India defeated England by seven runs to enter the T20 World Cup 2026 final. Despite the win, spinner Varun Chakaravarthy set an unwanted record, bowling the joint-second-most expensive spell (1/64) in T20 World Cup history.
India entered the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after defeating England by seven runs in the semi-final held at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, and the Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy recorded an unwanted record during the match.
Chakaravarthy's Unwanted Record
Chakaravarthy conceded 64 runs and took only one wicket while India defended a mammoth total of 253 runs. It was the joint-second-most expensive bowling spell in a T20 World Cup match. He joined Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who recorded the bowling figures of 0/64 against Pakistan in Johannesburg in 2007. The worst-ever bowling figure in a T20 World Cup match was recorded in this tournament when Saurabh Netravalkar of the USA finished with 0/65 against the defending champions India. Varun Chakravarthy now has the joint second-most expensive returns for India in all T20Is after 0/68 by Prasidh Krishna against Australia (Guwahati, 2023) and alongside 0/64 for Yuzvendra Chahal vs South Africa (Durban, 2018).
India's Batting Dominance
Coming to the match, India were asked to bat first and posted a mammoth total of 253 runs. Sanju Samson made 89 runs with the help of eight fours and seven sixes. Shivam Dube (43 off 25 balls) and Ishan Kishan (39 off just 18 balls) helped him from the other end. Tilak Varma (21 off 7 balls) and Hardik Pandya's (27 off 12 balls) quick knocks at the end helped India post the biggest total in a T20 World Cup knockout match.
England's Valiant Chase
Will Jacks and Adil Rashid took a couple of wickets each for England, while Jofra Archer grabbed the crucial wicket of Varma. In response, Jacob Bethell's maiden T20I ton kept England alive in the game for most of the time, but the Three Lions failed to reach the total by seven runs. Hardik Pandya took two wickets, whereas Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Chakaravarthy and Patel took one wicket each.
India vs New Zealand in Final
Now, India will face New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (ANI)
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