Sublime Sanju Samson, 253 just enough as India pip England to reach World Cup final
India Today
T20 World Cup semifinal: Sanju Samson's dazzling 89 powered India to 253, which proved just enough against England in a battle of batting powerhouses in Mumbai on Thursday. Jacob Bethell's stunning hundred kept England alive until the final over. India will now travel to Ahmedabad to take on New Zealand in the final on Sunday.
Brief scores: India (253/7 in 20 ov) beat England (246/7 in 20 ov) by 7 runs in Mumbai to reach the final of T20 World Cup.
India posted 253. England responded with 246. And yes, this was a T20 World Cup semifinal. It was a reminder of just how far the ceiling of power-hitting has risen in the modern game. Not long ago, knockout matches rarely crossed the 180 mark. On Thursday night at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, however, where bowlers endured a punishing evening, two of the game’s most explosive batting units went toe-to-toe in a breathless slugfest before India edged past white-ball powerhouse England to set up a title clash with New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
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India piled up 253 – the highest total ever in a T20 World Cup knockout match – turning the semifinal into a spectacle long before the chase even began. On a night when batters went hell for leather, Sanju Samson's silky 89 and an unsurprisingly miserly Jasprit Bumrah sealed the deal for India.
England certainly felt the pinch as Jacob Bethell, only 22, produced the innings of his life. The left-hander smashed a stunning 48-ball 105 to keep England alive in the chase until the final over. With 30 needed off the last six balls, the equation was steep but not impossible – as long as Bethell remained at the crease. But England's hopes vanished on the very first delivery of the over when Bethell was run out. In the Maximum City, the margins can be that thin. At that point, there was a hint of smile on Gautam Gambhir's face, only a hint before India clinched a 7-run win.
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