T20 World Cup 2026 final to be played on March 8 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
India defeat England by seven runs in T20 World Cup semi-final.
Samson’s explosive innings powers India to 253/7 at Wankhede Stadium.
Bethell’s century goes in vain as England fall short, scoring 247 in reply.
An explosive half-century from in-form opener Sanju Samson, coupled with a disciplined all-round bowling effort, propelled India to a narrow seven-run win over England in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
The victory sends India into the final, where they will face New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a challenging target of 254 runs, England managed 246/7 in 20 overs, despite a brave century from Jacob Bethell.
England got off to a poor start in their chase, losing opener Phil Salt (5) and captain Harry Brook (7) within the first five overs, leaving them at 38/2.
Coming in at No.4, Jacob Bethell steadied the innings with a 26-run partnership for the third wicket alongside Jos Buttler, who scored 25 off 17 balls before falling to Varun Chakravarthy at the end of the batting powerplay.
The chase suffered another blow in the eighth over when Axar Patel dismissed Tom Banton (17) after conceding two consecutive sixes, reducing England to 95/4.
Bethell then found crucial support from all-rounder Will Jacks, and the pair added 77 runs off 39 balls for the fifth wicket before Jacks was dismissed in the 14th over. Jacks scored 35 off 20 balls, including four fours and two sixes.
Bethell continued to anchor the innings, putting together a 50-run sixth-wicket stand with Sam Curran (18 off 14 balls) before Curran was dismissed by Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over. England’s mainstay Bethell eventually got run out on the first ball of the final over, finishing with a valiant 105 off 48 balls, featuring eight fours and seven sixes.
For India, Pandya led the bowling attack with 2/38 in four overs, while Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah took one wicket each. England captain Brook’s decision to field first backfired as India posted a formidable 253/7 in 20 overs.
India had a shaky start as left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma fell for 9 in the second over to Will Jacks, with the score at 20. However, Ishan Kishan and Samson quickly recovered, adding 97 runs for the second wicket off 44 balls before Kishan was dismissed by Adil Rashid for 39 off 18 balls.
Sanju Samson then stitched together a 43-run third-wicket partnership with all-rounder Shivam Dube before falling to Will Jacks in the 14th over. Samson finished as India’s top-scorer with a blistering 89 off 42 balls, including seven sixes and eight fours.
India faced another blow shortly after when captain Suryakumar Yadav was stumped by Adil Rashid for 11 off six deliveries, leaving India at 190/4 in 15.4 overs.
All-rounders Dube and Hardik Pandya then combined for a 32-run fifth-wicket stand, before Dube was run out following a mix-up and a direct hit from England captain Harry Brook. Dube ended with 43 off 25 balls, hitting four sixes and a four, remaining a crucial contributor in the high-pressure semi-final.
After Dube’s departure, Pandya and Tilak Varma delivered strong finishing cameos, scoring 27 and 21 runs respectively. The duo also shared a 24-run partnership to help India post a competitive total.
For England, Jacks and Adil Rashid took two wickets each, while Jofra Archer claimed one.
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