IND vs ENG | India secured a place in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after defeating England by 39 runs in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
England captain Harry Brook won the toss in Mumbai and elected to bowl first in the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against India. Explaining the decision, Brook said, “It looks like a good wicket and hopefully we can get off to a good start with the ball and then try and chase it down.”
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his side had initially preferred to bat first in the knockout match. He said, “We were looking to bat first. Semi-final, big game, putting runs on the board and there’s wind also around, so I don’t think there’ll be any dew.”
India lost opener Abhishek Sharma early in the innings. He was dismissed for 9 runs in the second over. Sanju Samson then steadied the innings and accelerated the scoring alongside Ishan Kishan. The pair counter-attacked England’s bowling and helped India cross the 100-run mark in just 8.3 overs.
Kishan scored 39 runs from 18 balls before he was dismissed by Adil Rashid. Samson continued to dominate the innings and played an attacking knock of 89 from 42 balls, hitting eight fours and seven sixes before losing his wicket.
Shivam Dube added momentum in the middle overs with a quick 43 off 25 balls. India maintained the aggressive approach through the final overs as Hardik Pandya scored 27 runs and Tilak Varma added 21 to provide a strong finish.
India eventually posted 253 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. For England, Will Jacks and Adil Rashid picked up two wickets each.
England began their chase of 254 with an aggressive approach but lost key wickets during the powerplay at the Wankhede Stadium.
Phil Salt was dismissed for 5 runs, while captain Harry Brook followed soon after for 7. Jos Buttler played a brief attacking knock but was dismissed for 27, leaving England three wickets down inside the powerplay. Tom Banton then added a quick 17 runs from just five deliveries before he was also dismissed.
After the early setbacks, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks mounted a counterattack to keep England in the contest. The pair took on the Indian bowling attack and increased the scoring rate to match the required run rate. Bethell and Jacks added 77 runs in just 6.3 overs for the partnership. The stand ended when Will Jacks was dismissed following a sharp effort by Axar Patel near the boundary line to complete the catch.
The equation came down to 39 runs needed from 12 balls after two tight overs from Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian fast bowler delivered exceptional spells in the 16th and 18th overs, conceding just 14 runs across his two overs and putting England under significant pressure in the closing stages of the chase.
Jacob Bethell played a heroic knock, scoring 105 off 48 balls for England in the high-scoring semi-final. However, his effort was not enough to take the team past the target. England eventually finished on 246 for 7 in 20 overs, falling 7 runs short of the target.
With this victory, India won the match by 7 runs and secured their place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final, where they will face New Zealand.
Sanju Samson was named Player of the Match for his decisive performance with the bat.
– Magizh
