Confirmed T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final fixtures, four knockout venues across India and Sri Lanka, IST match timings, reserve days, and what fantasy managers on CricTracker should plan around for the June-July 2026 knockout window.
· CricTracker India Desk
The T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals are scheduled for 1 July 2026 (SF1) and 3 July 2026 (SF2), with reserve days built in on 2 July and 4 July respectively. SF1 will be played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (MUM) at 7:00 PM IST. SF2 will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (COL) at 7:00 PM IST. The final is scheduled for 6 July 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad (AHM) at 7:30 PM IST, with 7 July reserved.
The structure is locked: Super 8 Group A winner plays Super 8 Group B runner-up in SF1, and Super 8 Group B winner plays Super 8 Group A runner-up in SF2. The semi-finals are single-elimination, no second legs, with reserve days allowing re-start or extension in the rain window. Toss and over-rate decisions follow ICC standard ODI/T20I rules, and DLS is not applicable in T20 cricket.
The four semi-finalists emerge from two Super 8 seeded groups of four teams each. Group A carries India, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from the group stage. Group B carries England, South Africa, New Zealand, and West Indies (subject to confirmation). Top two from each Super 8 group advance to the semi-finals, with matchups crossing over: Group A winner faces Group B runner-up, Group B winner faces Group A runner-up.
Projected matchups assuming India top Group A and England top Group B (the most statistically likely seeding based on the 2025-26 bilateral form cycle): SF1 would be India vs New Zealand at Mumbai, and SF2 would be England vs Australia at Colombo. The Group A runner-up faces Group B winner crossover is intentional and it prevents two teams from the same seeded group meeting in the final before the title match, ensuring the two best teams from each Super 8 group collide only at the final.
The cricket-on-paper logic favours India vs England at the final, with Australia as the dark-horse candidate after their 4-1 bilateral sweep of India in early 2026. Pakistan are the consistent upset threat on Sri Lankan decks, and South Africa pace attack on Indian pitches is the variable that could re-shape the bracket in the carry-forward matches.
SF1 at Wankhede Stadium is the marquee fixture of the T20 World Cup 2026 knockout phase. India will, on form, play this match. The venue is the team home ground for the duration of the tournament, with the team training base at the adjacent Cricket Centre ensuring familiar pitch readings, dew management, and boundary dimensions. The 7:00 PM IST start matches India preferred night-match slot, where dew swing typically settles in the second innings and the chasing side has the historical edge (about 62% of T20Is at Wankhede since 2023).
The pitch at Wankhede for the 2026 World Cup is expected to be a typical Indian T20 track: red soil with grass coverage, average first-innings score in T20Is since 2024 is 172, with anything above 180 considered a strong total. Spinners (Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy) come into play in the middle overs; the death-overs pace of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will be the differentiator. Fantasy captain pick skews to India top-order in this match.
SF1 has a reserve day on 2 July, with the match re-starting from scratch if rain intervenes or continuing from the over-bridge threshold if possible. Crowd capacity at Wankhede is around 33,000, and tickets for the SF1 fixture sold out within 6 hours of release in late May. The India vs Pakistan Super 8 match at Colombo on 21 June will likely be the dress rehearsal for both squads before the semi-final lineup is locked.
SF2 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo is the spin-friendly knockout arena. The pitch at Premadasa is on the slower side by Indian standards. Average first-innings T20I score in 2025-26 was 158, but the boundary dimensions are tighter (60m straight, 68m square), favouring the stroke-makers. Spinners Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and the Indian tweakers have historically dominated the Colombo deck, and the dew factor is less pronounced than in Indian night matches.
The likely SF2 clashup is Australia vs England or Pakistan vs Sri Lanka depending on Super 8 outcomes. Australia 4-1 bilateral win over India in early 2026, including a series-clinching win at Premadasa, gives them the psychological edge. Pakistan spin attack on Colombo decks has consistently troubled India middle order, and Sri Lanka home advantage at the venue in 2025-26 produced T20I series wins over Australia and New Zealand.
SF2 reserve day is 4 July if rain disrupts the main day. The match will start at 7:00 PM IST (8:30 PM local Colombo time) to align broadcast windows across South Asia. Fans watching from India on the streaming partner app will see the same ball-by-ball with 1-second delay; fans at the ground should plan for traffic around Khettarama and the adjacent stadium approach roads on match day.
The T20 World Cup 2026 has dedicated reserve days for every knockout fixture. SF1 reserve day is 2 July 2026 at Wankhede Stadium with the same start time of 7:00 PM IST; if the match was abandoned mid-way on 1 July and cannot resume under the over-bridge threshold (a minimum of 5 overs per side to constitute a result), the match re-starts from scratch on the reserve day. The toss, playing XI, and innings lengths reset.
SF2 reserve day is 4 July 2026 at R. Premadasa Stadium with the same 7:00 PM IST start. The final is on 6 July 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, with 7 July reserved. The semi-final reserve days compress the schedule, with no buffer day between SF2 and the final, which is why the ICC pushed the final to a Monday slot, knowing the working-day effect on broadcast viewership but also reducing venue changeover risk.
If both the main day AND reserve day are washed out for any knockout match, the team that finished higher in the Super 8 group stage advances. This is the best-ranked team advances rule, used twice in the 2023 ODI World Cup (the India vs South Africa semi-final was a completed match; the rain-contingency rule was never triggered). For T20s at smaller venues with lower floodlight coverage, the reserve days are insurance; the rule is in place to keep the tournament on schedule.
The CricTracker fantasy cricket app will feature a dedicated knockout-phase contest slate starting 1 July. The top-order captain scenario on CricTracker for the SF1 contest slate: if India plays (the most likely Super 8 winner), Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the two highest-projected captain picks based on the last 12 months of T20I form against pace on Indian decks. The differential captain pick is Suryakumar Yadav, who has historically delivered 70+ points in knockout matches at Wankhede.
For SF2 at Colombo, the differential captain picks on CricTracker are the Australian middle-order batters (Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis) who have a 50+ average at Premadasa in T20Is since 2023. The Pakistani spin trio (Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Abrar Ahmed) are high-value captain picks if Pakistan advances to SF2. The venue spin-friendly conditions elevate their wicket-taking probability.
The CricTracker bonus code CRICTRACKER100 attaches to the next deposit you fund on the fantasy cricket app; contest entries during the knockout phase are typically in the Rs 50 - Rs 5,000 range. Plan your contest entries around the start of SF1 at 7:00 PM IST on 1 July to maximize the captain-change lock window. The deadline for team edits is 6:30 PM IST (30 minutes before toss).
SF1 tickets at Wankhede Stadium are in three bands: Premium (Rs 12,000), Standard (Rs 4,500), and Terrace (Rs 1,500) and were sold out within 6 hours of the 30 May 2026 release window. The official resale window opened 1 June through BookMyShow, with capped markup. SF2 tickets at Premadasa are priced in LKR; the Standard band is LKR 8,000 (about Rs 2,200 INR), with concession for South Asian fans holding ICC documents.
Broadcast: the Indian sub-continent rights for the T20 World Cup 2026 are held by Star Sports / Disney+Hotstar. CricTracker does not host the live stream directly. The live-streaming link on the fantasy app launches the partner app via deep-link when you tap Watch Live. Free-to-air highlights are on Doordarshan Sports one hour after each match concludes.
For fans travelling to Mumbai for SF1, the closest transit hubs are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT, 4 km from Wankhede) and Mumbai Airport (T2, 18 km). Colombo-bound fans for SF2 should route via Bandaranaike International (CMB, 32 km from Premadasa); the ICC has arranged dedicated match-day shuttle buses from both airports for ticketed fans holding valid match-day QR codes.
SF1 is on 1 July 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai at 7:00 PM IST. SF2 is on 3 July 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo at 7:00 PM IST. The reserve days for the two semi-finals are 2 July (SF1) and 4 July (SF2).
The T20 World Cup 2026 final is scheduled for 6 July 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad at 7:30 PM IST. The reserve day is 7 July 2026 at the same venue. The final is a single match with no second leg and no aggregate scoring.
The four semi-finalists emerge from the two Super 8 seeded groups of four teams each. Group A carries India, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka from the group stage. Group B carries England, South Africa, New Zealand, and West Indies (subject to final qualification). Top two from each Super 8 group advance.
The top team from Super 8 Group A plays the runner-up from Super 8 Group B in SF1. The top team from Super 8 Group B plays the runner-up from Super 8 Group A in SF2. This crossover prevents two teams from the same seeded group meeting before the final.
Each semi-final has a dedicated reserve day (2 July for SF1, 4 July for SF2). If both the main day and the reserve day are washed out, the team that finished higher in the Super 8 group stage advances. The reserve day re-starts the match from scratch with no carry-over of innings score or playing XI.
For the SF1 contest slate on the fantasy cricket app, the top-projected captain picks are Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal (India top-order at Wankhede) if India plays. The differential captain pick is Suryakumar Yadav, who averages 70+ fantasy points in knockout matches at the venue. Team edit deadline is 6:30 PM IST on 1 July.
For the broader T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage coverage, see our T20 World Cup 2026 hub page. For daily fantasy cricket strategy and contest picks, see the Fantasy Cricket strategy hub and the fantasy tips hub on the fantasy cricket app. For a primer on knockout-phase captain math, see the CricTracker T20 WC 2026 captain-rotation guide in the predictions hub.
