Brief Scores: India (199 for 5 in 19.2 overs) beat West Indies (195 for 4 in 20 overs) by 5 wickets in their last Super 8 match. India advanced to the semi-finals with this win at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. | Scorecard |
West Indies posted a terrifying 195 on Sunday. At that point, India’s bold decision to bat first at the Eden Gardens seemed to have backfired. History was not on their side. Their chasing record in the T20 World Cup has been fragile. And this time they didn’t have Virat Kohli.
The equation was relentless. Chasing history, the Indian batsmen battled a fearless West Indies side and bore the brunt of a virtual quarter-final. On paper it was stunning. India have never chased down more than 160 in a T20 World Cup match without Kohli in the playing XI. The last time they managed to chase down a target in excess of 170 in the tournament was 12 years ago. The past loomed large. The present offered little comfort.
The pressure mounted as India lost two of their most explosive batsmen during the power over. Abhishek Sharma fell for 10. Ishan Kishan soon followed, also for 10. The initial damage was severe. The locker room fell silent. Anxiety spread through the stands. Inside the Eden Gardens, tension hung in the air among the nearly 60,000 spectators.
When Ishan picked a mid-wicket fielder in the fifth over with the score 41 for 2, a chilling silence descended on the stadium.
India didn’t have Virat Kohli. They lost Abhishek. They lost Ishan.
But they had Sanju Samson.
And Sanju Samson chose that moment to play an innings that mirrored Kohli’s greatest efforts. His unbeaten 97 off 50 balls helped India seal the record chase. During the chase masterclass, he also broke Kohli’s record for the highest score (82) in a chase for India in a T20 World Cup match.
Suryakumar Yadav stood firm alongside Samson and forged a crucial 58-run partnership that steadied India when the chase threatened to move on. Tilak Varma then injected fresh urgency, smashing 27 off just 15 balls to twist the knife into the West Indies attack. Hardik Pandya played his part with a measured 17 off 14, while Shivam Dube provided the finishing touches, hitting an unbeaten 8 with a lightning-quick 200.
Everyone contributed. Everyone mattered.
But the night belonged to one man.
Samson didn’t panic. In desperation he did not pursue the target. He built the chase, brick by brick, over – just like Kohli had done so many times before. He respected good deliveries. He punished the bad ones. He understood the rhythm of the chase, knew instinctively when to absorb pressure and when to release it.
Samson mixed aggression with caution like a master himself. He ensured that the required rate was never out of reach. He kept India alive, quietly, methodically.
Like Kohli at his clinical best, Samson targeted specific bowlers, disrupting West Indies’ plans. He picked the matches. He forced field changes. He turned the pressure back on the opposition. With 12 boundaries and four sixes, Samson was in his zone.
Every time West Indies sensed an opening, Samson shut the door. Every time doubt crept in, he answered with certainty.
He remained composed as wickets fell around him. His body language never betrayed panic. His eyes never left the prize. It was a master class in chasing under pressure – not only in skill but also in temperament.
GUARDING AGAIN
There was a telling moment during the chase which Dinesh Karthik immediately caught on air. After bringing up his fifty, Samson didn’t acknowledge the milestone with fanfare or relief. Instead, he calmly returned, re-guarded himself and carefully marked his crease – as a Test specialist would, refocusing on the long battle ahead.
It was intensity distilled into a single act. No celebration. No distractions. Just a purpose.
In that quiet moment, Samson and all the onlookers thought the job was far from over.
This was Kohli’s plan executed by Samson.
He was the anchor. He was the aggressor. He was a finisher.
As the overs ticked by and the target approached, Samson remained ice cold.
When the moment of triumph came, he remained unbeaten on 97 from just 50 balls. In the final, he lifted the ball across the infield, capping the chase and igniting an eruption of noise across Eden Gardens. It was a finish that Kohli himself would have approved of – calm, decisive, inevitable.
Only then did Samson allow himself to smile.
For the first time in the entire second half of the match, the intensity faded from his face. The job was done. The scale lifted. He conducted India.
India completed the chase in 19.2 overs, scripted one of their most significant wins under pressure and booked their place in the semi-finals.
On a night defined by pressure, history and expectation, Sanju Samson brought something priceless. He added faith. He delivered the check.
He gave a Kohli style chase in every sense.
India will now face England in the second semi-final in Mumbai on March 5, a day after South Africa take on New Zealand in the first semi-final in Kolkata.
INDIA ACCESSES 195 TO WI
Earlier in the day, India made a bold statement at the toss by opting to bowl first despite their rocky history with the T20 World Cup chase. The numbers only deepened the intrigue. India have only successfully chased down targets of 150 or more four times in the history of the tournament – and on each of those occasions, Virat Kohli has been the steady anchor to guide them home. Adding another level of difficulty: no target beyond 159 has ever been chased in a T20 International in Kolkata. It wasn’t just a tactical call. It was a gamble with history itself.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav’s approach suggested caution at the start. In a surprise move, he kept Jasprit Bumrah, India’s leading strike weapon, until the fifth over of the match – a decision that suggested restraint rather than aggression.
The West Indies, meanwhile, made a bold call of their own. They dropped regular opener Brandon King and sent Shai Hope alongside Roston Chase. It was uncharted territory for Chase, who was opening the batting for the first time in his T20 International career. The move underlined West Indies’ intention to deepen their spin resources, even if it meant reshuffling the established batting order.
India started with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya sharing the new ball. In the chilly Calcutta evening, the two seamstresses found movement in the air, enough to keep the batters on their toes. Hope and Chase reacted with discipline rather than feeling, content to knock the ball into the gaps and prefer survival to spectacle. The immediate goal was clear: not to lose goals in the power play.
Soon Hope started shifting. Realizing that he needed to seize the momentum, he decided to break the shackles. In the second, he went after Hardik Pandya, blasting him for a towering six before carving out a boundary – strokes that injected early intent into the West Indies’ innings and forced India onto the defensive.
Chase, wary at first, soon found his rhythm. In the third, he unleashed two sharp, authoritative attacks against Arshdeep Singh, the sound of the bat echoing around Eden Gardens. West Indies moved to 23 without loss, steady but increasingly confident.
Before turning to Bumrah, India opted for rotation and introduced Axar Patel against the two right-handers. The move was calculated – a tactical attempt to throttle the scoring rate and disrupt the rhythm. Axar responded by dominating, conceding just five runs in his opening match and momentarily slowing West Indies’ progress.
Bumrah was eventually called up for the fifth match, but the breakthrough did not come immediately. Even India’s deadliest weapon could not break through the resistance. Tasked with the last over powerplay, Axar conceded 10 runs, allowing West Indies to close the first six overs at 45 for no loss.
It wasn’t the explosive attack West Indies are known for, but it was something equally valuable – stability. In previous matches, early wickets derailed their innings. Here they built a platform. They survived. And now they were ready to accelerate.
As the shift progressed, Chase grew in authority. His confidence grew with each pass and he began to take deliberate risks, targeting Hardik and Axar with growing conviction. The boundaries began to flow. The pressure began to change.
However, Hope found himself in the opposite direction. After his bright start, his timing deserted him. The fluency was gone. Certainty is gone. He was no longer dictating the conditions – he was surviving.
And then Varun Chakravarthy struck.
In his very first over, the mystery spinner brought the breakthrough that India desperately needed. The ball slipped through the Hope defense and hit the stumps, ending the West Indies skipper’s troubled stay. The celebration was immediate. India had its opening.
But the relief was short-lived.
Shimron Hetmyer walked in at No. 3 — and he walked in like the man who owns the moment. In the form of his life, brimming with confidence, Hetmyer wasted no time in announcing himself. In the very next over, he unleashed a furious attack on Hardik Pandya and sent the ball into orbit with breathtaking ease.
There was no hesitation. No settlement time. Only intention.
Hetmyer was merciless. He took on Varun Chakravarthy, India’s most dangerous spinner that night, and dismantled him with calculated brutality. He tightened his grip on the competition with each swing. In the process, he broke the record for most sixes in this T20 World Cup, reaching his 18th maximum. He raced to 25 from just 10 balls – a blistering statement of dominance.
West Indies rose to 99 for 1 at the end of 11 overs. The platform turned into a launch pad. The threat was real. The momentum was theirs.
MOVEMENT JASPRIT BUMRAH
And that was when Suryakumar Yadav made his move.
He brought back Jasprit Bumrah.
That was the moment Bumrah was held back. This phase. This dough. This turning point.
And as he has done so many times before, Bumrah delivered.
Not once.
But twice.
First he broke Hetmyer’s charge. The searing length delivery nicked ever so slightly, kissing the inside edge before hitting the stumps. Hetmyer’s attack was over. The silence that followed was as loud as the roar that preceded it.
Bumrah is not done yet.
In the same over, he dismantled a well-set Roston Chase. This time it was a scam. A vicious slower ball – perfectly disguised – gripped the surface and completely beat Chase. It was one of those signature Bumrah deliveries: fierce, clinical and unstoppable.
In the space of six balls, Bumrah ripped the heart out of the West Indies’ innings.
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– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
01 March 2026 23:05 IST
