Nothing sweeter than walking off not out with a win: Bethell
England batter Jacob Bethell rated his unbeaten 76 against India in the second T20I among the finest innings of his career, saying it was especially satisfying because it came in a winning cause.
The 22-year-old has scored a century in each of the three formats. His only T20I hundred was in the semifinal of this year’s T20 World Cup against India, a match England lost by seven runs.
On Saturday, Bethell produced a composed yet explosive unbeaten 76 to guide England to a four-wicket victory while chasing 191, helping the hosts take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“I’d actually put it up close to the top. There’s nothing sweeter as a batter than walking off with a win, not out, walking in, shaking the boys’ hands,” Bethell said when asked where the innings ranked among his favourites for England.
“I’ve scored a few hundreds, but only one of them was in a winning cause. We lost in Australia, we lost in India, so after those games you always think, ‘What more could I have done?’
“Whereas today, I’m all smiles. We’ve gone one-nil up in the series. There’s a few scars against India, so it’s nice to get one up on them. It’s also given me a lot of confidence going into the last three games.”
Bethell was on 42 off 36 balls after 16 overs when he turned the game decisively in England’s favour.
He hammered three sixes and a four in Ravi Bishnoi’s 17th over, which also included two no-balls, collecting 29 runs before hitting an audacious reverse-ramp six off Harshit Rana. He smashed 34 runs off the final 10 balls he faced. “In these kinds of chases, you’re not going hard the whole time. It’s about finding a couple of big overs and then the game swings,” Bethell said. “If I’m honest, I probably would have targeted the other end more because my leg side was towards the shorter boundary with the wind. But when you get a couple of free-hits and the bowler is under pressure, you have to make the most of it.” Bethell walked in at No. 4 with England reeling at 1 for 2 after just five deliveries following ducks for both openers. “I was pretty calm. When Brooky (Harry Brook) went out there, I said, ‘Go well, Harry,’ and then I was out there a couple of balls later. “Jos (Buttler) was unlucky, but it’s a strange feeling walking in at two down for not many. Brooky handled that situation unbelievably.” England captain Harry Brook’s counter-attacking 39 off just 15 balls, featuring four fours and three sixes, helped revive the innings after the early collapse.
