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12th over: England 145-4 (Bethell 61, Jacks 24) So England took 11 off Bumrah’s second over, which is good going. Now they face Chakravarty again. Bethell reverse-sweeps him for four: after getting ’em in sixes (five off his first 12 balls), he’s now getting ’em in fours (five off his last 12 balls). Jacks grabs the baton and hits his first six, slog-swept over midwicket.
Chakravarty’s figures continue to bring some solace to the bruised egos in the England dug-out: 3-0-51-1.
A fab fifty from Bethell
11th over: England 131-4 (Bethell 55, Jacks 16) Heeere’s Jasprit. Jacks manages to chip him over the covers for four. timing it like a man with four Player of the Match Awards in his suitcase. “Boom boom Bumrah!” go the crowd, roused by the announcer, much to the distaste of one of the commentators.
Jacob Bethell takes a two to reach a fabulous fifty – 51 off 19 balls. That’s the fastest fifty of this tournament, equal with four others. Equal with Finn Allen! Bethell celebrates with a pull for four, pinging it like Gower. What a star he is.
10th over: England 119-4 (Bethell 49, Jacks 11) Axar continues and for Jacks, it’s the over of living dangerously. Jacks is almost run out as a sharp throw comes in from Hardik at backward point. Then Axar appeals for LBW, and England somehow steal two leg-byes. But there are no big shots and the over goes for only six. At the halfway stage, England need 135 off ten overs. Three of which will be bowled by Bumrah.
9th over: England 113-4 (Bethell 48, Jacks 9) Chakravarthy returns with his leg-breaks. Bethell pulls his first ball for four, to bring up the 100 off 49 balls, and slaps the second over cover for four more. Jacks goes for the big swing without getting a sighter and almost loses his off bail. Next ball, he puts away with a lofted clip for four. That’s 14 off the over, and Chakravarty has the sort of figures that might make England’s bowlers feel a bit better: 2-0-37-1.
8th over: England 99-4 (Bethell 39, Jacks 4) Axar Patel’s left-arm darts have often bothered England and so it proves again. Banton lofted his first ball over extra-cover and his second over long-on, but the third was too good to be slog-swept and Axar roared with delight. England respond by promoting Will Jacks, their all-round saviour, and he produces a pull for four.
India were 90-1 at this stage. We were dead impressed by the 90, when perhaps we should have been admiring the 1.
WICKET! Banton b Axar 17 (England 95-4)
Bowled going for a third six in a row!
7th over: England 83-3 (Bethell 39, Banton 5) SKY decides to keep Hardik on for a third over. He may mildly regret it as Bethell pulls for six and reverse-scoops for four. That’s his first four after five sixes: he has 39 off 14 balls. And England have more runs than India had at this stage.
Drinks were taken after Buttler’s wicket, which allowed me to glance at the mailbag. This one seems fairly representative. “Where to start,” says David in Canada. “Fielding awful. Wrong call at toss. Overton getting carted to all parts and Rehan couldn’t be worse. Sadly got up at 5:30 to watch this shambles.” Feeling for you, David, but apart from Brook’s dropped catch, England didn’t do badly. India’s batting was phenomenal.
6th over: England 68-3 (Bethell 26, Banton 4) Bethell has a plan here: get ’em in sixes. He greets India’s premier spinner, Varun Chakravartya, with a pull for six, an off-drive for six, and a reverse sweep for six. The only problem is that this rather rebounds on poor Buttler, who gets a very good ball.
Tom Banton starts with a reverse slog-sweep for four. England are showing some mettle here. The required rate, for what it’s worth, is still about 13.
WICKET! Buttler b Chakravarty 25 (England 64-3)
Castled by the googly! But still, 25 was Buttler’s best innings for ages.
5th over: England 45-2 (Buttler 25, Bethell 7) That was inspired captaincy from Surykumar Yadav, who kept Bumrah up his sleeve until Brook was there (not that it took long). Brook wasn’t expecting the slower ball, whereas the Indian batters seemed to see England’s pace-off varieties coming a mile off.
Jacob Bethell, who is not easily fazed, gets off the mark with a six, whipped to fine leg. But then Bumrah bamboozles him outside off and he’s lucky to get away with a loopy edge.
WICKET! Brook c Axar b Bumrah 7 (England 38-2)
Bumrah strikes with his first ball! Brook chips his slower ball into the clouds. When it comes down it is beautifully taken by Axar, running back from cover. That’s the big wicket.
4th over: England 38-1 (Buttler 25, Brook 7) Hardik continues, too: no need for bowling changes yet. SKY could hand over the captaincy to ChatGPT and still win by a street. A single or two, and then Brook produces his first flourish, a glorious pull for four. He spied a bouncer, shaped to cut, changed his mind at the last second, and still sent the ball sailing to midwicket.
And Buttler hits a six! It’s ungainly, but he gets enough on it to get it over long-off. Thirteen off the over. Another 16 overs like that and England will be fine.
3rd over: England 25-1 (Buttler 18, Brook 1) Arshdeep continues. Buttler tries a Brook-style shimmy but can’t quite lay bat on ball. Next he drills a yorker straight for four, so at least he has made it into double figures. Then there’s a mistimed clonk to midwicket, and a play-and-miss outside off. “He’s just losing all his shape,” says Mike Atherton. A mistimed chip over the covers for two. Another straight drive for four. In what could be his last T20 international innings, Buttler isn’t going down without a fight.
England’s chances have sunk from 4 per cent to 2. They surely rest on the shoulders of Harry Brook.
2nd over: England 15-1 (Buttler 8, Brook 1) Salt swished Hardik high into the night sky, and Axar Patel made no mistake. That brings in Harry Brook, who made a big mistake at this stage of India’s innings. Undaunted, Brook goes down the track to his first ball, taking a single. Hardik, with his tail up now, beats Buttler outside off and then with a short ball that sails over the stumps. When Buttler tries to hit back with a ramp, he misses it and settles for a leg-bye off his shoulder.
So India have their first wicket, England are behind the rate, and Bumrah hasn’t even bowled yet.
WICKET! Salt c Axar b Hardik 5 (England 13-1)
Hardik strikes with his first ball!
1st over: England 13-0 (Salt 5, Buttler 8) So England began with four, one, four. Now Arshdeep manages a dot, and then very nearly yorks Buttler – who does well to get his bat on it, let alone inside-edge it for four, nutmegging himself. England, at this early stage, are bang on the required rate.
Buttler hits a four!
Over cover! Buttler’s first boundary for donkey’s years. Atherton reckons it’s his most confident shot of the whole tournament.
1st ball: England 4-0 (Salt 4, Buttler 0) Salt glances the first delivery from Arshdeep for four, nice and fine. England ahead of the rate!
The one silver lining for England in this big black cloud is that it should be liberating for Buttler and Salt. They simply have to go hell for leather.
The Indians go into their huddle, with Jasprit Bumrah delivering the speech. “Right lads. It’s fine to concede 12 an over, but don’t you dare go for 13!”
INDIA FINISH WITH 253!
20th over: India 253-7 (Axar 2, Chakravarty 0) The last ball beats Chakravarty, and Buttler, and dribbles away for two byes.
India, led by Samson, have piled up a monumental total. England, for all the fine efforts of Jacks and Rashid, are pretty much beaten already. Their win probability is 4 per cent.
WICKET! Hardik run out 27 (India 251-6)
Hardik, who clearly has no faith in Azar patel, tries to get back for a second. Jacob Bethell fires in a fine throw and Buttler does the rest.
19.4 overs: India 250-6 (Hardik 26, Axar 1) Brook hands the last over to Jacks, the man with the magic touch. Hardik isn’t bothered: he slogs a huge six from outside off, turns down a single, and belts another six down the ground. That brings up the 250!
19th over: India 237-6 (Hardik 14, Axar 1) Jofra Archer returns for his last over. Varma, waiting for him, lofts a length ball over long-on. Archer manages a dot as Varma backs away to leg. Archer bowls a yorker, or a low full-toss – which Varma deflects over third man for six! That’s the 14th time India have deposited the ball in the stands tonight. The 15th follows immediately as Varma pulls an off-cutter over backward square. Archer, trying to follow him as he backs away, bowls a wide. Finally, the wicket that Archer should have had when Samson clothed him to Brook at mid-on. His figures end up as a chastening 4-0-61-1.
WICKET! Varma b Archer 21 (India 236-6)
Archer produces a rapid yorker and bowls Varma off an inside edge – but only after being hit for three sixes in four balls.
18th over: India 217-5 (Hardik 14, Varma 3) Back comes Sam Curran, bearing moon balls. While I wonder if I have written this before, Dube simply waits for the first delivery and lifts it into the stand at long-on. Curran retorts with a yorker and reckons he’s got Dube LBW, but when Brook reviews, the replay shows it’s going down. Then comes the run-out, a blessed relief for Brook. Next ball, Curran induces a top edge as Hardik thriows the bat (literally), but Tom Banton, coming in from long-on, can’t quite cling onto a tough chance. Then there’s a delay as Tilak Varma needs some treatment – for a tweaked hamstring, Nasser suspects.
Curran gets out of the over with a wide and a single. He has reached his half-century: 4-0-53-0. And he’s bowled quite a few good balls.
WICKET! Dube run out 43 (India 212-5)
Hardik calls for a quick single, then changes his mind. Brook throws down the stumps, Dube has to go, Hardik waves a hand in apology. That’s a sliver of redemption for Brook after his dreadful drop earlier.
17th over: India 205-4 (Dube 37, Hardik 13) India know they can have some fun for the final four overs. Hardik Pandya starts with a ramp for four, and he’s not even looking at the ball as he flicks it over his shoulder like a pinch of salt. Hardik brings up the 200 with what you might call an early cut, seeing it so well that he slaps it to extra-cover’s right. And then he shows he can play a late cut too. He has 13 from just six balls.
16th over: India 190-4 (Dube 35, Pandya 0) Just before the wicket Rashid was launched into the crowd, twice. He finishes with 4-0-041-2, better than most.
Nasser Hussain reveals that the record international run chase on this ground is 230 – by England against South Africa in a World T20. India’s total is projected to reach 238.
WICKET! Suryakumar st buttler b Rashid 11 (India 190-4)
England’s two old salts gang up on India’s captain. Rashid bowls his trusty googly, SKY goes down the track and yorks himself, leaving Buttler to pull off a silky stumping.
15th over: India 177-3 (Dube 28, Suryakumar 5) Back comes Sam Curran, ever willing. He gets a sharp bouncer past Dube’s helmet, only to follow up with a wide and then a moon ball that Dube, happy to bide his time, thumps for four. Ten from the over, which almost feels like progress. Curran has 3-0-42-0: he always makes things happen, but today it’s been mostly the wrong things.
“England are looking down the barrel of a total north of 250,” says Colum Fordham, “which even considering England’s aggressive batting, looks mildly daunting. Only 3 or 4 wickets might thwart India but it looks unlikely. England’s bowlers have no answers to this brutal onslaught, not even the wily Rashid.
Brook is going to have to play a sensational innings and will be motivated after his dropped dolly. Samson? Devastating. Where’s Delilah when you need her?”
Well, she was one of my nicknames at school – does that count?
14th over: India 167-3 (Dube 20, Suryakumar 4) Here is SKY. Coming into quite a comfy situation for a captain, he opens his account with a breezy two.
Meanwhile his haggard opposite number is relying on Will Jacks once again. He has 3-0-26-2, while all the other bowlers have 11-0-141-1.
Brook turned to Jacks, who struck immediately. He threw it out wide of off to tempt Samson, who took the bait. Phil Salt again took a composed catch in the deep, renewing the double act that did for Abhishek, several years ago now.
That is the end of a phenomenal innings – 89 off 42 balls, or seven overs. Samson has got one hand on the Man of the Match award already.
