2026 Men's T20 World Cup
Tenth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the tenth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Board of Control for Cricket in India and Sri Lanka Cricket from 7 February to 8 March 2026. Sri Lanka had previously hosted the competition in 2012 and India in 2016. A total of twenty teams competed in 55 matches across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.
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| Dates | 7 February – 8 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 International |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage, Super 8s and Knockout stage |
| Hosts |
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| Champions |  India (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  New Zealand |
| Participants | 20 |
| Matches | 55 |
| Player of the series | Sanju Samson |
| Most runs |  Sahibzada Farhan (383) |
| Most wickets | Jasprit Bumrah (14) Varun Chakravarthy (14) |
| Official website | icc-cricket.com |
Twenty teams competed in the tournament, which included the teams from the two hosts, six of the top seven teams from the previous edition, the four highest-ranked teams in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings not already qualified, and eight other teams determined through regional qualifiers. Italy qualified for the Men's T20 World Cup for the first time.
India were the defending champions, having won the 2024 edition. They defended their title by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final, becoming the first team to win two consecutive T20 World Cups, the first country to win the title at home, and the first team to win the tournament three times.
Background
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was first played in 2007 in South Africa, and the 2026 tournament marked its tenth edition.[1] The ninth edition, held in 2024 in the West Indies and the United States, was contested by 20 teams, and was won by India, who defeated South Africa in the final.[2]
Host selection
In November 2021, as part of the 2024–2031 ICC men's hosts cycle, the ICC announced that the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup would be played in India and Sri Lanka.[3] Initially Sri Lanka Cricket proposed to host the entire tournament, however, due to expansion of the tournament to 20 teams from the previous edition and lack of cricket stadiums in Sri Lanka, it was decided to be co-hosted with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[4] Sri Lanka had previously hosted the competition in 2012 and India in 2016.[5]
Format
The tournament's format remained the same as the previous edition. The 20 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of five each. In the group stage, each team played each of the other teams in the group once in a round-robin format, and the top two teams in each group advanced to the Super 8 stage, where the teams were placed into two groups of four teams each. Prior to the tournament, the ICC had announced the eight seeded teams based on the ICC T20I rankings, who were placed in predetermined positions in the Super 8 stage, irrespective of their position in the group stage. If an unseeded team qualified at the expense of a seeded team, it took the position of the corresponding seeded team that failed to qualify from their group. In the Super 8 stage, each team played against each of the other teams in the group once. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage, which consisted of two semi-finals, the winners of which faced off in the final.[6][7][8] No points were carried over between stages.[9]
Schedule
In the 2023–2027 ICC Men's Future Tours Programme, the tournament was scheduled to be held in February–March 2026.[10] The ICC announced the final schedule on 25 November 2025, with the tournament scheduled to take place from 7 February to 8 March 2026. The teams will play 55 matches across five venues in India and three venues in Sri Lanka.[5][11] On 26 January 2026, the ICC announced that warm-up matches would be held from 2 to 6 February.[12][13][14]
Prize money
While the ICC has not officially announced the prizes, media reports indicated an allocation of $13.5 million for the tournament.[15]
Marketing
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 "Feel the Thrill" on YouTube | |
| "Feel the Thrill (Tamil Sinhalese version)" on YouTube |
In November 2025, former Indian captain Rohit Sharma was named as an ambassador for the tournament.[16] The official theme song for the tournament, "Feel the Thrill", produced and performed by Anirudh Ravichander with lyrics by Heisenberg and Raqueeb Alam, was released on 30 January 2026.[17] A remix version featuring Sri Lankan artist Dinesh Gamage, sub-titled "Tamil Sinhalese version", which replaced Hindi verses with Tamil and Sinhala verses, was released on 7 February.[18] A promotional event, the "Captains' Carnival", featuring all the team captains and social media influencers, was held on 5 February in Mumbai and Colombo.[19][20] On 6 February, the ICC announced that an opening ceremony would be held at the Wankhede Stadium ahead of the third match of the opening day between India and the United States.[21] Badshah, Nora Fatehi, Rishab Sharma, and Sivamani performed at the opening ceremony.[22][23]
Qualification
The hosts, India and Sri Lanka,[24] along with the top seven teams from the 2024 tournament: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, the United States, and the West Indies; directly qualified for the 2026 tournament. The remaining three direct qualification places were allocated to the next best-ranked teams in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings as on 30 June 2024, that had not finished in the top seven: Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan.[25] The eight remaining places were filled through the ICC's regional qualifiers, consisting of two teams each from Africa and Europe regions, three teams combined from Asia and East Asia-Pacific and one team from the Americas.[26][27][28] In June 2025, Canada qualified for the World Cup from the Americas region,[29] followed by Italy and Netherlands from the Europe region in July.[30] In October 2025, Namibia and Zimbabwe qualified from the Africa region,[31] followed by Nepal, Oman, and United Arab Emirates from the combined Asia-EAP qualifier.[32] Italy qualified for the men's T20 World Cup for the first time.[33] Ahead of the 2026 tournament, Bangladesh withdrew from the tournament, and they were replaced by the next highest ranked T20I team: Scotland.[34]
| Method of qualification | No. of teams | Teams | T20I ranking[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts | 2 | India | 1 |
 Sri Lanka | 8 | ||
| 2024 Men's T20 World Cup (Top teams from the previous tournament, excluding hosts) | 6 (7) |  Afghanistan | 10 |
 Australia | 2 | ||
 Bangladesh | 9 | ||
 England | 3 | ||
 South Africa | 5 | ||
 United States | 18 | ||
 West Indies | 7 | ||
| ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings | 4 (3) |  Ireland | 12 |
| New Zealand | 4 | ||
| Pakistan | 6 | ||
 Scotland[b] | 14 | ||
| Americas Qualifier | 1 |  Canada | 19 |
| Europe Qualifier | 2 |  Italy | 26 |
 Netherlands | 13 | ||
| Africa Qualifier | 2 |  Namibia | 15 |
 Zimbabwe | 11 | ||
| Asia–EAP Qualifier | 3 |  Nepal | 16 |
 Oman | 20 | ||
 United Arab Emirates | 17 | ||
| Total | 20 |
- The ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings as on 1 February 2026, before the start of the tournament.[36]
- Following the Bangladesh Cricket Board's refusal to play in India, Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland, the next highest ranked T20I team.[34]
Venues
On 6 November 2025, the ICC announced the finalised venues for the World Cup, five in India: Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai; and three in Sri Lanka: R. Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo and Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy.[37][5]
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Squads
Match officials
On 30 January 2026, the ICC released the list of match referees and umpires for the tournament.[40]
- Match referees
- Umpires
Roland Black
Chris Brown
Kumar Dharmasena- Chris Gaffaney
Adrian Holdstock
Richard Illingworth- Richard Kettleborough
- Wayne Knights
Donovan Koch
Jayaraman Madanagopal- Nitin Menon
- Sam Nogajski
- K. N. Ananthapadmanabhan
- Allahudien Paleker
Ahsan Raza
Leslie Reifer- Paul Reiffel
Langton Rusere
Sharfuddoula- Gazi Sohel
- Rod Tucker
- Alex Wharf
- Raveendra Wimalasiri
- Asif Yaqoob
Warm-up matches
A total of 16 warm-up matches were played from 2 to 6 February, involving 18 teams participating in the World Cup in addition to the India A and Sri Lanka A teams.[12][13] The warm-up matches were held at four venues in India: BCCI Centre of Excellence Grounds 1 & 2 in Bengaluru, M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai; and three in Sri Lanka: Colombo Cricket Club Ground, R. Premadasa Stadium and SSC Cricket Ground in Colombo.[14] Sri Lanka and England played a three-match T20I series from 30 January to 3 February at the Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy as preparation for the World Cup.[41]
Warm-up matches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Group stage
The ICC announced the groups and fixtures on 25 November 2025, with group stage played from 7 to 20 February.[5][11] The 20 teams were divided into four groups of five with each team facing the other teams in the group. The group stage featured a total of 40 matches.[6] The opening match was played between Netherlands and Pakistan at the SSC Cricket Ground on 7 February.[42] The following table lists teams in order of their initial group stage seedings.[9]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (H) |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2.500 | Advanced to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | Pakistan |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.976 | |
| 3 | United States |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.788 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Netherlands |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1.217 | |
| 5 | Namibia |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | −3.108 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
(H) Hosts
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Bas de Leede (Ned) played in his 100th international match.[45]
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- United States won the toss and elected to field.
- Mohammad Mohsin and Shubham Ranjane (USA) both made their T20I debuts.[46]
- Saurabh Netravalkar (USA) surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya's record for conceding the most runs in a T20 World Cup innings (0–65).[47]
- This was India's ninth consecutive win in the T20 World Cup, the longest winning streak in the tournament.[48]
- Suryakumar Yadav (Ind) surpassed Virat Kohli's record for the most player of the match awards by an Indian in T20Is (17).[49]
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- Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
- Willem Myburgh (Nam) made his T20I debut.[50]
- This was Namibia's maiden international game in India.[51]
- Ruben Trumpelmann (Nam) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.[52]
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- United States won the toss and elected to field.
- Ehsan Adil (USA) made his T20I debut.[53]
- Shaheen Afridi (Pak) played in his 100th T20I match.[54]
- Sahibzada Farhan (Pak) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.[55]
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- Namibia won the toss and elected to field.
- Ishan Kishan became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score half-century in the T20 World Cup.[56]
- India's extended their record winning-streak in the T20 World Cup to ten consecutive wins.[57]
- This was India's largest winning margin in a T20 World Cup match, surpassing their previous winning margin of 90 runs against England in 2012.[58]
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- Netherlands won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the largest winning margin in a T20 World Cup match by an associate nation.[59]
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- United States won the toss and elected to bat.
- Monank Patel (USA) became the first player for the United States to score 1000 runs in T20Is.[60]
- Zane Green (Nam) became the first player to be retired out in the 2026 tournament and second overall in the T20 World Cup history.[61]
- Namibia were eliminated as a result of this match.[62]
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
- This was India's highest total against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup history.[63]
- This was India's biggest win (by runs) against Pakistan in T20Is.[64]
- India's extended their record winning-streak in T20 World Cup to eleven consecutive wins.[65]
- This was India's sixteenth consecutive win in ICC limited-overs tournaments, the longest winning streak by any team.[66]
- India qualified for the Super 8 as a result of this match.[65]
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sahibzada Farhan (Pak) scored his maiden century in T20Is.[67] This was the third century in the 2026 tournament and 14th overall in the T20 World Cup history.[68]
- This was Pakistan's largest winning margin in a T20 World Cup match, surpassing their previous winning margin of 82 runs against Netherlands in 2009.[69]
- Pakistan qualified for the Super 8 while Netherlands and United States were eliminated as a result of this match.[70][71]
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Group B
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
(H) Hosts
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the first time Oman and Zimbabwe faced each other in T20Is.[75]
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- Australia won the toss and elected to bat.
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- Oman won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the first time Oman and Sri Lanka faced each other in T20Is.[76]
- Dasun Shanaka scored the fastest half-century (19 balls) in T20Is for Sri Lanka and equalled with Rohit Sharma for the fastest half-century by a captain in the T20 World Cup.[77][78][79]
- Mohammad Nadeem (Oma) became the oldest player (43 years and 161 days) to score a half-century in a Men's T20 World Cup.[80]
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- Australia won the toss and elected to field.
- Blessing Muzarabani became the third player for Zimbabwe to take 100 wickets in T20Is.[81]
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- Oman won the toss and elected to field.
- Aamir Kaleem (Oma) became the oldest player (44 years and 86 days) to score a half-century in a Men's T20 World Cup, surpassing Mohammad Nadeem.[82]
- Oman were eliminated as a result of this match.[83]
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- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
- Pathum Nissanka became the second player from Sri Lanka to score a century in T20 World Cup and the second Sri Lankan to score 2,500 T20I runs.[84][85] This was the first century in the 2026 tournament and 12th overall in the T20 World Cup history.[68]
- This was the highest successful run chase by Sri Lanka in T20 World Cups.[86]
- Sri Lanka qualified for the Super 8 as a result of this match.[87]
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- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.
- Dasun Shanaka became the first Sri Lankan to take 50 catches in T20Is.[citation needed]
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- Australia won the toss and elected to field.
- Glenn Maxwell (Aus) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.[90]
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Indies |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.874 | Advanced to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | England |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.201 | |
| 3 | Scotland |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0.184 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Italy |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1.020 | |
| 5 | Nepal |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1.349 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
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- Scotland won the toss and elected to field.
- Oliver Davidson (Sco) made his T20I debut.[91]
- Tom Bruce played his first T20I for Scotland after having previously played 17 T20Is for New Zealand, becoming the 24th cricketer to represent two international teams in T20Is.[92]
- Shimron Hetmyer (WI) broke Chris Gayle's record of the fastest half-century by a West Indies batter in the T20 World Cup (22 balls).[93]
- Jason Holder (WI) became the first player for West Indies to take 100 wickets in T20Is.[94]
- Romario Shepherd (WI) took his second hat-trick and maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is and the 13th overall in T20 World Cups. This was the first hat-trick in this edition and overall the tenth in the T20 World Cup.[95]
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- England won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the first time England and Nepal faced each other in T20Is.[96]
- Sher Malla (Nep) made his T20I debut. He became the second Nepali player and the 30th player overall to take a wicket with his first ball in T20Is.[97]
- Dipendra Singh Airee (Nep) became the first Nepali cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20Is.[98]
- This was Nepal's highest-ever innings total in the T20 World Cup (180).[99]
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- England won the toss and elected to field.
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Anthony Mosca 62* (32) |
- Italy won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the first time Italy and Nepal faced each other in T20Is.[102]
- This was the first World Cup match victory for Italy across all formats.[103]
- This was Italy's first 10-wicket win in T20Is and the eighth overall in T20 World Cups.[104]
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- England won the toss and elected to field.
- Jos Buttler (Eng) played in his 150th T20I match and scored his 4,000th run in T20Is.[105]
- Jofra Archer (Eng) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.[106]
- This was England's maiden victory against a European country in T20 World Cups.[107]
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- Nepal won the toss and elected to field.
- This was Nepal's first win in a T20 World Cup match after 12 years.[112]
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- Italy won the toss and elected to field.
- Jason Holder (WI) played in his 300th international match.[113]
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.943 | Advanced to the Super 8 stage |
| 2 | New Zealand |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1.227 | |
| 3 | Afghanistan |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.889 | Eliminated |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −1.364 | |
| 5 | Canada |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | −2.426 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Gulbadin Naib (Afg) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is.[114]
- Tim Seifert (NZ) scored his 2,000th run in T20Is.[115]
- This was New Zealand's highest run chase in the T20 World Cup.[116]
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- Canada won the toss and elected to field.
- This was the first time South Africa and Canada faced each other in T20Is.[117]
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Tim Seifert 89* (42) |
- United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat.
- Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu's 107-run partnership is the highest for any wicket by the UAE in the T20 World Cup.[118]
- This was the UAE's highest innings total in the T20 World Cup (173).[119]
- Tim Seifert and Finn Allen (NZ) both hit their 100th six in T20Is.[120]
- Tim Seifert and Finn Allen's 175-run partnership was the highest partnership ever in the T20 World Cup.[119]
- This was New Zealand's fourth 10-wicket win in T20Is and the seventh overall in T20 World Cups.[121]
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Super Over: Afghanistan 17/0, South Africa 17/1.
- Second Super Over: South Africa 23/0, Afghanistan 19/2.
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- Canada won the toss and elected to bat.
- Junaid Siddique (UAE) took his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is and the 14th overall in T20 World Cups.[122]
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- South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
- Quinton de Kock (SA) became the first South African to score 3,000 runs in T20Is.[123]
- Aiden Markram scored the fastest half-century (19 balls) for South Africa in the T20 World Cup and equalled with Rohit Sharma and Dasun Shanaka for the fastest half-century by a captain in the T20 World Cup.[124]
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- Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.
- Rashid Khan (Afg) took his 700th wicket in the T20 format, the first cricketer to achieve this milestone.[125]
- South Africa qualified for the Super 8 as a result of this match.[126]
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- Canada won the toss and elected to bat.
- This was the first time Canada and New Zealand faced each other in T20Is.[127]
- Yuvraj Samra and Dilpreet Bajwa's 116-run partnership is the highest for any wicket by Canada in the T20 World Cup.[128]
- Yuvraj Samra became the first Canadian player, the first player from an Associate nation and the youngest player from any nation to score a century in a T20 World Cup.[129][130] This was the second century in the 2026 tournament and 13th overall in the T20 World Cup history.[68]
- New Zealand qualified for the Super 8 while Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and Canada were eliminated as a result of this match.[131][132]
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Dewald Brevis 36 (25) Muhammad Arfan 1/16 (2 overs) |
- South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
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- Canada won the toss and elected to field.
Super 8 stage
The top two teams from the four groups advanced to the Super 8 stage, where they were divided into two groups of four teams each. In the Super 8 stage, each team played the others in their respective group in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals.[6]
Prior to the tournament, eight teams were pre-seeded for the Super 8 stage based on the T20I rankings at the time:[9] Australia, India,[65] South Africa,[126] and the West Indies[108] in Group 1; England,[111] New Zealand,[131] Pakistan,[70] and Sri Lanka[87] in Group 2.[133] Australia did not qualify for the Super 8 stage, and their place was taken by Zimbabwe.[89][88] Due to the pre-seeding, all of the group stage winners ended up in Group 1, and all the runners-up in Group 2.[134] The ICC faced criticism for its pre-seeding system with critics also commenting that its tournaments have always been similarly unfair.[135][136] The ICC replied that the pre-seedings were made to enable fans to safely arrange travel for their team's games.[137]
| Qualification | Super 8 stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
| Advanced from the group stage (Top 2 teams from each group) |
A | India | Pakistan |
B | Zimbabwe | Sri Lanka | |
C | West Indies | England | |
D | South Africa | New Zealand | |
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2.259 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 2 | India (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.106 | |
| 3 | West Indies |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.993 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Zimbabwe |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | −3.415 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
(H) Hosts
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- South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.
- South Africa broke India's record 12-match win streak in T20 World Cups.[138]
- This was India's first loss at an ICC limited-overs competition since the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.[139]
- This was India's largest loss margin (by runs) in the history of T20 World Cup.[140]
- Jasprit Bumrah broke Ravichandran Ashwin's record for most wickets taken by an Indian in the T20 World Cup.[141]
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
- Shimron Hetmyer (WI) scored the fastest half-century (19 balls) for West Indies in T20Is.[142]
- West Indies recorded the second highest total in the T20 World Cup.[143]
- Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava (Zim) recorded the highest partnership for the 10th wicket in the T20 World Cup.[144]
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- South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
- Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd (WI) recorded the highest partnership for the 8th wicket in T20Is.[145]
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field.
- Suryakumar Yadav (Ind) completed 4,000 international runs during the match.[146]
- India recorded their highest total and the second highest total by any team in the T20 World Cup.[147]
- South Africa qualified for their second consecutive and overall fourth T20 World Cup semi-final while Zimbabwe were eliminated as a result of this match.[148]
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
- Lungi Ngidi became the first South African cricketer to take 90 wickets in T20Is.[149]
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Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.096 | Advanced to the knockout stage |
| 2 | New Zealand |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.390 | |
| 3 | Pakistan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −0.123 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Sri Lanka (H) |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | −1.950 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams; 5) T20I Rankings ahead of the tournament[9]
(H) Hosts
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- No play was possible due to rain.
- This was the 50th T20I game between New Zealand and Pakistan.[152]
- Daryl Mitchell (NZ) played in his 100th T20I match.[153]
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- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
- Shadab Khan (Pak) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is. He also became the first cricketer from Pakistan to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is.[154]
- Harry Brook (Eng) scored his maiden century in T20Is. He also became the first captain to score a century in the T20 World Cup.[155][156] This was the fourth century in the 2026 tournament and 15th overall in the T20 World Cup history.[68]
- England qualified for their fifth consecutive and overall sixth T20 World Cup semi-final as a result of this match.[157]
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- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
- Mitchell Santner (NZ) scored his 1,000th run in T20Is. He also became the first cricketer from New Zealand to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in T20Is.[158]
- Sri Lanka were eliminated as a result of this match.[159]
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat.
- Matt Henry (NZ) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.
- Will Jacks (Eng) equalled Shane Watson's 2012 record for the most player of the match awards by a player in a single edition of the T20 World Cup (4).[160]
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- Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field.
- Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman's 176-run partnership for Pakistan was the highest partnership ever in the T20 World Cup.[161]
- Sahibzada Farhan (Pak) broke Virat Kohli's 2014 record for most runs scored in a single edition of the T20 World Cup (383 runs).[162] He also became the first batsman to score two centuries in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.[163] This was the fifth century in the 2026 tournament and 16th overall in the T20 World Cup history.[68]
- Abrar Ahmed (Pak) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.[164]
- Dasun Shanaka became the first Sri Lankan to hit 100 sixes in T20Is and the first captain to score 20 sixes in the T20 World Cup.[165][166] He also broke Kusal Perera's 2017 record for most sixes in a T20I innings for Sri Lanka (8 sixes).[165]
- New Zealand qualified for their fifth T20 World Cup semi-final while Pakistan were eliminated as a result of this match.[167][168]
Knockout stage
The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals to be played on 4 and 5 March, and the final on 8 March.[6] Both semi-finals and the final have a reserve day available on 5, 6, and 9 March respectively. If a reserve day came into play, the match would not be restarted but instead resumed from the previous day's play, if there was any; with the semi-finals commencing at 15:00 and final at 19:00 (both UTC+05:30).[9][169] In the event of no minimum play (at least 10 overs per side) on the scheduled day and the reserve day, in the semi-finals, the team that finished higher in the Super 8 stage would progress to the final, and if no play were possible in the final, the teams would be declared as joint-winners.[9] If any match ended in a tie, a Super Over would be used to determine the winner. If the scores in the Super Over were also tied, subsequent Super Overs will be played until there's a winner.[9]
The first semi-final and the final are scheduled to be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad respectively but both would have been moved to the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if Pakistan had qualified. The second semi-final will be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.[170][169] If Pakistan fails to qualify while either India or Sri Lanka qualifies they would have played in semi-final 2 and semi-final 1 respectively.[9] If Sri Lanka is not to face against India semi-final 1 would have been moved to Colombo as well.[171] Otherwise, group 1 winner and group 2 runner-up will play in semi-final 1 while, group 2 winner and group 1 runner-up will play in semi-final 2.[9]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 1W | South Africa
| 169/8 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 2R | New Zealand
| 173/1 (12.5 overs) | |||||||
| SF1W | New Zealand
| 159 (19 overs) | |||||||
| SF2W | India
| 255/5 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 2W | England
| 246/7 (20 overs) | |||||||
| 1R | India
| 253/7 (20 overs) | |||||||
Semi-finals
v |
||
- New Zealand won the toss and elected to field.
- Finn Allen broke Glenn Phillips's record for the fastest half-century by a New Zealand batter in the T20 World Cup.[173]
- Finn Allen (NZ) scored the fastest century in the T20 World Cup and became the first player to score a century in T20 World Cup knockouts.[174] This was the sixth century in the 2026 tournament and 17th overall in the T20 World Cup.[68]
- New Zealand qualified for their second T20 World Cup final.[175]
|
|
Final
|
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. Batting first, Indian opener Sanju Samson scored 89 runs from 46 balls along with half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. James Neesham dismissed Samson, Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the 16th over. In the final two overs, Shivam Dube scored 26 runs from 8 balls to take India to the total of 255 runs for the loss of five wickets. Chasing the target, New Zealand opener Tim Seifert was the only batter from the side to register a 50+ score. Mitchell Santner scored 43 runs, Daryl Mitchell scored 17 runs, while the remaining batters were dismissed for single-digit scores; bundling out New Zealand for 159. Jasprit Bumrah picked up four wickets for India, giving away only 15 runs in 4 overs and received the player of the match award.[183][184][185] The match was attended by 86,824 fans.[186]
|
|
Statistics
| Runs | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 383 | Sahibzada Farhan | Pakistan |
| 326 | Tim Seifert | New Zealand |
| 321 | Sanju Samson | India |
| 317 | Ishan Kishan | India |
| 298 | Finn Allen | New Zealand |
| Wickets | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Jasprit Bumrah | India |
| Varun Chakravarthy | India | |
| 13 | Shadley van Schalkwyk | United States |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Zimbabwe | |
| Adil Rashid | England | |
Team of the tournament
On 9 March, the ICC announced its team of the tournament with Sanju Samson being named as player of the tournament and Aiden Markram as the captain of the team.[194]
| Player | Team | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sahibzada Farhan | Pakistan | Batter |
| Sanju Samson | India | Wicket-keeper |
| Ishan Kishan | India | Batter |
| Aiden Markram | South Africa | Batter (captain) |
| Hardik Pandya | India | All-rounder |
| Will Jacks | England | |
| Jason Holder | West Indies | |
| Jasprit Bumrah | India | Bowler |
| Lungi Ngidi | South Africa | |
| Adil Rashid | England | |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Zimbabwe | |
| Shadley van Schalkwyk | United States | 12th man |
Controversies
Withdrawal of Bangladesh
After the Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders, on the BCCI's request, from the 2026 Indian Premier League squad, on 3 January 2026, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested for Bangladesh's matches at the World Cup to be moved from India, citing security reasons.[195][196] Officials from the ICC met with members of the BCB to try and find a solution to the issue.[197] On 6 January, ESPNcricinfo reported that the ICC rejected the BCB's request and Bangladesh would forfeit points if they refused to play.[198] A day later, the BCB denied this, stating, "the ICC has conveyed its willingness to work closely with the BCB to address [our] concerns".[199]
On 12 January, media reported that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and the Kerala Cricket Association offered to host the matches at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai and Greenfield International Stadium at Thiruvananthapuram respectively instead of Eden Gardens and Wankhede Stadium in India.[200] The same day, the ICC refused Bangladesh's security assessment, stating that "there was no overall threat to the [team]" and that there was "low to moderate risks [to the team] in some venues and low to nil in others".[201] A day later, the BCB reiterated its request to move Bangladesh's matches outside of India citing security concerns.[202] On 17 January, the BCB requested to swap groups with Ireland, who were scheduled to play their matches in Sri Lanka, which was rejected by the ICC.[203]
On 18 January, the ICC announced that the final decision on the matter would be taken after the board meeting scheduled on 21 January.[204] Following the meeting on 21 January, the ICC refused to shift Bangladesh's matches, and offered a revised deadline of one day for the BCB to decide on the participation.[205][206] The next day, the BCB reiterated their refusal to play in India.[207] On 24 January, the ICC officially announced that Bangladesh would be replaced by Scotland, the next highest ranked team in the ICC T20I rankings, who had not qualified for the tournament.[208][209] In a press release issued on 9 February 2026, the ICC stated that no financial, sporting, or administrative penalty would be imposed on the BCB with regards to its withdrawal from the tournament. It also said that the BCB have the right to appeal against the same as per existing ICC regulations, and Bangladesh would be given the hosting rights to an ICC event in the 2028–2031 events cycle.[210]
India–Pakistan tensions
On 1 February, the Pakistani government allowed its cricket team to participate in the World Cup but directed the team not to play its match against India on February 15. While the PCB did not officially communicate the decision to the ICC, it was reportedly taken in protest against the ICC's refusal to relocate Bangladesh's matches out of India.[211][212] The ICC warned the PCB of possible sanctions for a potential boycott of the match against India.[213] Following discussions between the ICC, PCB and BCB, on 9 February,[210] the Pakistan government announced that it was directing the team to take part in the match against India.[214]
During the India–Pakistan match on the 15 February 2026, there was no handshake between the Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and the Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha, which typically happens during coin tosses, and among players after the match is concluded.[215][216] This policy has continued since the 2025 Asia Cup, due to the Pahalgam terror attack and the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict.[217] However, this is the first time this has occurred in an ICC tournament.[218]
Broadcasting
JioStar handled the global broadcasting rights as part of its deal with the ICC,[219] and the global broadcasters for the tournament were confirmed by the ICC on 5 February 2026.[220][221] The matches were broadcast across more than 80 territories.[221] The matches were also broadcast through ICC.tv and the ICC's official YouTube channel.[222] JioHotstar provided a vertical live feed along with 360 degree view and multi-camera features.[220] The ICC partnered with American sports podcaster Jomboy to provide an alternate commentary feed for American viewers.[223][224]
| Region | Country/Sub-region | Broadcasting licensee(s) | Broadcasting platforms | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | Middle East and North Africa | E& | CricLife Max & StarzPlay | N/a |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | SuperSport | SS Cricket | ||
| Americas | Canada | Willow | Willow TV & Cricbuzz | N/a |
| Caribbean Islands | ESPN | ESPN Caribbean & Disney+ | ||
| United States | Willow | Willow TV & Cricbuzz | ||
| Asia | Afghanistan | Lemar TV | Lemar TV | N/a |
| Bangladesh | TSM | Nagorik TV, T Sports, Toffee & Rabbithole | ||
| Bahrain | N/a | VOX & Epix Cinemas | ||
| Qatar | N/a | VOX & Epix Cinemas | ||
| Kuwait | N/a | VOX & Epix Cinemas | ||
| China | International Cricket Council | Douyin (only final)[225] | ||
| Hong Kong | Cricbuzz | Cricbuzz, Astro Cricket & PCCW | ||
| India | Disney Star | Star Sports & JioHotstar | All India Radio | |
| Malaysia | Cricbuzz | Cricbuzz, Astro Cricket & PCCW | N/a | |
| Nepal | Kantipur Television | Kantipur MAX & Styx Nepal | ||
| Oman | N/a | VOX Cinemas | ||
| Pakistan | PTV & Myco | PTV Sports & Geo Super Myco, Tamasha, ARY ZAP & Tapmad | ||
| Pacific Islands | Digicel | PNG Digicel | ||
| Singapore | Hub Sports | Hub Sports 4 | ||
| Sri Lanka | Dialog TV | Dialog Play, Peo TV, ThePapare & TV Supreme | FM Derana | |
| United Arab Emirates | N/a | VOX Cinemas, Reel, Roxy, Cinepolis & Star | N/a | |
| Europe | Ireland | Sky Sports | Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Go | N/a |
| Italy | Sky Sports | Sky Italia(All italy matches and the semi finals and finals) | ||
| Netherlands | NOS | NOS | ||
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports | Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Go & Now | BBC Radio | |
| Oceania | Australia | Amazon | Prime Video | ABC Radio & SEN |
| New Zealand | Sky TV NZ | Sky Sport & Sky Sport Now | N/a | |
| In-flight & At sea | Sport 24 | Sport 24 & Sport 24 Live | N/a | |
| Rest of the world | International Cricket Council | ICC.tv & YouTube | N/a | |
Commentators
The ICC released the following list of commentators for the tournament on 6 February 2026.[226][227]
- Roshan Abeysinghe
- Wasim Akram
- Russel Arnold
- Michael Atherton
- Samuel Badree
- Temba Bavuma
- Harsha Bhogle
- Ian Bishop
- Carlos Brathwaite
- Simon Doull
- Aaron Finch
- Sunil Gavaskar
- Natalie Germanos
- Matthew Hayden
- Mark Howard
- Nasser Hussain
- Raunak Kapoor
- Dinesh Karthik
- Athar Ali Khan
- Bazid Khan
- Nick Knight
- Andrew Leonard
- Katey Martin
- Angelo Mathews
- Mpumelelo Mbangwa
- Preston Mommsen
- Eoin Morgan
- Danny Morrison
- Kass Naidoo
- Niall O'Brien
- Shaun Pollock
- Ramiz Raja
- Kumar Sangakkara
- Ravi Shastri
- Ian Smith
- Dale Steyn
- Robin Uthappa
- Ian Ward
- Alan Wilkins
- Waqar Younis
