ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India prevail over England in a run-fest thriller

Sanju Samson smashed a scorching 89 off not out off 42 balls at a boisterous Wankhede Stadium

Mumbai: The Maximum City witnessed maximum entertainment as familiar foes India and England went hell for leather on an absolute belter of a surface with the Men In Blue outlasting the Three Lions in a nerve-jangling second semifinal of the ICC T2o World Cup here on Thursday.  

Taking off from where he had left off at the Eden Gardens in a virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies, Sanju Samson smashed a scorching 89 off 42 balls at a boisterous Wankhede Stadium to lay the foundation for an all-out assault on England. Ishan Kishan (39), Shivam Dube (43) and Hardik Pandya (27) built on that brilliantly with knocks of brute force to power the defending champions to a massive 253/7 in 20 overs — the highest score in a knockout game of the T20 World Cup.

Although England had some of the biggest hitters in their line-up and the pitch was a batting paradise where one could hit through the line with eyes closed, it still needed some chasing, especially with a capacity crowd against them. They went for it with gusto and almost made a match out of it through Jacob Bethell, who smashed an exceptional 105 and forged a 77-run forged a blistering 77-run partnership off 39 balls for the fifth wicket with England’s MVP Will Jacks (35).

The way the duo were smashing everything in their sight to ensure England were always in the chase, India kept feeling the jitters. Anything was possible given how bowlers were reduced to mere machines with no margin for error. But an extraordinary piece of fielding in the 14th over where Axar Patel relayed a catch off Jacks to Dube at the boundary line, shifted the much-needed momentum towards India.    

England though never gave up with Sam Curran (18) and Bethell continuing the carnage with a 50-run partnership off 27 balls. But a brilliant 18th over from Jasprit Bumrah where he gave away just 6 runs and an equally good 19th from Pandya where he dismissed Curran and conceded just 9 runs brought the equation to 30 off the last over. Dube maintained his composure to stall England to 246/7, India scoring a 7-run win to set up a final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.     

When England skipper Harry Brook, wary of dew, unsurprisingly asked India to bat first, India got what they wanted, at least as per captain Suryakumar Yadav’s admission at the toss. Yes, the wet conditions do make life harder for the team defending a target, but if the ones batting first can post a massive total, it does put the team chasing under pressure right from the onset. And that was India’s goal right from the moment they took strike.

Samson, having got his juices flowing in Kolkata, came charging out of the blocks, smashing England’s lead pacer Jofra Archer for a boundary and six in the third and fourth balls of the opening over. Batting in T20s is all about confidence and fortune, and Samson had both going his way in a knock of the highest quality. He was dropped by Brook off Archer when on 15, but thereafter the 31-year-old absolutely pulverised the Three Lions with some breathless hitting.

One-drop Ishan Kishan, who came in after another failure from opener Abhishek Sharma, doesn’t need a second invitation to play fearless cricket, but watching Samson explode with utter ease, he took to the field all guns blazing. When the duo were out in the middle during a record 97-run stand for the second wicket — this was India’s highest partnership for any wicket in a knockout game of the T20 World Cup — every over had at least two boundaries. The way they were going, a total in excess of 250 seemed imminent. They got it and a shot at retaining their title in the end. 

SCOREBOARD

INDIA 

Samson c Salt b Jacks 89

(42b, 8x4, 7x6) 

Abhishek c Salt b Jacks 9

(7b, 2x4)

Kishan c Jacks b Rashid 39

(18b, 4x4, 2x6)

Dube (run out) 43

(25b, 1x4, 4x6)

Suryakumar st Buttler b Rashid 11

(6b, 1x6)

Pandya (run out) 27

(12b, 3x4, 2x6)

Varma b Archer 21

(7b, 3x6)

Axar (not out) 2

(2b)

Chakravarthy (not out) 0

(1b)

Extras (B-2, LB-1, W-9) 12  

TOTAL (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 253

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Abhishek), 2-117 (Kishan), 3-160 (Samson), 4-190 (Suryakumar), 5-212 (Dube), 6-236 (Varma), 7-251 (Pandya). 

Bowling: Archer 4-0-61-1 (w-2), Jacks 4-0-40-2 (w-1), Overton 3-0-36-0 (w-1), Curran 4-0-53-0 (w-4), Rashid 4-0-41-2, Dawson 1-0-19-0 (w-1).

ENGLAND 

Salt c Axar b Pandya 5

(3b, 1x4) 

Buttler b Chakravarthy 25

(17b, 4x4, 1x6)

Brook c Axar b Bumrah 7

(6b, 1x4)

Bethell (run out) 105

(48b, 8x4, 7x6) 

Banton b Axar 17

(5b, 1x4, 2x6)

Jacks c Dube b Arshdeep 35

(20b, 4x4, 2x6)

Curran c Varma b Pandya 18

(14b, 2x4)

Overton (not out) 2

(3b)

Archer (not out) 19

(4b, 3x6)

Extras (LB-3, W-10) 13 

TOTAL (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 246

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Salt), 2-38 (Brook), 3-64 (Buttler), 4-95 (Banton), 5-172 (Jacks), 6-222 (Curran), 7-225 (Bethell).

Bowling: Arshdeep 4-0-51-1 (w-5), Pandya 4-0-38-2 (w-1), Bumrah 4-0-33-1 (w-1), Chakravarthy 4-0-64-1 (w-1), Axar 3-0-35-1, Dube 1-0-22-0 (w-1).

Result: India won by 7 runs

PoM: Sanju Samson 

Final: India vs New Zealand (March 8, Ahmedabad)