India Secures Spot in ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Final After Narrow Victory Over England
India Advances to T20 World Cup Final
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 6: India has successfully reached the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, edging out England by a mere seven runs in a thrilling semi-final match at the renowned Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
During the match, Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy faced a challenging outing, conceding 64 runs while claiming just one wicket. This performance marked the joint-second-highest number of runs conceded in a T20 World Cup match, tying him with Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who recorded figures of 0/64 against Pakistan in 2007.
The record for the most runs conceded in a T20 World Cup match was set earlier in this tournament by Saurabh Netravalkar of the USA, who finished with 0/65 against India.
Chakravarthy's figures now rank as the second-most expensive for India in T20 internationals, alongside Yuzvendra Chahal's 0/64 against South Africa in 2018, and just behind Prasidh Krishna's 0/68 against Australia in 2023.
In the match, India batted first, amassing an impressive total of 253 runs. Sanju Samson led the charge with a remarkable 89 runs, supported by Shivam Dube's 43 runs off 25 balls and Ishan Kishan's explosive 39 runs from just 18 balls.
Contributions from Tilak Varma (21 off 7 balls) and Hardik Pandya (27 off 12 balls) at the end helped India achieve the highest score in a T20 World Cup knockout match. England's bowling attack saw Will Jacks and Adil Rashid each take two wickets, while Jofra Archer claimed the vital wicket of Varma.
In reply, Jacob Bethell's first T20I century kept England competitive throughout the match, but they ultimately fell short by seven runs.
Hardik Pandya was instrumental with the ball, taking two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Chakaravarthy, and Patel each contributed with one wicket.
India is now set to face New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.