W
4
1
1
1
1
= 8
Match Details
ENGCH vs SACH, 1st Semi Final T20, WCL T20 2026 summary
SACH
143-10(16.5)
England Champions won by 46 runs 🏆
ENGCH
(20.0)189-8
+
P'ship : 0(0)
21:23
England Champions beat South Africa Champions by 46 runs | 1st Semi-final Highlights…
Commentary
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Highlights
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W
6s
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Inn 1
Inn 2
Milestone
Until then, I am Dev Rajawat, signing off, along with my co-commentator, Ninaad Dixit, and scorer, Danish Elahi. That’s it from our side. Thanks for joining. Goodbye from this tab! TAKE CARE! BREATHE AND SMILE! CIAO!!!
Don't go anywhere, as the preview for the second semi-final of WCL 2026, between Australia Champions and West Indies Champions, has been put in there. Switch tabs, follow the fun.
And so, the semifinal delivers a story of composure over reputation, courage over expectation, and execution over pedigree. England entered this contest as the fourth-placed side, with only two league victories, yet they found their best cricket when the stakes were highest. Moeen and Denly laid the foundation - Mills’ double strike against de Villiers and du Plessis delivered the decisive blow, and the rest of the attack made sure South Africa could not recover.
The Proteas had ruled the league stage, but when the knockout lights came on, their batting crumbled - prompting that familiar, uncomfortable question: the tag of “chokers” strikes again? For England, the lesson is to carry this fearless belief into the final - for South Africa, it is a reminder that league dominance counts for little without execution on the biggest stage. One team’s dream survives, another’s campaign ends.
England Champions march on to the WCL 2026 final, while South Africa’s unbeaten league run becomes a footnote in a semifinal they will not forget!
The Proteas had ruled the league stage, but when the knockout lights came on, their batting crumbled - prompting that familiar, uncomfortable question: the tag of “chokers” strikes again? For England, the lesson is to carry this fearless belief into the final - for South Africa, it is a reminder that league dominance counts for little without execution on the biggest stage. One team’s dream survives, another’s campaign ends.
England Champions march on to the WCL 2026 final, while South Africa’s unbeaten league run becomes a footnote in a semifinal they will not forget!
Ravi Bopara (England Champions Captain): (On whether 189 was a good total) "Ultimately, it was good enough. We were talking about scoring 200, which felt like the general target to set. Twilight can make things a little difficult, as the wicket can get a bit funny and offer some movement. So it worked out in the end.
(On England's batting depth and his approach at the top) Absolutely. We've got a bit more depth in our batting, with some quality players. Moeen is playing really well now, and a few guys are in good form at the right time going into this final. My job is to try to get us off to an absolute flyer. If we can get to around 60 or 70 in the powerplay, it makes it a lot easier for the guys coming in towards the end to do their job. We're going to stick to that formula.
(On the decision to bring Tymal Mills back into the attack) It was a case of whether I was going to give Tymal another over or not. But with the way they were going, I had to go to my number one. I said he had to go again, and if he could pick up the big wicket of AB or Faf, the big prize, then we'd give ourselves a chance. We just had to open the door for the rest of them. He did exactly that, picking up the wickets we needed, and suddenly the game changed.
(On reaching the final) We've been talking about it from the start. At some point, South Africa had to have a bad game. They're a quality side with some great players, and they've been playing some great cricket. Unfortunately for them, they haven't got through to the final. They've probably played the best cricket in the whole tournament, but we felt there had to be a collapse somewhere, and it came at the right time for us.
(On preparing for the final) I don't want to pay weekend rates at the golf course! I think we're going to take a rest. With this heat, you always need to recover before Sunday, and hopefully we can go out there and win the tournament."
(On England's batting depth and his approach at the top) Absolutely. We've got a bit more depth in our batting, with some quality players. Moeen is playing really well now, and a few guys are in good form at the right time going into this final. My job is to try to get us off to an absolute flyer. If we can get to around 60 or 70 in the powerplay, it makes it a lot easier for the guys coming in towards the end to do their job. We're going to stick to that formula.
(On the decision to bring Tymal Mills back into the attack) It was a case of whether I was going to give Tymal another over or not. But with the way they were going, I had to go to my number one. I said he had to go again, and if he could pick up the big wicket of AB or Faf, the big prize, then we'd give ourselves a chance. We just had to open the door for the rest of them. He did exactly that, picking up the wickets we needed, and suddenly the game changed.
(On reaching the final) We've been talking about it from the start. At some point, South Africa had to have a bad game. They're a quality side with some great players, and they've been playing some great cricket. Unfortunately for them, they haven't got through to the final. They've probably played the best cricket in the whole tournament, but we felt there had to be a collapse somewhere, and it came at the right time for us.
(On preparing for the final) I don't want to pay weekend rates at the golf course! I think we're going to take a rest. With this heat, you always need to recover before Sunday, and hopefully we can go out there and win the tournament."
AB de Villiers (South Africa Champions Captain): [on the target] "It was just not our night. We didn't play really good cricket. There was a couple of good signs early on and then just lost wickets at really bad times. Well played to England, you got to give them credit. They've got a really good team and they covered all bases today and played a better game of cricket.
[on the Denly-Ali partnership] That time we were looking at 160. Moeen is hitting the ball better than I've ever seen him hit the ball. Joe Denly coming in and having an impact straightaway so credit to the 2 of them. It was tough to do get the right bowling individuals against the right-left combination. It was really tricky on a small field and it was quite hot out here today. They definitely turned the momentum around a little bit there with that partnership.
[on his dismissal] I just talked to Faf about it and I told him that I saw it so well. There was a moment where I decided I'm not gonna place it, I'm gonna go over and I thought I had enough. I was quite surprised. Very disappointed with that cause it wasn't a really good ball to get out to. Unfortunately didn't go my way today.
[on the early dismissals] Tymal Mills bowled incredibly well. He is probably the fastest bowler among opponents. Most of us share the same hotel so we got to see each other a lot. And now there are only 3 teams left. We have got a great game on our hands here between West Indies and Australia."
[on the Denly-Ali partnership] That time we were looking at 160. Moeen is hitting the ball better than I've ever seen him hit the ball. Joe Denly coming in and having an impact straightaway so credit to the 2 of them. It was tough to do get the right bowling individuals against the right-left combination. It was really tricky on a small field and it was quite hot out here today. They definitely turned the momentum around a little bit there with that partnership.
[on his dismissal] I just talked to Faf about it and I told him that I saw it so well. There was a moment where I decided I'm not gonna place it, I'm gonna go over and I thought I had enough. I was quite surprised. Very disappointed with that cause it wasn't a really good ball to get out to. Unfortunately didn't go my way today.
[on the early dismissals] Tymal Mills bowled incredibly well. He is probably the fastest bowler among opponents. Most of us share the same hotel so we got to see each other a lot. And now there are only 3 teams left. We have got a great game on our hands here between West Indies and Australia."
Moeen Ali (Player of the Match): (On his innings and the team's total) "The wicket was excellent. Obviously, we lost a few wickets, and it's very humid, but I'm just glad to contribute to the win. Joe Denly played extremely well too, and it was a good partnership. In the end, 189 was a nice score to have to defend.
(On whether England fell short of their expected total at the innings break) Maybe, but it's not easy for new batters to come in and get going from ball one. We just lost a couple of wickets, and I thought we did really well to get to 189 in the end. We could have scored less, so you can't get too greedy sometimes. We felt it was a good score, although it obviously depended on how AB and Faf started.
(On the impact of Tymal Mills' two wickets) Those were two massive wickets, and that's what we needed to get a great start. We needed to get AB and Faf out - they're still world-class players. Those wickets probably changed the game and gave us the belief that we could go on to win."
(On whether England fell short of their expected total at the innings break) Maybe, but it's not easy for new batters to come in and get going from ball one. We just lost a couple of wickets, and I thought we did really well to get to 189 in the end. We could have scored less, so you can't get too greedy sometimes. We felt it was a good score, although it obviously depended on how AB and Faf started.
(On the impact of Tymal Mills' two wickets) Those were two massive wickets, and that's what we needed to get a great start. We needed to get AB and Faf out - they're still world-class players. Those wickets probably changed the game and gave us the belief that we could go on to win."
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: MOEEN ALI
Game Changer of the Match: Tymal Mills
Most Boundaries in the Match: Moeen Ali
Striker of the Match: Joe Denly
Commentary