In the lead-up to the India vs England semifinal, some felt Jacob Bethell could be rested. After Rehan Ahmed’s exceptional cameo against New Zealand, there was a discussion around the all-rounder’s inclusion. But for whom? You just couldn’t drop Jos Buttler, and Tom Banton is perhaps England’s best batter of spin.
Bethell’s poor returns in the Super 8 – scores of 3, 8, and 21 – put his position in trouble. Especially with Harry Brook promoting himself to number three. But England chose to stick with him. And boy did it pay off.
Jacob Bethell carryjob in Mumbai
After India battered the English bowlers, with Jofra Archer going for 61 and Sam Curran conceding 53, chasing down 254 seemed like a distant dream. But Bethell thought otherwise. The southpaw was the English batter to register a half-century in the semifinal.
It all started with his brilliance against Varun Chakaravarthy. He smashed sixes on the first 3 balls he faced from the Indian spinners. This included a ludicrous reverse sweep over the backward point. In between, Bethell went after Hardik Pandya, but when Varun returned, he struck 4 fours again. Varun bowled 13 balls at Bethell, going for 43 runs.
England struggled throughout as wickets fell at a continuous rate. If not for Bethell, they had no chance. During his process, the 22-year-old registered the fastest half-century in T20 World Cup knockout matches, levelling Finn Allen’s breathtaking performance against South Africa.
Fastest fifty in T20 World Cup knockouts (balls taken)
- 19: Jacob Bethell vs India (2026)
- 19: Finn Allen vs South Africa (2026)
- 20: Yuvraj Singh vs Australia (2007)
- 22: Mike Hussey vs Pakistan (2010)
It was also the fastest fifty for England in the tournament. Mere days ago, Will Jacks had broken Eoin Morgan’s record. And now Bethell has outdone him. That too, in a semifinal. But he didn’t stop there. Suryakumar Yadav didn’t want to go to Shivam Dube and continued with Varun.
That’s why Bethell’s run-scoring never stopped. He could play out Arshdeep Singh or Jasprit Bumrah, knowing he could target Axar Patel or Varun. The fact that Bethell was striking it quicker than Sanju Samson meant England were truly never out of the chase.
The game went down to the wire. And what Samson couldn’t do, Bethell did. He hit the second fastest hundred, 45 balls, in the tournament’s history. But the game wasn’t done. England still needed 33 from 11 to win. But it just wasn’t enough. Bethell ended with 105 (48), but England still fell short. However, his knock will be remembered for a long time.
Fastest hundred in T20 World Cup
| Batter | Balls | Match | Edition |
| Finn Allen | 33 | South Africa vs New Zealand | 2026 |
| Jacob Bethell | 45 | India vs England | 2026 |
| Chris Gayle | 47 | West Indies vs England | 2016 |
| Chris Gayle | 50 | West Indies vs South Africa | 2007 |
| Harry Brook | 50 | England vs Pakistan | 2026 |
| Brendon McCullum | 51 | New Zealand vs Bangladesh | 2012 |
Cricket
Sanju Samson ups Virat Kohli's greatest T20 World Cup knockout innings in IND vs ENG semifinal
