Mumbai, March 6 The dismissal of Will Jacks on the last ball of the 14th over in the high-scoring T20 World Cup semi-final against India was like a "dagger to us," reckoned England's rising star Jacob Bethell.
Bethell led England's remarkable fightback in the chase of 254 with a sizzling 105 off 48 before they fell short by just seven runs on a belter of a track at Wankhede on Thursday night.
England were up against it after losing three wickets in the powerplay but the 77-run stand off 39 balls between Jacks and Bethell kept them alive in a gargantuan chase.
After dismissing Harry Brook in the powerplay via a stunning backward running catch from Axar Patel, the Indian vice-captain orchestrated a spectacular relay catch at deep point to send back the in-form Jacks in the 14th over bowled by Arshdeep Singh.
Asked to pick between the two catches that shut the door on England, Bethell said Jacks getting out at that stage made their task a lot tougher.
“I think that Brookie catch, it was a good catch. But the game was far more apart at that point. But to do it under the pressure when me and Jacksy had that partnership going really was a dagger to us,” he said.
“I think if Jacksy was there in the next over when Bumrah was bowling, we could have put more pressure on him and then we don’t have to get 30 off the last. I think that definitely changed the complexion of the game and fair play to him. They were two hell of catches,” said the 22-year-old left-hander.
Bethell welcomed Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack with a hat-trick of sixes that severely dented the confidence of the Indian mystery spinner. According to him, India's other trump card was Bumrah, who sealed the contest by conceding just six runs in the 18th over.
"Yeah, definitely, they were the two trump cards, Chakaravarthy and Bumrah, and to put pressure on him straight away, I was going to do that anyway, no matter if we were batting first or bowling, I probably wouldn't have done it as quickly, if we were chasing slightly less...
"...but yeah, to put him back on the back foot straight away, and as soon as he's defending, that's when you're winning. I managed to get that done pretty quickly today, and going to Bumrah, he's tough to hit, we tried to put him under pressure, but, he just nailed his skills, so fair play to him," said Bethell.
His memorable hundred came in a losing cause, just like his maiden Test century during the Ashes. How would he compare the two?
“I think they’re not comparable, really. The skills and the mentality and thinking are different between the two of them. Both feelings are pretty good, but both of them have come in losing causes, which is a weird feeling.
“You know, cricket’s a cruel game. Personal performances don’t always solidify into team performances. So both of those are tough pills to swallow,” he added.