‘Phenomenal’ Jacob Bethell nearly steals the show

MUMBAI: Jacob Bethell flung himself to make his ground, akin to a swimmer’s last dash to the finish, but he knew he was just short. The left-hander lay flat on the pitch, with his face down, as the Wankhede erupted and Indian players celebrated around him.

That run out took India over the line in the semifinal against England.Till Bethell was at the crease, the Three Lions’ chase was alive and had forced the Men in Blue into a huddle. During his 85-minute stay at the wicket, the 22-year-old showed England are grooming him as an all-format player since his debut in 2024. Incidentally, Royal Challengers Bengaluru splurged Rs 2.6 cr on him in the 2025 IPL auction. At 21, he became the youngest overseas player to debut for the IPL franchise.

Bethell came to the crease with England in dire straits at 38/2. The partisan crowd was roaring at the top of its voice. Many would have wilted considering the stage and the pressure, but performing against the odds is what separates the great from the merely good.Bethell rose to the occasion, cut out the noise, created his own bubble and on a belter of a pitch, showed his cricketing smarts to create a flutter in the Indian camp before England fell seven runs short of the 254-run target.

Skipper Harry Brook was all praise for the youngster with whom he would like to play “for a long time”. “In a high-pressure situation, the way he played that innings was just phenomenal,” said Brook. “He was in his own bubble and it’s an amazing feeling (when that happens). You feel like you could hit nearly every ball for six, and it was one of those innings tonight that he’s pulled off. It was a ridiculous knock. He should be extremely proud of what he has done tonight.

He is going to be a very good player for England in the long run.”The knock in Mumbai meant Bethell became the first batter to score his maiden first-class, List ‘A’ and T20 century at international level. All have come over the last seven months. He first touched the three figure mark in ODIs with his 82-ball 110 against South Africa in Sept 2025 in Southampton. Then came a Test century — a 265ball 154 — in the final Ashes Test against Australia at SCG in Jan this year, followed by his maiden T20I ton on Thursday.“I think they’re not comparable (Test ton in Sydney and T20I one in Mumbai). The skills and the mental thinking are different between the two but both have come in a losing cause. It’s a weird feeling,” said Bethell, who will return to India in few days to trot out for RCB. “Cricket is a cruel game as personal performances don’t always solidify into team performances. Both of those are tough pills to swallow, but I’m very proud of both and the way I went about both knocks.

”Brendon McCullum and Co. were criticised when Bethell was included in the England squad as he had not scored a century at the domestic level in any format. But the Barbados-born batter has let his bat respond to the noise.“I have never really looked at the chat around that stuff (no century in domestic cricket). I always had the self-belief to be able to do it and now that it’s been done, hopefully I can just add to the tally in all three formats,” Bethell said after becoming only the fourth England player to score centuries in all three international formats after Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and Brook.