499 runs and 34 sixes later, India beat England to enter T20 World Cup final

Mumbai, 2026 – Forty overs, 499 runs, 34 sixes and a last-ball finish that had Wankhede Stadium chanting “Maa Tujhe Salaam” in unison delivered the most electric knockout of the tournament as India edged England by seven runs to book a place in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand.

The hosts rode Sanju Samson’s belligerent 89 off 39 balls to post 253 for seven, their sixth T20 total above 250 and a tournament-leading 88th six. Ishan Kishan’s 18-ball 39 and Shivam Dube’s 43 off 19 kept the accelerator down, while late cameos from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma nudged India past the psychological 250-mark on a surface that offered neither seam nor spin.

England’s reply began in tatters. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah removed Phil Salt and Harry Brook in the powerplay, before Axar Patel plucked Jos Buttler out of the air with a diving return catch. At 42 for three inside four overs, the chase looked done until Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks counter-punched. Bethell’s maiden T20 hundred (105 off 52) and Jacks’ clean striking dragged the equation to 61 off 24 balls.

India’s spinners wobbled—Varun Chakravarthy bled 64 from four overs, the second-worst figures in competition history—but wickets at crucial intervals kept the hosts afloat. Axar and Shivam Dube combined for a relay catch on the boundary to remove Jacks, and Bumrah’s 18th-over masterclass of six toe-crushing yorkers cost only six runs, tilting the match.

Hardik returned to dismiss Sam Curran and, after Bethell was run out by a lightning Hardik throw from long-off, England needed 30 off the last over. Jofra Archer clattered three sixes off Shivam Dube but the damage had been done; England finished on 246 for seven, seven short of a final berth.

India now march to the Narendra Modi Stadium for Sunday’s summit clash, having reached their fourth consecutive white-ball final and carrying the tournament’s most destructive batting line-up in tow.