India survive Jacob Bethell scare to eke out narrow win against England, to face New Zealand in T20 World Cup final

India will face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final after beating England by seven runs in the semi-final.

The T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final between India and England was billed as a heavyweight contest, with the match expected to go down to the wire at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. And as it turned out, the fixture lived up to the billing. The uber-popular venue in Mumbai produced a run-fest as the defending champions eked out a narrow seven-run win in front of a sold-out crowd to enter the final and set up a summit clash against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. India were expected to cruise after posting 253/7 in 20 overs; however, England, led by Jacob Bethell, had other plans, forcing the hosts to sweat it out in the middle.

India will face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final (AFP)

For the second game in a row, Sanju Samson stepped up when it mattered most, scoring 89 to set up India’s win in the crucial knockout clash. He was well supported by Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah as India eventually held their nerve to come out on top.

Once they posted 253 on the board, England had a daunting task ahead. Matters worsened early when Phil Salt (5) fell to Hardik in just the second over of the chase. Jos Buttler (25), who has been struggling for form, tried to counterattack but to no avail, as his uneasy stay ended when he was clean bowled by Varun Chakaravarthy. However, it was Bethell who threatened to turn the game on its head, taking the attack to India and giving the hosts a real scare

Bethell, along with Will Jacks, stitched together a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket and, at one stage, the pair looked set to run away with the game for England. But Axar’s brilliance in the deep brought India the breakthrough, ending Jacks’ knock of 35. At that point, England needed 82 off 36 balls with five wickets in hand. Sam Curran then joined Bethell, and the pair mixed caution with aggression as the left-hander soon brought up his maiden T20I century.

The England onslaught forced Suryakumar Yadav to turn to Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah in the 17th and 18th overs, a move that proved decisive. England eventually fell short, failing to chase 39 from the final two overs and losing the contest by seven runs.

India hammer England with the bat

India did not put a foot wrong after being asked to bat first by Harry Brook. Abhishek Sharma fell in the second over, bowled by Jacks for 9 off 7 balls. However, that was the only early concern for India as Samson and Ishan Kishan launched a fierce counterattack against the England bowlers.

The pair went hard at Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Jacks and Curran during the powerplay. To make matters worse for England, Brook dropped Samson off Archer’s bowling in the third over, and from that point on, the defending champions seized complete control. Kishan and Samson added 97 runs for the second wicket before Adil Rashid broke the stand, dismissing the left-hander for 39. Shivam Dube then joined Samson, and the duo kept the momentum going.

Samson looked set for a century but chose to accelerate for the team, eventually falling for 80 while trying to take on Jacks. Suryakumar Yadav (11) could not make much of an impact, but Tilak Varma (21), Dube (43) and Hardik Pandya (27) chipped in to push India to 253/7 in 20 overs.

Brief Scores: India 253/7 beat England 246/7 by seven runs at the Wankhede Stadium.