West Indies Vs India: Samson’s unbeaten 97 seals semi-final place
In a Super 8s decider, west indies vs india ended with India chasing 196 and winning by five wickets. Sanju Samson remained unbeaten on 97 as India reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals and will face England in Mumbai on Thursday.
Match summary and finish
West Indies were put in to bat and finished 195 for 4. Roston Chase scored 40, Jason Holder made 37 and Rovman Powell 34. Jasprit Bumrah took 2-36. Chasing 196, India reached their target with four balls to spare when Samson, batting through the innings, struck the winning runs to lift India to victory by five wickets.
Samson’s recall and innings
Sanju Samson, recalled after losing his place on the eve of the tournament and following India’s humbling Super 8s defeat by South Africa, played a starring role. The 31-year-old batted through the chase to finish unbeaten on 97, and he hit the winning shot off his 50th delivery, lifting it over mid-on to seal victory with four balls remaining.
West Indies innings detail
Roston Chase opened for the first time in Twenty20 internationals and powered the start with two key partnerships: 68 off 53 with Shai Hope and 34 off 16 with Shimron Hetmyer. The second partnership ended when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed both batsmen in a single over. Jason Holder and Rovman Powell added 76 off the last 35 balls, but Shai Hope’s slow 32 off 33 and a series of fielding errors, including three dropped catches, undermined the innings.
Path to the semi-finals
India have beaten West Indies by five wickets to book their spot in the semi-finals alongside England, New Zealand and South Africa. For the third time in three T20 World Cups, England will meet India in a semi-final; the sides will play in Mumbai on Thursday. The other semi-final, South Africa v New Zealand, is scheduled for Wednesday, with the first semi-final set to start at 13: 30 GMT.
Context across the tournament
South Africa sealed top spot in their Super 8s group by defeating Zimbabwe by five wickets in Delhi. New Zealand reached the last four as runners-up in England’s Super 8s group. South Africa and New Zealand also met in the first group stage, with South Africa prevailing by seven wickets to continue a 100% record against the Black Caps in five T20 World Cup encounters, though the sides had not played each other in 12 years before this tournament.
Logistics and tournament uncertainty
There was late uncertainty over venues. The possibility of relocating a semi-final, and potentially the final, to Colombo was extinguished when Pakistan, needing an emphatic win over Sri Lanka, won by only five runs. Tickets for fixtures went on sale only last Tuesday, and sales for two finals in two countries were launched with less than two weeks’ notice. England completed their last Super 8s fixture on Friday and then spent two days in Colombo awaiting confirmation of where their semi-final would be played. That delay was extended by the decision not to schedule the final round of fixtures simultaneously, with each match given its own primetime broadcast slot and the fixtures stretched over three days.
Captains and reaction
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said he was very happy to have reached the semi-finals and pointed to the team’s consistency from the start of the tournament, saying they deserved the spot. He urged his players to rest and then prepare for Mumbai, noting that expectations and pressure will always be present but that players must be courageous, bring their A-game and take positive options when a big match arrives.
