Who: India vs England
What: ICC Men’s 2026 T20 World Cup semifinal
Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India
When: Thursday, March 5, 7pm (13: 30 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live coverage begins at 10: 00 GMT.
India and England – two teams vying to become record-breaking three-time T20 World Cup champions – will meet in the second semifinal of the tournament on Thursday.
India are also out to break the voodoo of a host nation and defending champion successfully retain the title, but England will hope the pressure of playing in front of a cricket-crazy home crowd will help halt their opponent’s march at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The venue, which hosted India’s 50-over World Cup triumph in 2011, is expected to turn into a sea of blue shirts, but Harry Brook’s team will relish the opportunity of silencing them with a win.
What are India’s strengths and weaknesses?
Super Samson, reliable Bumrah and the 12th man
The holders started the tournament as hot favourites, but were less than convincing in the group stage. However, they gave a better performance in the Super Eights, with victories over Zimbabwe and the West Indies.
Sanju Samson has added muscle and balance to the top of the order, upsetting the opposition’s bowling rhythm by breaking up the all-left-hand combination of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
Jasprit Bumrah has proved himself again to be one of the best pacemen, and top-ranked T20 bowler Varun Chakravarthy, who has claimed 12 victims, leads the spin attack.
Home support in a 35,000-strong Wankhede stadium could be like having a 12th man on the field.
Shaky batting
Abhishek came into the tournament as the world’s number one T20 batsman, but then had three consecutive ducks.
A fifty against Zimbabwe showed glimpses of his talent, but he fell for 10 against the West Indies, and England will be targeting him for an early wicket.
What are England’s strengths and weaknesses?
England had some scratchy group stage wins, including edging a last-ball thriller against Nepal, but found form to power through the Super Eights with wins over co-hosts Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.
Brook’s leadership, Jacks’s all-round show
Brook showed his leadership by moving up to number three against Pakistan and scoring a match-winning century. He is becoming an astute tactician in his first World Cup as captain.
All-rounder Will Jacks has already won four player of the match awards in seven outings and can be destructive with the bat. Jofra Archer, expensive in the first two games, is back to his searing best.
Out-of-form Buttler
Opener Jos Buttler is in a form slump with 62 runs in seven matches. He has not made a T20 fifty since September last year and looks devoid of confidence, but England are unlikely to ditch their former captain.
What’s India’s best result at the T20 World Cup?
Winners: 2007, 2024
What’s England’s best result at the T20 World Cup?
Winners: 2010, 2022
What happened the last time India and England played a T20 international?
The sides battled it out in a five-match T20 series in India in early 2025, with the hosts claiming a 4-1 wi