Mumbai, March 6 Skipper Harry Brook admitted that dropping Sanju Samson proved costly for his team after England fell short by seven runs in the T20 World Cup semi-final against India at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Samson was given a reprieve at 15, when Brook missed a simple catch at mid-on, off Archer's bowling. Samson then lofted the ball straight to mid-on, and it was a catch that Brook would have expected to take, but he somehow misjudged it, and the ball popped up off his right hand before falling to the ground.
The wicketkeeper then added 74 to score a remarkable 89 off 42 balls, with the help of eight fours and seven sixes, which helped India to a massive total.
"I'll admit that I made a big mistake there by dropping Samson," Brook said. "Don't catches win matches, don't they? Unfortunately, it just didn't stay in my hands... Obviously, it's something you think about. I kept looking at the scoreboard, and he was piling on the runs. I thought, 'I'm going to have to get 89 tonight,'" Brook said in a post-match press conference.
Facing a record chase in the semi-final, England stumbled early on as Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, and Harry Brook were back in the dugout inside the first six overs. Although England lost early wickets, they were able to keep pace with India.
Jacob Bethell kept his team in contention with a blistering century. He attacked India, starting his innings with three successive sixes off mystery spinner Chakaravarthy, and maintained the momentum. Despite losing partners at regular intervals, Bethell took the game into the final over. However, he was run out at 105, off just 48 balls, with the help of eight fours and seven sixes.
Brook praised Bethell, highlighting how the left-hander thrived in a high-pressure situation against a strong Indian attack on their home turf.
"He's a phenomenal player, as we've seen tonight in a high-pressure situation against India on their home turf. The way that he played that innings there was just phenomenal. Again, he should be extremely proud of what he's done tonight and throughout this winter, and even into the back end of our summer, he's been unbelievable. He's going to have a fantastic career with England, and I'm looking forward to hopefully spending a lot of time with him in the future," said Brook.
India eventually tightened their grip in the final overs, with Jasprit Bumrah once again proving decisive with the ball. Brook reflected on the challenge of facing Bumrah and also praised India's fielding effort on the night.
"He's a very good bowler, arguably the best of all time right now. And yeah, he's been a very good bowler for a long time," Brook said.
There was a brilliant piece of fielding that ended the 77-run stand between Bethell and Will Jacks. After three successive wide balls, Arshdeep Singh managed to get the right line, just outside off, which Jacks sliced over cover. Axar Patel ran from deep cover, got his hands to the ball just before it crossed the boundary, and tossed it to Shivam Dube, who completed the relay catch.
"The Indians fielded extremely well. That catch is arguably one of the best catches I've seen. So yeah, hats off to them," he added.
