India are unlikely to tinker with their playing XI that has seen them beat Zimbabwe and West Indies after their loss to South Africa in the Super 8. This means that Rinku Singh is likely to miss out again.

The dew could play a very important role, and that could mean that the captain who wins the toss elects to bowl first. There will certainly be pressure on the team batting first to post at least 200 runs on the board.

As the two giants of world cricket get ready for their third semifinal encounter in three editions at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, both will be eyeing records -- hoping to become the first nation to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup thrice. Currently, besides India and England, the West Indies have won two titles.

Just an hour before the toss, India great Sunil Gavaskar has picked England as "slight favourites" in the semi-final game against Suryakumar Yadav and Co. The match will be an interesting one as both the teams are fighting for a spot in the grand finale. 

India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, also expressed concern about the potential impact of dew. He said:

"I think dew is always a big concern. But that's again something you can't control: the toss. I think at Wankhede there's always that extra bit of bounce."

"Guys can trust the bounce and play through the line, which can also, as a bowler, bring you into the game. I just feel the margins here are a lot smaller. The ball travels; it's quite a small ground," he explained.

The Wankhede Stadium, as it traditionally does, is expected to favour the batting unit more than the bowling unit. However, a few concerns remain. The pitch at Wankhede has a green tinge, deliberately maintained to lock in moisture ahead of the semi-final. This is primarily because it is a red-soil pitch, and the grass helps retain moisture, preventing the surface from drying out too quickly.

England are all set to play the semi-final for the sixth time in 10 editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, also their fourth consecutive time, and will face India in the knockout game. The Englishmen first made it to the top four in 2010, the third edition of the tournament, where they beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. 

"No, I don't believe that we need a perfect game to win the competition to be honest," Brook replied when asked if England would need that ‘perfect game’ to beat title-favourites India in their backyard. The games that we have won have been nowhere near perfect and we've still managed to get the wins convincingly in some of them and then tight (in) the other games," Harry Brook said before England's training session.

Big question before the semi-final.
Anil Chaudhary explains the situation around a possible ban on Sanju Samson.
Will Sanju miss the T20 World Cup semi-final vs England?#SanjuSamson #INDvsENG #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RIHTLOSsM4

— ND Sport (@SportsByND) March 5, 2026

Jasprit Bumrah has been phenomenal as usual but slight improvement is needed from the bowlers in the last five overs. It will be interesting to see how Surya uses his resources with Shivam Dube proving to be a risky sixth bowling option. Playing Kuldeep Yadav is always a tempting prospect but India are unlikely to tinker with their playing eleven.

At a ground with short boundaries, the spin duo of Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy will have no room for error. The mystery spinner needs to find his lengths consistently after proving a tad expensive against the West Indies and South Africa.

Ishan Kishan has gone off the boil after a sensational start to the tournament and would be backing himself to fire at his former IPL home ground. The same goes for the current Mumbai Indians stars in the national team – captain Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya.

England will have their plans ready for the two openers. Expect a barrage of short balls into the body from Jofra Archer to test Sanju Samson, who has struggled against the England tearaway in the past, while Will Jacks could trouble Sharma with his off-spin in the powerplay. Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson has also bowled in the first six overs while the hosts need to be at their best against a wily Adil Rashid in the middle overs.

Such are the ways of the game that Abhishek Sharma was in the form of his life leading into the ICC event, but his form in the tournament has taken a massive dip. The southpaw is in desperate need of a confidence-boosting innings. He did get a fifty against Zimbabwe in the Super Eight but remains far from his ballistic best.

Sanju Samson was brought back to the Indian side to break the predictability of a left-handed top-three in the powerplay and that move has worked brilliantly. More than 10 years after his India debut, the wicketkeeper-batter finally delivered on the big stage with a career-defining 97 not out in a virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies. The 31-year-old's confidence must be sky high after that special effort.

Overwhelming favourites at the start of the tournament, India have not been able to stitch together a perfect game against stronger sides in the competition. However, they have served themselves well by adopting a flexible approach after the pasting at the hands of South Africa in their Super 8 opener. It will be interesting to see their approach tonight.

Having not exactly sailed into the T20 World Cup semi-finals, India must now negotiate a potent spin threat from a dangerous England side as both teams chase perfection in tonight's high-pressure knockout game at the Wankhede Stadium.

England's leg-spinner Adil Rashid and left-arm orthodox bowler Liam Dawson have claimed 11 and 10 wickets, respectively, in the tournament so far.

India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

England Squad: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Ben Duckett, Luke Wood, Josh Tongue, Jamie Overton.

According to AccuWeather, there is a zero per cent probability of precipitation in Mumbai tonight. This means expect a complete 20-over-per-side encounter.

Hello everyone, good afternoon! Welcome to the live blog of the India vs England T20 World Cup second semi-final. While New Zealand have already made their way into the summit clash, the winner of tonight’s game will face the Blackcaps. Stay connected to this space!