India has defeated England in semi-final 2 of the 2026 T20 World Cup to reach its second consecutive final in this competition. This was a thrilling contest in which a record amount of runs was scored.
The Indian Cricket Team, after finishing second in Group 1 of the Super 8, qualified for the semifinal against England, who finished first in Group 2. This match was played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and saw the visitors win the toss and decide to field first on a flat track.
India Beats England In 2nd Semi Final T20 WC
For India, the pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened the innings. The two gave their team a fine start. The Men in Blue made 20 runs before the end of the second over. However, on the last ball of that very over, a very out-of-form Abhishek skied the ball and was caught out for nine off seven, dismissed by Will Jacks.
However, this wicket did not seem to impede the flow of runs for India. Samson, along with the incoming Ishan Kishan, gave their team a very successful powerplay, at the end of which the score was 67/1.
Soon thereafter, Samson made his second half-century in a row in this tournament, reaching the milestone in 26 balls with a six. Kishan, too, looked in fine touch on the other end.
In the 10th over, after making 39 off 18, Ishan Kishan was dismissed by Adil Rashid. At this point, the score was already 117 runs. At the end of the 10th, India’s total was 119/2.
Sanju, just like the previous game against the West Indies, was the driving force of India’s batting order. Although he did miss out on a hundred, one that he should have gotten. He got out in the 14th over at the hands of Jacks for 89 off 42, going out swinging.
At the 15th over mark, the score was 177/3, and the Men in Blue needed a strong finish to the innings, which did happen. Sanju Samson passed the baton off to Shivam Dube, who was promoted to No. 4 in the batting order.
Check Out: India Beats England In 2nd Semi Final T20 WC
Captain Suryakumar Yadav got out for cheap, making just 11 off six today, but he did not waste time on the crease. The remainder of the middle order, on the other hand, utterly devastated the English bowling attack.
Dube scored 43 off 25 before getting run out; Hardik Pandya was run out too, after making 27 off 12, while Tilak Varma made 21 runs in just seven balls, giving the Indian Cricket Team a sublime finish to their inning.
In the end, the hosts ended their allotted 20-over innings at 253/7, the largest ever total in a T20 World Cup knockout match.
The English stumbled at the beginning, as opener Phil Salt was dismissed by Hardik Pandya on the first ball of the second over for five off three. Captain Harry Brook departed soon after for seven off six. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, after conceding three sixes earlier in the over, Varun Chakravarthy bowled Jos Buttler for 25 off 17.
At the end of the powerplay, the Three Lions had already lost three wickets. But they had also made 68 runs, on the back of a stellar start given by Jacob Bethell, who was batting at 26 off nine at this point.
Bethell was absolutely the man for England today. While wickets kept falling around him, he kept scoring runs at an unreal strike rate.
Tom Banton got off to a flying start, making 17 runs in his first four balls faced, but was bowled on the next by Axar Patel.
The biggest English partnership in this game was between Bethell and Will Jacks. The incoming batter played the supporting role in this partnership despite batting at a strike rate of over 170.
The two took their team from 95/4 in the eighth over to 172 runs in the 14th over before Jacks was dismissed for 35 off 20. By this time, the 22-year-old Jacob had already reached the 50-run mark.
In the last six overs, England needed 84 runs. The lower order was to provide some support, but finishing this chase was Jacob Bethell’s task, one which he took head-on.
At just 22 years of age, Bethell would go on to score a ton in this match, reaching the three-digit mark with a six in just 45 balls. Not only was this the second hundred in the two semi-finals of this tournament, but he also scored the highest total in a T20 World Cup knockout game.
With 44 runs needed in the final three overs, the match hung in the balance. A divine six-run 18th over by Jasprit Bumrah and a 10-run 19th over by Hardik Pandya meant England needed 30 runs in the final over, which was bowled by Shivam Dube, who was bowling his first over in this match.
Jacob Bethell was run out on the second ball for 105 off 48. So, despite Jofra Archer ending the game with three sixes, India ended up winning the match by seven runs, as the English were stopped at a still-mammoth total of 246/7.
Apart from being the site for the highest individual (Jacob Bethell) and the highest team total (India) for a T20 World Cup knockout game, this match also had the highest aggregate runs scored ever in one game in this tournament’s history, as the two sides together made 499 runs in 20 overs.
For his brilliant innings of 89 off 42, giving India a platform to make a massive total, Sanju Samson was named the Player of the Match for the second Indian Cricket Team match in a row.
We now have our final of the 2026 T20 World Cup, as India will take on New Zealand in the ultimate game on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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