IIndia have won their third T20 World Cup, successfully defending the title they won in 2024 with a 96-run thrashing of New Zealand.
There’s plenty more cricket ahead in the coming months, with county cricket back next month and the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League approaching.
We’ll see you for all of that before another international summer.
Have a good evening.
The final two days of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup have moved to the Super 8 round and were full of drama and suspense.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, New Zealand could do nothing but watch as Pakistan and Sri Lanka played, with the Kiwis future depending not on whether Pakistan won or lost, but how much Pakistan won by. In the end, despite a boastful score of 212, the Green Shirts did not win by enough to overtake New Zealand in NRR (net run rate) to qualify for the semifinals.
Meanwhile, it took host India until the final day to qualify for the semifinal, as it defeated West Indies by four wickets (with four balls remaining) to advance to the final four and a chance to defend its 2024 World Cup win.
The first semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India, while the hosts will take on England on Thursday, March 5 at 8:30 a.m. ET at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.
The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 8 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
From the 20 teams that started the tournament, only four teams remain. Here’s what you need to know about the semifinals and finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup, including betting odds and schedule:
Teams in T20 World Cup semifinals
Both South Africa and England won all three of their matches in the Super 8 round. India lost its opening match to South Africa, but bounced back with wins over Zimbabwe and West Indies to qualify for the next round.
New Zealand had its opener washed out due to rain against Pakistan and then defeated Sri Lanka soundly. However, the Kiwis loss to England left the door ajar for Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka and qualify, if it had a big enough margin of victory.
South AfricaEngland- New Zealand
- India
2026 T20 World Cup betting odds
Despite sneaking into the semifinal round in its final match, India, one of the hosts, remains the odds-on-favorite (+125) to win the 2026 World Cup, according to BetMGM. The other host, Sri Lanka, was eliminated in the Super 8 round.
South Africa opened at +550 at the beginning of the tournament, but is currently second behind India with +225 odds. Australia, which entered the tournament tied with England at +500 odds to win, did not even qualify for the Super 8 stage.
Here’s a look at the full odds:
Odds from BetMGM as of Monday, March 2
- India, +125
- South Africa, +225
- England, +450
- New Zealand, +550
2026 T20 World Cup semifinal schedule
Wednesday, March 4
- Semifinal game 1, South Africa vs. New Zealand | New Zealand won by 9 wickets
Thursday, March 5
- Semifinal game 2, India vs. England | India won by 7 runs
2026 T20 World Cup final schedule
Sunday, March 8
- Championship game, India vs. New Zealand, 9:30 a.m., at Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad, India)
Past T20 World Cup champions
- 2007: India defeats Pakistan (Hosts: South Africa)
- 2009: Pakistan defeats Sri Lanka (Hosts: England)
- 2010: England defeats Australia (Hosts: West Indies)
- 2012: West Indies defeats Sri Lanka (Hosts: Sri Lanka)
- 2014: Sri Lanka defeats India (Hosts: Bangaldesh)
- 2016: West Indies defeats England (Hosts: India)
- 2021: Australia defeats New Zealand (Hosts: UAE and Oman)
- 2022: England defeats Pakistan (Hosts: Australia)
- 2024: India defeats South Africa (Hosts: USA and West Indies)
- 2026: TBD (Hosts: India and Sri Lanka)
India, which is the defending T20 World Cup champions, bested its own previous record of 176 in the 2024 World Cup Final vs. South Africa. Now England must break tie the second-highest score ever to chase down India to win its first T20 World Cup.
Sanju Samson scored 89 off 46 balls with five 4s and eight 6s to open the batting for the Men in Blue, while fellow opener Abhishek Sharma added 52 runs off 21 balls and Ishan Kishan had 54 runs off 25 balls.
Here’s a look at the records for most runs scores in a T20 Cricket World Cup match and final:
Most runs by single team in T20 Cricket World Cup final
India now owns three of the top scores in the T20 World Cup final. India set the previous record for most run scored in a T20 final with 176 vs. South Africa in 2024.
- India, 255, (2026) vs. New Zealand
- India, 176 (2024) vs. South Africa
- Australia, 173 (2021) vs. New Zealand
- New Zealand, 172 (2021) vs. Australia
- South Africa, 169 (2024) vs. India
- West Indies, 161 (2016) vs. England
- India, 157 (2007) vs. Pakistan
- England, 155 (2016) vs. West Indies
- Pakistan, 152 (2007) vs. India
- England, 148 (2010) vs. Australia
Most runs in T20 Cricket World Cup match
- 1. Sri Lanka, 260 vs. Kenya, Sept. 4, 2007
- 2. India, 256 vs. Zimbabwe, Feb. 26, 2026
- 3. India, 255 vs. New Zealand, March 8, 2026
- 4. West Indies, 254 vs. Zimbabwe, Feb. 23, 2026
- 5. India, 253 vs. England, March 5, 2026
- 6. England, 246 vs. India, March 5, 2026
- 7. Ireland, 235 vs. Oman, Feb. 14, 2026
- 8. England, 230 vs. South Africa, March 18, 2016
- 9. South Africa, 229 vs. England, March 18, 2016
- 10. Sri Lanka, 225 vs. Oman, Feb. 12, 2026
