India managed to keep their hopes alive for the World Cup title with a thrilling 7-run win over England in the second semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sanju Samson stepped up when it mattered most, scoring 89 to set up India’s win in the crucial knockout clash. (Also read: Raha cheers for India as she watches India-England T20 semi-final with mom Alia Bhatt and dad Ranbir Kapoor. See pics)
‘Let’s go Team India!’
Many Bollywood celebrities were at the Wankhede Stadium to watch the match live. Among them were Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Triptii Dimri and Anil Kapoor. Raha was seen clapping along with Ranbir and Alia, and several videos of the three enjoying the game surfaced on X.
Varun and Anil were seen getting up from their seats and clapping for team India after the final innings, and even waved the tricolour as the team triumphed. “Finale unlocked! Let’s go Team India,” Anil wrote on his Instagram Stories. Meanwhile, Triptii wrote, “Goosebumps watching this team.”
‘Team India played like absolute champs’
Akshay Kumar took to his X account and wrote, “That’s how you march towards the finals 🇮🇳🏏 What a win, Team India!” Ajay Devgn wrote, “Loved every minute of this match! #TeamIndia played like absolute champs. On to the finals now 🇮🇳.”
Meanwhile, Preity Zinta wrote on X, “Congratulations to the men in blue. What a game and what a dominant performance by Team India 🇮🇳 What a thrilling entry into the final of the T20WC 2026. It was a pleasure to watch incredible performances from Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Jaspreet Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh & Akshar Patel. Tonight was all about Fearless batting, deadly bowling & tight fielding ! A Big shout out to Jacob Bethel for his dynamic batting. Yeahhhh !!!! I was under the weather and a bit sick – not feeling too well but somehow I’ve forgotten it all.”
About the match
India finished with a record-breaking total of 253/7, the highest ever in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, with Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma finishing the innings with a flourish after Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube laid the groundwork with imperial knocks. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson, who won player of the match again, said Jasprit Bumrah deserves the award.
India will be defending its T20 World Cup title at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 8.
