The tenth edition, and a subcontinental homecoming
India and Sri Lanka staged the 2026 tournament between 7 February and 8 March, the format unchanged from 2024: four groups of five, a Super 8 stage, two semi-finals, a final. Sri Lanka had originally bid to host alone, but expansion to twenty teams left the island short of grounds, so the schedule was split across five Indian venues and three Sri Lankan ones. The build-up was fractious. Bangladesh, citing security concerns after a row over Mustafizur Rahman's release from an IPL squad, asked for their matches to be moved out of India, were refused, and withdrew on 24 January. Scotland were called up in their place at a fortnight's notice. Italy played a World Cup for the first time.
Scoring rates nobody had planned for
Totals climbed and kept climbing. Pathum Nissanka made an unbeaten hundred against Australia in Kandy and Sri Lanka won by eight wickets. Australia lost to Zimbabwe as well, in Colombo, Blessing Muzarabani taking four for 17, and went home before the Super 8s; Zimbabwe went through and later beat Sri Lanka too. India's group stage was untroubled, their Super 8 less so. South Africa beat them by 76 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in front of 90,954, Marco Jansen taking four for 22 as India were bowled out for 111. It was the only match India lost all tournament. Seven centuries were scored across the month, more than in any previous edition.
Two semi-finals that broke the record book
Finn Allen settled the first in Kolkata inside thirteen overs. Chasing 170 against South Africa, he made 100 not out from 33 balls, the fastest hundred in the tournament's history and the first in a knockout match, and New Zealand won by nine wickets. The following night at the Wankhede, India made 253 for seven and England replied with 246 for seven. Jacob Bethell scored 105 from 48; Sanju Samson made 89 from 42. The 499 runs in that match were the most in any T20 World Cup fixture, and India survived by seven.
Ahmedabad
New Zealand won the toss and bowled. Samson made 89 from 46, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan both passed fifty, James Neesham removed three batters in the sixteenth over and Shivam Dube took 26 from eight balls at the end. India finished on 255 for five, the highest total in any T20 World Cup knockout match. Tim Seifert was the only New Zealand batter to reach fifty. They were bowled out for 159 in the nineteenth over, Jasprit Bumrah returning four for 15 in front of 86,824 people, and lost by 96 runs.
The records stacked up afterwards. India became the first men's side to win three T20 World Cups, the first to retain the trophy, and the first host nation to win it. Samson was player of the tournament; Sahibzada Farhan of Pakistan finished as leading run-scorer with 383. Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy shared India's wicket-taking honours with fourteen each.