India booked a T20 World Cup final showdown with New Zealand after securing a thrilling seven-run win over England in their semi-final clash in Mumbai on Thursday.
India racked up a daunting 253-7 from their 20 overs, getting stuck into England talisman Jofra Archer, whose four overs went for 61 runs for one wicket.
England slumped to 95-4 in their reply, but a brilliant innings from Jacob Bethell (105 off 48 balls) with support from Will Jacks (35 off 20) gave them a glimmer of hope.
Archer plundered 19 off four balls but it was too little, too late for Harry Brook’s troops, and it is India who march on into Sunday’s final, set to be played in Ahmedabad on March 8.
NZ overpower SA
The Black Caps produced an authoritative performance in semi-final one of the men’s T20 World Cup against South Africa, defeating the Proteas by nine wickets.
New Zealand opener and Player of the Match Finn Allen scored 100 off just 33 deliveries, as South Africa’s unbeaten streak in the tournament came to an anti-climactic end.
Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen (55 off 30) was the only shining light in an otherwise dull night and tame effort produced by the South Africans.
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Aiden Markram: ‘Credit to the NZ bowling attack’
Proteas captain Aiden Markram praised his side’s effort and performances over the course of the tournament, but specified their inability to deal with the pitch conditions and New Zealand’s bowling attack as primary reasons for their loss.
Eden Gardens has proven to be a wicket primed for chasing totals, especially when batting scorecards are under par.
South Africa’s 169-8 was evidently an easy target for the Black Caps to hunt down.
“They [New Zealand] bowled really well up front – the ball didn’t feel like it was coming on, some were stopping in the wicket, which made scoring really tough,” Markram said in the post-match presentation.
“The pressure then builds and you lose wickets, unfortunately. You’ve got to give credit to their bowling unit.
“To get up to 170 was a great effort, to be fair, and at the halfway point we felt like we had a sniff. But then someone plays an innings like that [Allen’s].
“Massive credit to his knock and Tim Seifert’s knock, to kill the game as early as they did. Unfortunately it was just a bad night for us.”
‘Winning the final is the most important’, says Allen
“You take the positives from this game, celebrate that little moment of success and then we’ve got a final to win on Sunday,” Allen said after his record-breaking century.
“It’s easy in a semi-final to stay up for the fight – it was a huge game for us – and we enjoyed it out there together.
“When Tim Seifert [who hit 58] is going like that, it makes it easy for me… I can just watch and hit it when it’s in my area, and we got off to an absolute flier.”
Allen’s 100 now sits as the fastest century in T20 World Cups – 100 off 33 deliveries.
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SportJustSport writers