T20 World Cup 2026: 44 out of 46 experts pick India as Favourites to win 3rd Title, India vs Australia predicted Final

India kicked off their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a dominant win over the USA at a buzzing Wankhede Stadium.

Labelled as the top favorites, the hosts have overwhelming support from JioStar experts, the official broadcasters, who largely predict India will storm into the final at a minimum.

India are Favourites, claim 96 per cent of Experts

A whopping 96% of JioStar's experts foresee India lifting the trophy and making history, with endorsements from 2007 T20 World Cup winners Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla, ex-India Test captain Anil Kumble, and former players like R Vinay Kumar, Saba Karim, and Yuzvendra Chahal. 44, to be precise, predicted India to lift their third T20 World Cup title.

All 46 JioStar experts slotted India into the final two, mirroring the team's streak in recent ICC

tournaments: finalists in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, winners of the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy under ex-captain Rohit Sharma.

India vs Australia to be T20 WC Final?

Over a third of experts called for an India-Australia final rematch at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, while 30% envisioned a repeat of the 2024 T20 final against South Africa.

India also topped semi-final predictions, backed by Sunil Gavaskar, Australia's T20 World Cup-winning skipper Aaron Finch, and broadcaster Alan Wilkins-who tipped Afghanistan for the last four. South Africa, Australia, England, and New Zealand were frequent top-four picks, alongside nods for Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

On his semis choices, ex-New Zealand bowler and commentator Danny Morrison noted, "Co-host India in their own backyard, this blue juggernaut is hard to stop. I'm going to go with New Zealand because they just played in India, got some top firepower, plenty of players to pick and choose from- all powerhouses. Then England, and fourth South Africa, because of a lot of these players have played in the Indian Premier League and have got experience in those conditions. "