The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has been an exhilarating showcase of fast-paced cricket, featuring 20 teams battling it out in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, 2026. As defending champions, India has dominated headlines, but upsets from teams like Zimbabwe and stellar performances from New Zealand have kept fans on the edge. This comprehensive article covers everything you need to know about the T20 World Cup 2026 schedule, teams, all matches with results, key records, and a detailed prediction for today’s final between India and New Zealand. Whether you’re searching for “T20 World Cup 2026 final prediction,” “T20 WC teams and squads,” or “highest scores in T20 World Cup,” we’ve got you covered.
Overview of T20 World Cup 2026
Co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, the tournament expanded to 20 teams, playing 55 matches across eight venues: five in India (Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru) and three in Sri Lanka (Colombo, Galle, Kandy). The format included a group stage (February 7–20), Super Eight (February 21–March 1), semifinals (March 4–5), and the final on March 8 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Key highlights:
- Total Matches: 55 (40 group stage, 12 Super Eight, 2 semifinals, 1 final).
- Teams Qualified: Hosts India and Sri Lanka, top teams from 2024 (Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies), rankings qualifiers (Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan), and regional winners (Canada, Italy, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, UAE, Zimbabwe).
- Biggest Upset: Zimbabwe’s victory over Australia in the group stage.
- Highest Attendance: India vs Pakistan match in Colombo drew over 30,000 fans.
The tournament emphasized sustainability, with eco-friendly venues and digital ticketing. Warm-up matches were held from February 2–6.
T20 World Cup 2026 Teams and Squads
Twenty teams were divided into four groups of five. Here’s a breakdown with captains and key players (squads as confirmed by ICC on February 1, 2026).
Group A: India, Pakistan, Netherlands, Namibia, USA
- India (Captain: Suryakumar Yadav): Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh. Strength: Explosive batting, spin attack.
- Pakistan (Captain: Babar Azam): Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Salman Agha.
- Netherlands (Captain: Scott Edwards): Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma, Tim Pringle, Saqib Zulfiqar, Kyle Klein, Daniel Doram, Wesley Barresi, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
- Namibia (Captain: Gerhard Erasmus): Zane Green (wk), JP Kotze, Michael van Lingen, Jan Frylinck, JJ Smit, David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Jack Brassell, Niko Davin, Malan Kruger, Dylan Leicher, Peter-Daniel Blignaut.
- USA (Captain: Monank Patel): Steven Taylor, Andries Gous (wk), Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Shayan Jahangir, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Yasir Mohammad.
Group B: Australia, Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe
- Australia (Captain: Mitchell Marsh): Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Steve Smith. Reserve: Sean Abbott.
- Ireland (Captain: Paul Stirling): Andrew Balbirnie, Ross Adair, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Craig Young, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Neil Rock, Ben White.
- Oman (Captain: Zeeshan Maqsood): Kashyap Prajapati, Naseem Khushi (wk), Aqib Ilyas, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmed, Rafiullah, Khalid Kail, Shoaib Khan, Jay Odedra.
- Sri Lanka (Captain: Wanindu Hasaranga): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage, Janith Liyanage, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Binura Fernando.
- Zimbabwe (Captain: Sikandar Raza): Joylord Gumbie (wk), Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Clive Madande, Wesley Madhevere, Brandon Mavuta, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, Johnathan Campbell, Innocent Kaia, Alistair Frost, Trevor Gwandu.
Group C: England, Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies
- England (Captain: Harry Brook): Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood.
- Italy (Captain: Gareth Berg): Wayne Madsen, Joe Burns, Marcus Campopiano, Benjamin Manenti, Harry Manenti, Gian-Piero Meade (wk), Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Madupa Fernando, Grant Stewart, Jaspreet Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Baljit Singh, Zain Naqvi, Crishan Kalugamage.
- Nepal (Captain: Rohit Paudel): Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Anil Sah, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sundeep Jora, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Sagar Dhakal, Abinash Bohara, Lalit Rajbanshi, Pratis GC, Surya Tamang, Bibek Yadav.
- Scotland (Captain: Richie Berrington): Matthew Cross (wk), Oli Hairs, George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Chris Sole, Bradley Currie, Safyaan Sharif, Jack Jarvis, Charlie Tear, Gavin Main, Hamza Tahir.
- West Indies (Captain: Rovman Powell): Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy, Shamar Joseph, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde.
Group D: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa, UAE
- Afghanistan (Captain: Rashid Khan): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zia Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai.
- Bangladesh (Captain: Najmul Hossain Shanto): Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Afif Hossain.
- Canada (Captain: Dilpreet Bajwa): Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskarandeep Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva (wk), Yuvraj Samra.
- South Africa (Captain: Aiden Markram): Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.
- UAE (Captain: Muhammad Waseem): Vriitya Aravind (wk), Asif Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Aayan Khan, Ali Naseer, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Omid Rahman, Raja Akif, Zahoor Khan, Nilansh Keswani, Aryan Lakra, Tanish Suri.
Top performers included India’s Ishan Kishan (263 runs) and Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan (leading run-scorer with 383).
Complete T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule and Match Results
The group stage saw intense competition, with India, South Africa, England, and New Zealand topping their groups. Here’s a summarized table of all matches (results as of March 7, 2026). Times in IST; venues abbreviated (e.g., COL = Colombo).
Group Stage (Feb 7–20)
| Date | Match | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 7 | Netherlands vs Pakistan (Group A) | COL | Pakistan 148/7 beat Netherlands 147 by 3 wickets |
| Feb 7 | West Indies vs Scotland (Group C) | Kolkata | West Indies 182/5 beat Scotland 147 by 35 runs |
| Feb 7 | India vs USA (Group A) | Mumbai | India 161/9 beat USA 132/8 by 29 runs |
| Feb 8 | Afghanistan vs New Zealand (Group D) | Chennai | New Zealand 183/5 beat Afghanistan 182/6 by 5 wickets |
| Feb 8 | England vs Nepal (Group C) | Mumbai | England 184/7 beat Nepal 180/6 by 4 runs |
| … (Abbreviating for brevity; full group results led to qualifiers: Group A – India, Pakistan; Group B – Australia, Zimbabwe; Group C – England, West Indies; Group D – South Africa, New Zealand) |
Super Eight qualifiers: Group 1 (India, West Indies, South Africa, Zimbabwe); Group 2 (England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka).
Super Eight (Feb 21–Mar 1)
| Date | Match | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21 | India vs Zimbabwe (Group 1) | Chennai | India 256/4 beat Zimbabwe by massive margin (highest total) |
| Feb 22 | West Indies vs South Africa (Group 1) | Kolkata | West Indies 254/6 beat South Africa |
| … | England vs Sri Lanka (Group 2) | COL | England won |
| Mar 1 | India vs West Indies (Group 1) | Mumbai | India won, eliminating West Indies |
Knockouts
| Date | Match | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4 | Semifinal 1: South Africa vs New Zealand | Bengaluru | New Zealand 173/1 beat South Africa 169/8 by 9 wickets |
| Mar 5 | Semifinal 2: England vs India | Mumbai | India 253/7 beat England 246/7 by 7 runs |
| Mar 8 | Final: India vs New Zealand | Ahmedabad | Upcoming (starts 15:30 IST) |
India remained unbeaten (7 wins), while New Zealand staged comebacks.
T20 World Cup Records (2007–2026)
The 2026 edition shattered several records:
- Highest Team Total: 260/6 by Sri Lanka vs Kenya (2007); 2026 highs: India 256/4 vs Zimbabwe, West Indies 254/6 vs Zimbabwe .
- Most Runs (Career): Virat Kohli (1,141); 2026 leader: Sahibzada Farhan (383) .
- Highest Individual Score: Yuvraj Samra (110) for Canada .
- Most Wickets (Career): Shakib Al Hasan (47); 2026: Lungi Ngidi (12) .
- Best Batting Average (2026): Brian Bennett (146.00) .
- Most Wins (2026): India and South Africa (7 each) .
- Highest Match Aggregate: 459/12 (England vs South Africa, 2016); 2026 semi-final India vs England (499 runs) close .
India’s 256/4 is their highest in T20 WC history .
Today’s Final: India vs New Zealand – Score Predictor and Who Will Win
Today’s final (March 8, 2026, 15:30 IST at Narendra Modi Stadium) pits defending champions India against resilient New Zealand. Pitch report: Ahmedabad’s surface favors batsmen early but assists spinners later; expect 160–180 as par score. Weather: Clear skies, 28°C.
Team Analysis
- India: Unbeaten run, home advantage. Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, Bumrah’s pace (economy 5.5), Kuldeep’s spin, and Kishan’s form (263 runs) make them favorites. Weakness: Middle-order collapses in chases.
- New Zealand: Underdogs but clutch performers. Finn Allen (289 runs), Trent Boult’s swing, and Mitchell Santner’s control shine. They beat South Africa in semis but struggle against spin.
Score Predictor
- If India bats first: 185–195 (Kishan 50+, Pandya fireworks).
- If New Zealand bats first: 165–175 (Allen aggressive start).
- Predicted total: High-scoring affair, 350+ aggregate.
Who Will Win?
India will win by 15–20 runs or 4 wickets. Their depth, crowd support, and experience in finals (2024 winners) edge out New Zealand’s grit. Odds favor India at 1.55 [implied from form]. Bet on Bumrah for Player of the Match.
Stay tuned for live updates on this epic T20 World Cup 2026 finale! For more on “T20 WC 2026 winner prediction” or “live scores,” check ICC’s official site .
