ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | Sanju Samson powers India into the semi-final after win over West Indies

Kolkata: The India-West Indies final Super Eights clash of the T20 World Cup totally lived up to its blockbuster billing as the Men In Blue rode on a sensational innings from Sanju Samson and their collective batting might to storm into the semifinals here on Sunday.

Set an imposing target of 196 after skipper Suryakumar Yadav surprisingly chose to bowl first at a sold-out Eden Gardens, the Indians needed to bat out of their skins if they were to pip the Caribbeans in the winner-takes-all battle. Although the City of Dreams had doled out a batting beauty which stayed true till the end of a fascinating contest, the pressure of a must-win game and the fact that India had never chased anything above 173 since 2014 made the target seem like a massive mountain.

However, Samson ensured the trek was rather smooth with an innings of a lifetime. Coming into the marquee event on the back of a miserable run that saw him lose his place in the playing XI to Ishan Kishan, Samson showed the destruction he’s capable of on his day. The wicket-keeper smashed a career-defining critics-silencing 97 not out off 50 balls (12x4, 4x6), and with the rest of his batting colleagues rallying around him nicely, India romped home in just 19.2 overs to set up a semifinal against England in Mumbai on March 5.

Just like against Zimbabwe on Thursday, where he announced his return to the playing XI with a blistering cameo, Samson meant business from the get-go, as that was the need of the hour. He first tore into off-spinner Akeal Hosien by smashing him for one four and two sixes in the third over. From thereon, Samson just kept smashing everything in his sight in a calculated fashion to power India to a famous win that saw the keeper fall down on his knees and thank the Almighty after hitting the winning run.

Earlier, the West Indies yet again rode on their batting depth after a competitive score despite a strong show from the Indian bowlers. Opening bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya kept things tight against the West Indies’ duo of Shai Hope and Roston Chase by bowling to a plan. There were hardly any freebies on offer, and Hope and Chase had to manufacture shots to find the boundaries. Barring Axar Patel, who was constantly attacked, both Pandya and Arshdeep, as well as Jasprit Bumrah, never let the openers switch to fourth or fifth gear.

In fact, the Indian bowlers were on the money for most of the innings, despite the West Indies batters finding the odd big shot. The run-rate stayed around the 8 mark until the halfway stage, which wasn’t bad considering the pitch was actually good for batting.

West Indies’ one-drop Shimron Hetmyer and Chase then decided to up the tempo, and just when they were hitting their straps, Bumrah stunted it by dismissing both in a brilliant 12th over. And when Sherfane Rutherford departed in the 15th over and West Indies losing momentum at 119/4, it looked like India may restrict their rivals to a below-par total.

But the big-hitting Jason Holder (37 n.o.) and Rovman Powell (34 n.o.) had other plans, unleashing their brute power on the unsuspecting Indians to slowly shift the tide towards the Windies with an unbroken 76-run stand off 35 balls for the fifth wicket.

It started from the 16th over when Arshdeep conceded 16 runs with Powell smacking him for two sixes and a boundary. Varun Chakravarthy then gave away 14 runs, and the ever-dependable Bumrah too caught the virus, leaking 12 in the 18th over. Thankfully, Arshdeep and Bumrah bounced back in the final two overs, which made a massive difference in the end.

SCOREBOARD

WEST INDIES

Hope b Chakravarthy 32

(33b, 4x4, 1x6)

Chase c Suryakumar b Bumrah 40

(25b, 5x4, 1x6)

Hetmyer c Samson b Bumrah 27

(12b, 1x4, 2x6)

Rutherford c Samson b Pandya 14

(9b, 1x6)

Powell (not out) 34

(19b, 3x4, 2x6)

Holder (not out) 37

(22b, 2x4, 3x6)

Extras (LB-1, W-10) 11

TOTAL (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 195

Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Hope), 2-102 (Hetmyer), 3-103 (Chase), 4-119 (Rutherford).

Bowling: Arshdeep 4-0-43-0 (w-3), Pandya 4-0-40-1 (w-3), Axar 4-0-35-0, Bumrah 4-0-36-2, Chakravarthy 4-0-40-1.

INDIA

Abhishek c Hetmyer b Hosein 10

(11b, 2x4)

Samson (not out) 97

(50b, 12x4, 4x6)

Kishan c Hetmyer b Holder 10

(6b, 2x4)

Suryakumar c Rutherford b Joseph 18

(16b, 1x4, 1x6)

Varma c Hetmyer b Holder 27

(15b, 4x4, 1x6)

Pandya Holder b Joseph 17

(14b, 2x4)

Dube (not out) 8

(4b, 2x4)

Extras (LB-5, W-7) 12

TOTAL (for 4 wkts, 19.2 overs) 199

Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Abhishek), 2-41 (Kishan), 3-99 (Suryakumar), 4-141 (Varma), 5-179 (Pandya).

Bowling: Hosein 2-0-22-1, Forde 3-0-22-0 (w-2), Holder 4-0-38-2 (w-1), Motie 2-0-18-0, Shepherd 2.2-0-34-0 (w-3), Joseph 4-0-42-2 (w-1), 2-0-18-0.

Result: India won by 6 wkts.

PoM: Sanju Samson

India’s next match: Semifinal vs England (March 5, Mumbai)