Jacob Bethell ton in vain as Sanju Samson smashes India into T20 World Cup final

India opener Sanju Samson benefits from an early drop from Harry Brook to help India beat England in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

The co-hosts racked up an incredible 253-7 from their 20 overs, helped by Brook dropping Samson on 15 and the batsman hitting 89 from 42 deliveries.

While Jacob Bethell compiled 105 from 48 balls in reply, England were always second-best in a high-octane run chase and fell agonisingly short.

New Zealand await India in Sunday's final, while England now have three months off before the summer Test series against the Kiwis.

Brook drop proves costly for England

After winning the toss, England set about making early inroads into the India batting lineup, and they started well as Abhishek Sharma was dismissed by Will Jacks for nine.

However, the decisive moment in the game came when Samson looked to have holed out to Brook, only for the England skipper to fumble what should have been a regulation catch.

One of the greatest T20 World Cup matches of all time! ?

India reach the final after defeating England by 7 runs ✅ pic.twitter.com/e06lAh01HA

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 5, 2026

In what felt like a blink of an eye, Samson hit eight fours and seven maximums on the way to a pivotal 89, taking India to 160-2 off 13 overs before his dismissal.

Nevertheless, all of India's middle order made an impact in some form, most notably Shivam Dube's 43 from 25 and Tilak Varma's 21 from just seven deliveries.

Only Jacks (2-40) and Adil Rashid (2-41) recorded respectable bowling figures, with Jofra Archer going for 1-61 from his four overs.

Bethell innings in vain as England miss out

To England's credit, they were competitive in the run chase up until two overs to go, helped by Jos Buttler's 25 from 17 and Jacks' 35 from 20.

Bethell took centre stage, though, in what was another coming-of-age performance from the 22-year-old whose previous highest score in this format of the game was 62.

His 105 was the second highest knock of the tournament, and it featured partnerships of 77 with Jacks and 50 with Sam Curran.

Jasprit Bumrah's second two-over stint at the back end of the innings took the wind out of England's sails, the pace bowler conceding just 14 runs from 12 balls when England required in excess of 15 runs per over during the closing stages.

After Bethell was run out in the final over, Archer outrageously pummelled 19 runs from four balls to leave England just short, but India were deserved winners of a captivating game that saw 499 runs scored in 40 overs.