ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India vs England: Familiar foes face off in high-voltage semifinal

India have to be wary of a potent spin threat from a dangerous England side as both teams chase perfection in Thursday's (March 5) high-pressure ICC T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The match starts at 7pm IST.

Overwhelming favourites at the start of the tournament, India have not been able to stitch together a perfect game against stronger sides in the competition.

However, they have served themselves well by adopting a flexible approach after the pasting at the hands of South Africa in their Super Eight opener.

Sanju Samson was brought back to the side to break the predictability of a left-handed top-three in the powerplay and that move has worked brilliantly.

More than 10 years after his India debut, Samson finally delivered on the big stage with a career-defining 97 not out in a virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies.

The 31-year-old's confidence must be sky high after that special effort and India would be hoping that rubs off on his opening partner Abhishek Sharma.

England will have their plans ready for the two openers. Expect a barrage of short balls into the body from Jofra Archer to test Samson, who has struggled against the England tearaway in the past, while Will Jacks could trouble Sharma with his off-spin in the powerplay.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson has also bowled in the first six overs, while the hosts need to be at their best against a wily Adil Rashid in the middle overs.

Ishan Kishan has gone off the boil after a sensational start to the tournament and would be backing himself to fire at his former Indian Premier League (IPL) home ground.

The same goes for the current Mumbai Indians stars in the national team – captain Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya -- who batted for more than two hours in the main net session ahead of the semifinal.

At a ground with short boundaries, the spin duo of Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy will have no room for error.

Jasprit Bumrah has been phenomenal as usual but slight improvement is needed from the bowlers in the last five overs.

England have relied on the individual brilliance of Harry Brook and Will Jacks to bail them out of tricky situations. All-rounder Sam Curran too has played his part well.

The focus has been on out-of-form Jos Buttler heading into the contest and it remains to be seen if the England white-ball great can regain his rhythm in a crunch game.

The sides are quite familiar with each other as both India and England find themselves pitted against each other for the third T20 World Cup semifinal in a row. England had hammered India on way to the title in 2022 before the latter got their revenge in Guyana in 2024. Who will come up triumphant in Mumbai? Game on!

(With inputs from agencies)