WRAPUP 1-Cricket-India fend off Bethell onslaught to keep T20 World Cup title defence alive

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 Rashid, prompting India to promote Dube to number four and he smashed 43, including four sixes and a four, before a mix-up with Hardik Pandya ​ended his innings.

Pandya lit up the closing overs alongside Tilak Varma as England fast bowler Jofra Archer endured the costliest T20 international spell of his career, conceding 61 ⁠runs. BETHELL'S FIGHTBACK

England lost Phil Salt and Brook inside the powerplay, the latter to a superb catch from Axar Patel at deep cover-point. Jos Buttler (25) started with a measured approach but never looked fluent, eventually falling to a googly from Varun ⁠Chakravarthy.

Bethell, ​however, kept England alive and gave India a brief scare as he kept piling on the runs, striking eight fours and seven sixes. "Bethell was absolutely unbelievable, he'll earn some serious money. To see him taking it from ball one, showed the world what he can do," Brook said.

He received support from Jacks (35) before the England all-rounder was dismissed thanks to a ⁠phenomenal catch, with Patel throwing the ball to Shivam Dube as he crossed the rope. India held their nerve in the closing overs, with ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah (1-33) controlling the ⁠run flow through pinpoint yorkers. "I told Harry how ⁠much more do we need to score against them. They were always in the chase, but the way the bowlers pulled the game away was unbelievable. You know how capable Bumrah is," India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.

With England needing 30 to win in the last over, ‌Archer hit a flurry of sixes ‌but the visitors finished just short of their target.