ISLAMABAD: England captain Harry Brook acknowledged on Wednesday that India enter their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final as favourites but said England remain confident that their “perfect performance” could arrive at the right moment.
The two most recent T20 World Cup champions — India, who won the title in 2024, and England, champions in 2022 — will meet in a highly anticipated semi-final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium today.
The match is expected to be played in intense conditions, with temperatures predicted to reach the mid-30s Celsius and a full house of around 35,000 Indian supporters creating a charged atmosphere. Millions more are expected to follow the contest across television and digital platforms throughout the cricket-loving nation.
“It’s up there for sure,” Brook said when asked about the significance of the occasion.
“It’s a dream come true for most of us to play in a World Cup semi-final against the home nation on a very iconic ground,” he told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium ahead of England’s final training session.
“We’re obviously going into the game very confident. We’re playing some good cricket.
“We haven’t quite played that perfect performance, but I feel like it’s just around the corner.
“Hopefully it’s tomorrow night and we go out there and we just play with freedom, play brave and look to take it to them as much as we can.”
Third consecutive T20 World Cup
This will be the third consecutive T20 World Cup in which England and India face each other in the semi-finals, with the winner going on to lift the trophy in both previous meetings.
England dominated India by 10 wickets in Adelaide in 2022 before defeating Pakistan in the final, while India prevailed by 68 runs in Guyana in 2024 and later beat South Africa to secure the title.
“I do believe that India were favorites from the start of the competition, as they should be on their home soil, with home crowds and knowing the venues better than anyone else,” Brook said.
“But T20 is such a fickle game, anything can happen.”
England have already experienced the atmosphere at Wankhede earlier in the tournament, when they edged past Nepal in a last-ball thriller.
According to Brook, the team’s ability to win tight matches has strengthened their confidence heading into the knockout stage.
“We’ve won tight games, which in World Cups proved to be very important,” he said.
England endured an inconsistent start during the group phase but bounced back strongly in the Super Eights, securing victories over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand in closely contested matches.
“We’ve won games which we probably shouldn’t have won, and it just feels like we’ve never really been out of any game so far,” Brook added.
“It holds you in good stead in these world competitions.”
