India fend off Bethell onslaught to keep T20 World Cup title defence alive

MUMBAI, March 5 : India survived a brilliant hundred from Jacob Bethell and moved within one win of becoming the first nation to claim back-to-back men's Twenty20 World Cup titles after beating England by seven runs in a nail-biting semi-final on Thursday.

India will also be chasing a record third T20 title when they take on New Zealand in Sunday's final in Ahmedabad.

Put in to bat in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium awash in blue, the hosts racked up an imposing 253-7 as Sanju Samson struck a commanding 89, supported by fluent contributions from Shivam Dube and Ishan Kishan.

England looked scratchy at the start but the chase was kept alive by Bethell, who almost single-handedly threatened to overhaul the target by belting 105 off 48 balls. However, despite a late push from Will Jacks, England finished on 246.

"It's not easy. You find form at the crucial games for your country. So I thought it's a big game, so I need to make the most of how I'm batting," Samson said after winning the player-of-the-match award.

India made a brisk start despite the early loss of top-ranked Abhishek Sharma, whose struggles continued with another single-digit score.

He added nine runs on Thursday, taking his run tally to only 89 in seven matches, including three ducks.

Samson, fresh from his unbeaten 97 against West Indies, took on England's attack with confidence.

He was handed a reprieve on 15 when captain Harry Brook dropped a simple catch in the third over, and he made England pay, adding 97 with Kishan as India raced to 100 in 8.3 overs.

England then turned to off-spinner Jacks who removed the wicketkeeper-batter 11 short of his century.

"I'll hold my hands up and say I made a big mistake there, dropping Samson," Brook said.

Kishan fell to Adil