T20 World Cup 2026: 'Tough pill to swallow' - Jacob Bethell opens up after semifinal defeat to India

Jacob Bethell reflected on his innings, calling it a “tough pill to swallow” after his valiant century went in vain as India beat England by seven runs in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5.

Bethell’s 105 was the second-fastest century in the T20 World Cup, with the milestone coming off just 45 balls. This was just his third international century, with his previous two coming in the Sydney Test of the 2025-26 Ashes and an ODI against South Africa in August 2025.

Bethell spoke of the comparability between his hundred in Sydney and the one in Mumbai, both which came in losing causes.

"Yeah, I think they're not comparable, really. The skills and the kind of 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," Bethell said after the match.

He also spoke of how the two catches by Axar Patel hurt England’s momentum and were key in bringing India back into the game.

"I think that Brookie [Harry Brook] catch, it was a good catch. But the game was far more, far apart at that point. But to do it under the pressure when me and Jacksy [Will Jacks] had that partnership going, really, was a dagger to us," he said."

I think you look at it in a broader expanse of the game. If Jacksy was there in the next over when Bumrah was bowling, we must have put more pressure on him and then we don't have to get 30 off the last [over]. I think that definitely changed the complexion of the game and fair play to him. They were two hell of a catch," he added.

With this innings, Bethell became the third-youngest player to score centuries in all three formats of the game, behind Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett and Pakistan’s Ahmed Shahzad.