England defeated India by four runs to reach the final of the Physical Disability Champions Cup in Sri Lanka.
England’s victory means they will top the four-team table and are assured of finishing in the top two along with India, so the two countries will meet again in Tuesday’s final.
India defeated England in their first group match earlier this week, but the latter took revenge on Saturday, securing a victory on the last ball of the match, successfully defending 169-7.
India needed 12 runs from the last over after a couple of explosive overs before the first ball went for six and England’s Liam O’Brien managed to get a wicket and bowl a three-ball dot.
“It was a really good match,” said England’s Alex Hammond, who top-scored with a 33-ball 55 to win with 1-22.
“India did well with the new ball and we lost a few early wickets. It was nice to see Jamie Goodwin get us off to a good start with a few gains at the top.
“Coming off the power play, we conceded three of the four goals, so Angus Brown and I were together quite early on. It was great to bat with him, he gave me a little more time to acclimatize and allowed me to start running the ball.
“Once we got to 170 pounds, we were in a good position. The bowlers started brilliantly at the top, Jordan Williams was brilliant in all the series and was brilliant again, supported by Liam O’Brien, Callum Flynn and Anthony Clapham.”
England have lost only one group match and will finish in the top two (Owen Jervis)
England confident ahead of Tuesday’s final
England lost early wickets, but Hammond and Angus Brown steadied the ship in the middle order, securing their first half-century of the tournament.
“They are not unbeatable. We proved that in India last year and now,” Hammond said. “Once we get rid of this fear and get our skills back, we will be really competitive.
“We haven’t played a perfect match yet. If we had started better, we could have scored 180, 190 or 200 balls. Even with the ball at the end, our first 15 balls were outstanding, but maybe not at the end.”
Brown added: “We are extremely confident. We support our skills and each other. We will draw conclusions from this game. We can’t expect to concede so many goals at the beginning, but we are confident that we will reach the final.”
