India defeated the West Indies to advance to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. The defending champions reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the third consecutive time and sixth overall. India's victory over the West Indies was largely due to opener Sanju Samson's powerful innings on Sunday. Samson held the fort at one end and held on until the end. As Samson hit the winning boundary, the Indian dressing room erupted in jubilation. India will now face England in the semi-finals on March 5 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Samson's bat shines at Eden Gardens
In Sunday's match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India won the toss and invited the West Indies to bat first. The West Indies scored 195 for four in 20 overs. In response, the Indian team, led by Sanju Samson's explosive unbeaten 97, scored 199 for five in 19.2 overs, securing the match. Samson may not have been able to complete his century, but he gave every Indian fan something to be happy about.
Kolkata maintains 100% win record
The Indian team thus maintained its 100% win record in T20Is against the West Indies in Kolkata. This was the fifth T20I between India and the West Indies at Eden Gardens. Interestingly, India has defeated the West Indies in all five matches. Furthermore, the Indian team played a T20 World Cup match on this ground after 10 years, and the team once again won.
How Samson proved too much for the West Indies
Chasing the target, India lost Abhishek Sharma early, who was dismissed for 10 runs.
India again lost Ishan Kishan's wicket in the powerplay. Ishan looked in good form, but he too returned to the pavilion after scoring 10 runs.
After two setbacks, captain Suryakumar Yadav and Samson added 58 runs for the third wicket, with Samson contributing 35. Suryakumar, however, was dismissed as the third batsman after scoring 18.
Samson held on and reached his fifty off 26 balls. Tilak Verma also supported him during this period, but Tilak was dismissed for 27 off 15 balls. Tilak and Samson shared a 42-run partnership.
India suffered their fifth blow in the 19th over when Hardik Pandya was dismissed by Shamar Joseph. Hardik returned to the pavilion after scoring 17 runs. At the time of Hardik's dismissal, the match was in a tense situation.
Half of India's team had returned to the pavilion, but Samson held on. Samson hit a four off the second ball of the 20th over bowled by Romario Shepherd, taking the team to the semi-finals.
Samson remained unbeaten on 97 off 50 balls, hitting 12 fours and four sixes, while Shivam Dube remained unbeaten on eight off four balls, hitting two fours.
Jason Holder and Shamar Joseph took two wickets each for the West Indies, while Akeel Hossain returned with one run.
West Indies innings
Earlier, West Indies captain Shai Hope and Roston Chase added 68 runs for the first wicket in 8.5 overs. Hope was dismissed for 32 off 33 balls, hitting one six and three fours, after which Chase shared a 34-run partnership with Hetmyer for the second wicket. The team had lost four wickets at the score of 119, from where Jason Holder and Rovman Powell added 76 runs for the fifth wicket in 35 balls to take the team to a huge total. Powell remained unbeaten on 34 off 19 balls, hitting two sixes and three fours, while Holder made an unbeaten 37 off 22 balls, hitting five boundaries. Jasprit Bumrah took the maximum two wickets for India, with Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy taking one wicket each.
India settles score after 10 years
On March 31, 2016, in the T20 World Cup semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Indian team, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, scored 192 for two, led by Virat Kohli's unbeaten 89 off 47 balls.
The score wasn't low, but the West Indies' strong batting made it look small.
Riding on Lendl Simmons' unbeaten 82 off 51 balls, including five sixes and seven fours, and Andre Russell's explosive 43 off 20 balls, West Indies not only won the match by scoring 196 for three in 19.4 overs, but also shattered India's dream of winning the World Cup at home.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led team has now settled the score after 10 years. Back then, the West Indies broke the hearts of Indian fans, and today, India has halted the West Indies' march.
The defeat against South Africa taught a lesson
India started its T20 World Cup campaign brilliantly. The team won all its matches in the group stage and advanced to the Super Eight. Even before the start of the tournament, India was considered a strong contender for the title, but its campaign suffered a setback when it suffered a 76-run defeat at the hands of South Africa in the Super Eight match. This defeat was huge, and then the West Indies made the path difficult for India by defeating Zimbabwe by a big margin.
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