2026 ICC T20 World Cup: India survive England comeback to set up grand final against New Zealand

by Devesh Jaganath

image 2026 ICC T20 World Cup: India survive England comeback to set up grand final against New Zealand
And then there were two! Twenty teams entered the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, and after 54 matches, only India and New Zealand remain standing. The Men in Blue romped to victory in their semi-final against England this afternoon to keep their hopes of defending their title in the shortest format alive.

India’s top-order finding form at the perfect time 

India took a massive step toward becoming the first nation to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to be crowned champions three times by beating England by seven runs in the second semi-final of this year’s competition at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai this afternoon. 

After England won the toss and asked the host nation to bat, India suffered an early blow with Abhishek Sharma, who has been one of the team’s biggest disappointments in this competition, falling to the outstanding Will Jacks for just nine runs in the second over. 

However, that brought Ishan Kishan to the crease, and together with Sanju Samson, the pair produced a magnificent 97-run partnership for the second wicket before the former was dismissed by Adil Rashid for 39 runs off just 18 deliveries (216.67 strike rate). 

Samson went on to score 89 runs off 42 balls, following up on his match-winning 97* (50) against the West Indies in the team’s make-or-break Super 8 clash last week, before he too fell victim to Jacks with the reigning champions at 160/3 in the 14th over. 

India’s top order has come under criticism in this competition, but this match put some of those concerns to rest as Shivam Dube blasted 43 runs off 25 balls, meaning that the team’s top-four batters were responsible for 180 of their 253 runs, before quickfire late knocks from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma. 

Chasing the massive target, England got off to a brisk start, scoring 68 runs in the six-over powerplay, but they also lost three key wickets, with Phil Salt dismissed for five runs and skipper Harry Brook falling for seven, before Jos Buttler was sent back to the pavilion on 27 (17). 

Jacob Bethell kept the Poms' hopes alive right to the death, scoring an incredible 105 off just 48 balls, but after Jacks fell to Arshdeep Singh, he struggled to find support and was eventually dismissed in the final over trying to push his team to victory. 

Samson surpasses Rohit Sharma and equals Virat Kohli with 89-run knock 

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After being left out for three of India’s four group-stage matches, as well as their crushing defeat to South Africa in Super 8, Sanju Samson has made a massive statement since earning a recall to the top of the team’s batting order. 

The wicket-keeper batsman scored a quick-fire 24 off 15 balls against Zimbabwe before that incredible 97* against the West Indies and 89 (42) this afternoon. His knock against England today not only helped the team to victory but also earned him two notable records. 

En route to his 87, Samson smashed seven 6s and eight 4s, taking his tally of maximums in the competition to 16, surpassing Rohit Shama’s record of 15 sixes in a single T20 World Cup campaign set in the 2024 edition of the tournament. Notably, Shivam Dube is also on 15 maximums in this year’s competition. 

Additionally, Samson’s innings of 89 equalled Virat Kohli’s record for the highest score by an Indian batsman in a knockout match at a T20 World Cup, which was set in the semi-finals in 2016. He will now set his sights on following up against New Zealand in the grand final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.