The defending champions India will play England in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It would be the third time in a row that these two teams are facing each other in the seinfinal stage of the T20 world cup after previously competing against each other in 2022 and 2024 semifinal.
India will face England in semifinal of T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede
The Indian team would be playing in the semifinal after defeating two times champions West Indies in the virtual kmockout game against West Indies at Eden Gardens due to the special knock of Sanju Samson, while England, led by Harry Brook, would be looking to take one step forward towards winning their third title after lifting it in 2010 and 2022. Both teams have two titles each to their names as the winner would be one step closer to lifting the title and becoming the first-ever three-time T20 World Cup champion and would be facing New Zealand in the final on March 8.
The full story of the last India vs England T20 World Cup semi-final clash
India convincingly defeated England in Guyana
The last time that India and England locked horns in a T20 World Cup semifinal showdown was in June 2024 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, and it was then that India gave a clinical masterclass in defeating England by 68 runs in style. While chasing a target on a tricky wicket that was affected by rain and provided considerable help to spinners, India managed to compile a highly competitive 171/7 in 20 overs to take on England with confidence.
The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, led by example with a gritty 57 off 39 balls, including 6 fours and 2 sixes, while Suryakumar Yadav also contributed handsomely with 47 off 36 balls.This crucial 73-run stand for the third wicket between Rohit and Suryakumar helped steady the innings after the fall of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant's wickets, and then cameos by Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) and Ravindra Jadeja (17* off 9) ensured that they reached 170+.
Also READ: 'We don’t need a perfect game': Harry Brook confident before India semifinal clash
England batsman completely surrendered to Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav
England’s chase of 172 was never really taking off, courtesy of the dominating performance of the Indian spin duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who completely outplayed the star-studded English batting lineup in just 16.4 overs. Axar Patel got the game off to a perfect start by dismissing the danger man Jos Buttler for 23 on the very first ball of his spell, eventually finishing off his 4 overs with elite figures of 3/23 to win the Player of the Match award.
Kuldeep Yadav completed the job for him in style, taking 3/19 and dismissing the set batsman Harry Brook to break the back of the chase, while Jasprit Bumrah completed the formalities of dismissing the English tail to finish off his 2.4 overs for 2/12. The English lineup was eventually bowled out for just 103 runs, their lowest score in a World Cup knockout and one of their biggest losses in World Cup history. This win was especially sweet for India, who mathematically reversed their 10-wicket thrashing in the 2022 semi-final in Adelaide.
