Team India opener Abhishek Sharma, once the golden goose of their T20I hopes, continued to fail in T20 World Cup 2026 as he perished for another low score in the high-voltage T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The southpaw has scored only one half-century in this 20-team tournament and suffered a huge slump in returns, contrary to massive expectations from him.
Off-spin continues to be Abhishek Sharma’s undoing
Oppositions have regularly exploited the Men in Blue’s Achilles Heel against off-spin and England haven’t been anything different. With the opening over going for 12, Harry Brook turned to all-rounder Will Jacks, who was taken for a couple of boundaries. However, Abhishek felt a rush of blood and tried to go for a six over deep mid-wicket but holed out to Phil Salt at deep mid-wicket. Abhishek, who is currently the No.1 ranked T20I batter, has been dismissed thrice via off-spin in the 2026 edition, managing only 27 runs in 29 balls, averaging an awful 9.66 alongside a strike rate of 107.40.
| T20 World Cup 2026 match | Score |
| India vs USA | 0 |
| India vs Pakistan | 0 |
| India vs Netherlands | 0 |
| India vs South Africa | 15 |
| India vs Zimbabwe | 55 |
| India vs West Indies | 0 |
Sanju Samson continues to pummel England
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson continues to punish England in the semi-final, carrying on from his heroics in Kolkata against the West Indies where he slammed an unbeaten 97. England skipper Harry Brook, who elected to field first, went on to drop the keeper-batter in the third over of the innings when he was on 15. The second wicket fell only in the 10th over but Ishan Kishan played his part, hammering 39 off only 18 deliveries.
The tourists made only one change to their side, swapping Jamie Overton for leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, while the Men in Blue have gone in with an unchanged side. Both England and India have won one T20 World Cup semi-final each – in 2022 and 2024.
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