Samson Falls for 89 in India–England T20 WC Semi

India and England faced off in a high-pressure ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, with a place in the final on the line. England captain Harry Brook won the toss and chose to field first on a batting-friendly surface.

India began aggressively with Sanju Samson leading the charge. The wicketkeeper-batter played attacking strokes early in the innings and built momentum during the powerplay.

Samson anchors India’s strong start

Samson quickly found rhythm against England’s pace attack, hitting boundaries and sixes to put pressure on the bowlers. His half-century came off just 26 balls, highlighting India’s aggressive approach in the early overs.

India crossed the 100-run mark in 8.3 overs, one of the fastest team hundreds recorded in a T20 World Cup knockout match.

Samson and Ishan Kishan also shared a significant partnership that strengthened India’s position after the early loss of opener Abhishek Sharma, who was dismissed for 9.

England fight back with key breakthroughs

England managed to slow the scoring slightly with the wicket of Ishan Kishan. The left-hander was dismissed for 39 runs after a slider from Adil Rashid led to a catch in the outfield.

Later in the innings, Will Jacks delivered another important breakthrough when he dismissed Samson for 89 runs, preventing the Indian batter from reaching a century.

Despite missing the milestone, Samson’s innings helped India maintain a strong scoring rate during the middle overs.

Toss and team strategies

At the toss, England captain Harry Brook said his side chose to bowl first hoping to make early breakthroughs with the ball.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav noted that his team would have preferred to bat first but felt the pitch looked good for scoring runs.

Playing XIs

India:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

England:
Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

High-stakes semifinal clash

The match carries major significance as the winner will move to the T20 World Cup final, where New Zealand have already secured their place after winning the other semifinal.

India and England have developed a strong rivalry in recent editions of the tournament, having faced each other in multiple knockout matches in recent years.