India edge past England to qualify for T20 World Cup Final

2026-03-05 - 17:44

India beat England by seven runs in the second semi-final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Thursday to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Chasing a challenging 254-run target for victory, England reached agonisingly close and ended up at 256/7 in their quota of 20 overs. Jacob Bethell was the highest scorer for England, who made 105 off 48 balls, hitting eight fours and seven maximums. Will Jacks made 35 off 20 balls, laced with four fours and two maximums. Jos Buttler contributed 25 off 17 balls, Jofra Archer 19 off four balls, and Sam Curran 18 off 14 balls, while Tom Banton made 17 off five balls. Hardik Pandya took two wickets and Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy one each, while Jacob Bethell was run out. Sanju Samson was named player of the match. After being put into bat by England skipper Harry Brook. India reached 253/7 in their quota of 20 overs. Sanju Samson was the top scorer with 89 off 42 balls, hitting eight fours and seven maximums. Shivam Dube contributed 43 off 25 balls, Ishan Kishan 39 off 18 balls, Hardik Pandya 27 off 12 balls, Tilak Varma 21 off seven balls, and Suryakumar Yadav 11 off six balls. Adil Rashid and Will Jacks bagged two wickets each, and Jofra Archer one, while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube were run out. New Zealand had already qualified for the final by convincingly winning the first semi-final against tournament favourites South Africa. India Playing XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Jasprit Bumrah England Playing XI: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Tom Banton, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid