India will face England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium. (AP) India captain Suryakumar Yadav and India head coach Gautam Gambhir during India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India v Sri Lanka 2026 at Eden Gardens on February 28, 2026 in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)India will face England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium. (AP) India captain Suryakumar Yadav and India head coach Gautam Gambhir during India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India v Sri Lanka 2026 at Eden Gardens on February 28, 2026 in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)India will face England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium. (AP) TimesofIndia.com in Mumbai: West Indies have been doing well in the middle of their virtual quarter-final clash against India at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.At 82/1, West Indies had a ready bat in Roston Chase, at the other end in the form of Shimron Hetmyer and plenty of firepower waiting for them in the dugout. While some lapses in the field prevented India from adding to the wicket column, they managed to keep progress close with a tactical masterclass.
India players are going BANG BANG in the nets, Hardik Pandya and others are on fire at the Wankhede
Both Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy bowled just one over each and Axar Patel bowled three as the two right-handed openers were still at the crease.Captain Suryakumar Yadav brought the left-arm spinner into the attack early for a better match and Varun Chakravarthy’s late entry gave the spinner a better chance of taking wickets against the fiery middle order that followed. The home side controlled most of the innings, not only because of how they handled the overs, but also because they looked out for favorable matchups.
Jasprit Bumrah of India celebrates the wicket of Roston Chase of West Indies during the ICC T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Super 8 match between India and West Indies at Eden Gardens on March 1, 2026 in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
From the introduction of Bumrah against Hetmyer to the lopsided plan for Sherfan Rutherford, India have been a step ahead in their planning and are only getting better with every match in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. At the end of the 14th over, when drinks were called, West Indies were 119/3, with the dangerous pair of Rutherford and Rovman Powell at the crease. At the break, coach Gautam Gambhir went straight to Hardik Pandya and raised his hands to indicate the third man area. Pandya was ready to bowl another over from the High Court End and Gambhir wanted him to angle it from the left-hander, which probably made him play towards the area between third man and point.Sticking to the plan, Pandya angled the cutter away from the batter which could only clip it to Sanju Samson behind the stumps. The pitcher was delighted and raised his arms to the dressing room as Rutherford took the long walk back. There have been many such small moments where India have displayed tactical brilliance, and their handling of Bumrah in particular has been very match-and-match-specific so far.Surya continued to use it in various phases. He was unleashed for two overs in the matches against South Africa, Pakistan and the Netherlands, but conceded just one during the power play over Zimbabwe and the West Indies. Against Namibia, he bowled all his overs after the powerplay. Gambhir explained that the calls were very specific to the opposition and were taken to give the other bowlers some cushion during tough periods of the game.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav and India head coach Gautam Gambhir during India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India v Sri Lanka 2026 at Eden Gardens on February 28, 2026 in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
“I think it’s more to do with the opposition, where their firepower lies. In particular, we knew West Indies had a lot of firepower in the middle, with Hetmyer, Rovman and Sherfane. And we know those guys are quality players, those guys can take the game away. So we always knew we needed someone like Bumrah to attack them at times because Hardik did a really good job against them. fifth bowler, in fact he can always be under pressure, I thought they controlled the game for us because those eight overs were very crucial. “We knew Arsh, Bumrah and Varun were always going to bowl their four overs. So I thought the most important thing for me today was how Hardik bowled and how Axar bowled. Yes, we can go on and on about the other three bowlers, but that’s why we felt Bumrah was important in the middle. So every time we have a big over, we can come back and dominate the T2 game with Bumrah and those two.” Also back-to-back big overs that can take the game away from you, so I think Bumrah is a banker and we will continue to use him in different ways,” Gambhir said while explaining the bowling strategy for the Eden Gardens match.Ever since Gambhir took over as head coach, especially in the shortest format, the underground is always abuzz with activity. The former Indian cricketer is either talking to the support staff or relaying some messages to Surya through the players on the bench. Messengers rush to the middle with important information and help Surya make tactical calls on the fly in a tense situation. Unlike most coaches, Gambhir doesn’t scribble in a notebook; is either glued to the live action or the playback that follows on the monitor/giant screen. Does it rely on data before taking calls or supporting Surya? No, came the reply, as instinct remains the key word for Gambhir.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir watches the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Super 8 match between India and West Indies at Eden Gardens on March 1, 2026 in Kolkata, India. (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
“I don’t believe in the data, honestly. I’ve never seen the data. I don’t even know what the data is about. I absolutely don’t believe it because I feel it’s more about instinct. T20 cricket is about instinct and supporting your instinct. Whatever knowledge I have about the game and the T20 format, I try and probably pass it on to the captain as much as I can.” he takes the final call, but I honestly don’t believe that because they are very overrated,” Gambhir said.Halfway through the tournament, India were tactically forced to change their top order as two left-handers and Tilak Varma followed at No.3 made it very predictable for the opposition. The restoration of the left-right alignment at the top forced the batsmen out of their usual positions. However, Gambhir considers it a luxury to have players who can be used anywhere and in any situation of the match.“Batting-wise, you’ve got power. I think that’s something that’s very important. When you’ve got power, you’re never out of the game. You’re never out of the game. You’ve got guys like Tilak, who batted really well in both innings. He was batting from his position at five. But now we see him batting at number three.”
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“So you have the talent you need to have the talent where you can bat from positions and more importantly – positions are overrated again, I feel it’s about going out and doing the job for the team and that’s what a team sport is and that will continue to be our philosophy going forward,” Gambhir explained.Thursday’s clash with England will require the think tank to be on top of their tactical game. The Wankhede can be an unforgiving place and has often been a banana peel for the Indian cricket team. With the pitch expected to favor batting, dew likely to play some role and a pleasant sea breeze offering early relief to the bowlers, the match is nicely set up. The team that wins the small competitions will board a flight to Ahmedabad.
