India was asked to bat first and posted 253/7 in 20 overs in Mumbai.
India and England are facing off in the second semi-final of the current T20 World Cup 2026 on March 5, 2026, at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. India was asked to bat first after England skipper Harry Brook won the toss.
Abhishek Sharma failed yet again, scoring 7 runs. However, Sanju Samson led the way with 89 runs, including eight fours and seven sixes. Ishan Kishan (39), Shivam Dube (43), Hardik Pandya (27), and Tilak Varma (21) contributed to India's impressive 253/7 total in 20 overs.
England came out to bat with a clear plan in mind, and that was to go after the bowling. Phil Salt started well with a boundary off the very first ball of England's innings against Arshdeep Singh. But Hardik Pandya had Salt caught for 5 runs by Axar Patel to give India their first wicket.
Jos Buttler continued, but the real threat arrived in the form of England captain Harry Brook, and Suryakumar Yadav brought India’s trump card Jasprit Bumrah into the attack. He bowled a slower ball on the first delivery to Brook, and the batter tried to hit it over the covers for six.
However, the ball went up high in the air, and Axar Patel ran backwards from mid-off and made a diving effort to complete an excellent catch in the end. He was mobbed by his teammates as Brook walked back for 7 runs with England at 38/2 in the fifth over.
See the catch here:
Axar Patel's excellent catch received rich prasie from cricket fratenrity on social media.
Here are some posts:
“Catch to remember for a lifetime” ????
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) March 5, 2026
Axar Patel made it look so easy ????????#AxarPatel #T20WorldCup2026 #INDvENG
Supreme physical fitness.. a full length fearless dive.. Brilliant. #Bapu
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 5, 2026
As good a catch as any you will see from Axar. He has made a very difficult catch look easy.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 5, 2026
WHAT A CATCH BY AXAR PATEL! BRILLIANT.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 5, 2026