket. Surya fell for 11 off 6 balls with one six to his name to Rashid.
Hardik Pandya came out to bat next. Dube and Pandya added 22 runs very quickly before Dube was run out for 43 off 25 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name. Tilak Varma came out to bat and he took on Archer and played a quick cameo. He hit three sixes off Archer as 24 runs came quickly before Tilak fell for 21 off 7 balls with 3 sixes to his name to Archer. Axar Patel came out to bat next. Pandya then hit some lusty blows over Jacks in the final over.
The duo added 15 runs for the 7th wicket before Pandya was run out for 27 off 12 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Varun Chakaravarthy came to the crease next and got 2 runs off the byes. India finished with a mammoth 253/7 in 20 overs with 12 extras given by the fielding side with Axar unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls and Varun unbeaten on 0 off 1 ball. 12 extras given by the fielding side.
England had a hard day with the ball. Will Jacks finished with 2/40 in 4 overs. Adil Rashid finished with 2/41 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 1/61 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 0/36 in 3 overs. Sam Curran finished with 0/53 in 4 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 0/19 in 1 over. This meant that England needed a mammoth 254 runs to win the contest.
Jacob Bethell’s magical century went in vain as India holds nerve to win the contest by 7 runs to reach finals.Â
Chasing 254 for the win, Philip Salt and Jos Buttler came out to open for England while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. England came out of the blocks as they were expected to as well. The duo got 13 runs off the first over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. But Hardik struck for India as he removed Salt for 5 off 3 balls with one boundary to his name to Hardik Pandya. Harry Brook came out to bat next.
Brook and Buttler did play some shots and tried to take the attack to India. The duo of Buttler and Brook added 25 runs for the third wicket before Brook fell for 7 off 6 balls with one four to his name to Jasprit Bumrah. This brought Jacob Bethell to the crease and he put on a masterclass in Mumbai. He was off and running and playing better than Buttler.
Bethell was severe on Varun Chakaravarthi who was taken to the cleaners and he was targeted by England players. The duo put on 26 runs for the third wicket before Buttler fell for 25 off 17 balls with 4 fours and a maximum to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Tom Banton came and played great cameos as England scored 68/3 in 6 overs of powerplay. England nailed the middle phase as well as they took the attack to the opposition as India felt the heat as well. The duo put on 31 runs for the 4th wicket before Banton fell for 17 off 5 balls with one six and two sixes to his name to Axar Patel.
Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell came together now. The duo then forged another magical stand and targeted the Indian weak bowlers apart from Bumrah and timed the chase perfectly. After 10 overs, England matched India as they were 119/4 in 10 overs and game was on. From overs 11-15, they aced it with this partnership as the duo of Bethell and Jacks put on 78 for the 5th wicket before Jacks fell for 35 off 20 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Arshdeep Singh at an important time. Sam Curran came out to bat next.
England reached 181/5 in 15 overs and now needed 69 off the last 30 balls. England still kept fighting as Curran hit some lusty blows in support of Bethell. The duo added 50 runs for the 6th wicket before Curran fell for 18 off 14 balls with 2 fours to his name to Hardik Pandya. Jamie Overton came out to bat next.
Bethell completed his ton and tried his best, but lost partners at the other end and he was the last man out with 3 runs added to the score with the southpaw falling for 105 off 48 balls with 8 fours and 7 sixes to his name via a run out. Jofra Archer came in as Shivam Dube bowled the last over and gave away runs when match was done and dusted. Archer hit three sixes in 4 balls to finish the game in the end.
Archer remained unbeaten on 19 off 4 balls with 3 sixes to his name while Overton remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls as England finished with 246/7 in 20 overs falling short by 7 runs. 13 extras given by the fielding side.
The Indian bowlers like their English counterparts struggled with the ball. Hardik Pandya finished with 2/38 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 1/51 in 4 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 1/33 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy was awful in his 1/64 in 4 overs. Axar Patel finished with 1/35 in 3 overs. Shivam Dube bowled an over for 22 runs. So, India holds their nerves to win by 7 runs and reach the finals. Sanju Samson was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, India win by a narrow 7-run margin to qualify for the finals and will play New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday night at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The two best teams have reached the finals and whoever plays better on that night will win. We will wait with abated breath for the final on Sunday.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: India Strike Early To Peg England Back In Big Chase.