England Champions started their WCL 2026 campaign with a 21-run win over India Champions. Ravi Bopara scored 83 off 46 balls and Samit Patel made 57 off 41 balls to take England to 192/4. Bopara and Patel added 133 runs for the second wicket after Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed Dawid Malan in the first over. Phil Mustard also scored 31 off 20 balls. Kulkarni and Abhimanyu Mithun took two wickets each for India.
India started the chase well as Robin Uthappa hit 26 runs in the second over. Ryan Sidebottom then dismissed Naman Ojha and Uthappa to put England in control. Toby Roland-Jones removed Stuart Binny and Yusuf Pathan, leaving India at 76/5. Ambati Rayudu and Rishi Dhawan added 41 runs, but Rayudu was dismissed for 47 by Liam Plunkett.
Rishi Dhawan scored 29 off 28 balls and Piyush Chawla finished unbeaten on 34, but India could not keep up with the required rate. They ended on 171/8 in 20 overs, falling 21 runs short. Sidebottom and Roland-Jones played key roles with the ball as England started their WCL 2026 campaign with a win.
WCL 2026 Points Table After India Champions vs England Champions
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa Champions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +4.850 |
| 2 | England Champions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +1.050 |
| 3 | India Champions | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.625 |
| 4 | Pakistan Champions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 5 | Bangladesh Champions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 6 | Australia Champions | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.300 |
| 7 | West Indies Champions | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -4.850 |