India vs West Indies Score, T20 World Cup: Sanju Samson powers India to semifinals with record run chase in Kolkata

Sachin Tendulkar was quick to praise the Indian team after their majestic victory. He was also in praise of Sanju Samson.

Sanju Samson | PoTM: It means the whole world actually to me. I think right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, I think this is the day I was waiting for. And I’m very grateful, very thankful. And I’ve always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs, but I’ve kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking, what if, what if, can I make it, can I make it? But I kept on believing and thanks to the Lord Almighty for actually blessing me today. So I’m very happy. Yeah, I think that’s why I have been playing this format for a very long time. I think playing IPL around 10 to 12 years and playing for the country from last 10 years, I have not been playing, but looking from the dugout, learning from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma, like all the greats. I think it’s very important to observe and learn and see what they were doing. I think that really helped me to, I think with my experience, I have only played maybe 50, 60 games, but I’ve seen around 100 games and I’ve seen how the greatest people have finished the games and how do they change their game according to the game. So I think the last game we were batting first, so it was all about setting a very high score. So that’s how I wanted to go big right from ball one. But this game was completely different. I think as soon as I wanted to go a bit higher, we were losing wickets. So I think I wanted to build a partnership, wanted to keep focusing on my process. And I never felt that I will do something special like this, but I was just focusing on my role and just keeping one ball at a time and very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life. Yeah, definitely they do bring a lot of energy and they do bring a lot of support. But I think on the other end, there is always a question, what if not? So definitely that keeps on playing in your mind. But when that thought kept on coming, I just brought myself into the present moment and just looked at the ball and trusted myself to react according to the ball in merit. So I think that worked out pretty well today.

Shai Hope: Maybe a few short, especially on a chasing ground such as this. Probably could have gone a bit more at the end. Probably could have got more at the start as well. He is one of their main strike bowlers. Whenever he has got the ball in his hands something is going to happy. Hety was going really well. I thought we were good. The way we adapted to different conditions was good. Forde was good with the ball. Akeal got us wickets as well. Just didn't get over the line today to continue the tournament. You never want to end at this stage. One more game you are in the semis and if you have a good game you are in the final. We got to make sure you play the best cricket on the day. Take the crucial moments and capitalize.

Suryakumar Yadav: Obviously, it's a great feeling, and the way we played, I think, as everyone said, it was a do-or-die, like a quarter-final game, and the way the boys showed character, I think, it was a great feeling. (On Sanju Samson) I always say, good things happen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience. I said it just now as well when I met him. But then it's all his hard work, what he's been doing behind the doors when he was not playing, and he's got the fruit of it at the perfect stage. And the way he batted, took the side completely to the victory. I feel everyone bowled according to the plans. We knew 200 is always a good score to chase here in Eden with the dew and the way wicket becomes in the second inning, the ball comes onto the bat nicely. And the way batters responded later on with those small, small partnerships, I think that was the key to take the game deep. Very happy to be there at that spot. The way we played, I think from the first game, I think we deserved that spot going there to the semi-final. That too is Mumbai, but we won't think about that right now. Rest back, relax, take a flight tomorrow. When we reach Mumbai, we'll start thinking about it. When there is no pressure there is no pressure. We are nervous, there are butterflies in the stomach but how you handle it is what matters.

With this win, India will take on Engand in the second semifinal in Mumbai on March 5. In the first semifinal, New Zealand take on South Africa at Eden Gardens on March 4.

Matthew Forde to bowl the final over for West Indies. An extra fielder inside the ring for an over-rate penalty. BANGGG!!! Sanju Samson enters 90s in style. India need just one more run. He finishes it off with a four. Samson looks up into the heavens to thank the almighty. This is a record run chase for India.

OUTTT!!! Huge wicket for West Indies as Hardik Pandya holes out to Jason Holder. Shamar Joseph bowls a low full toss with Pandya miscuing to holder at extra cover. FOURRR!!! Shivam Dube opens his account in style as the left-hander pulls from the off. FOUR more in the gap, this time opening the face of the blade towards the off side. India are cruising towards the victory. IND 189/5 (19)

India need 17 runs from the last 2 overs. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson has surpassed Virat Kohli for the highest individual score by an Indian in a run chase in T20 World Cups. Kohli held the record with 82 not out against Australia in Mohali in 2016 & vs Pakistan in Melbourne in 2022. IND 179-4 (18)

DROPPEDDD!!! Jason Holder has put down a sitter off Hardik Pandya. The Indian slices a cut. Holder goes with his both hands to his left. The ball hits his wrist, then to his chest and onto the ground. Holder's head goes down with hands on his knees. How costly that was? Pandya was on 9. FOUR to end the over from Pandya.

IND 171-4 (17)

Shamar Joseph returns. Hardik Pandya welcomes with a flick down the fine leg for a four. India need a big over to put the pressure back on West Indies. Much needed boundary for Sanju Samson on the final ball. 14 run come from the over. IND 160-4 (16)

OUTTT! Shimron Hetmyer jumps at the right time to pluck a screamer to send back Tilak Varma. The wicket comes in just after a majestic four from Tilak. Jason Holder gets his second of the night. Hardik Pandya comes out. IND 141/4 (15)

Roston Chase comes into the attack and Sanju Samson welcome him with a four through the vacant backward point area. Darren Sammy is not happy. The camera pans to the VVIP area as ICC chairman Jay Shah, CAB chief Sourav Ganguly and BCCI president Mithun Manhas watch the game. Ganguly has been a BCCI chief previously. India need another big over to reduce the gap. Tilak Varma finishes the over with a huge 83m six over long on. IND 136/3 (14)

Brilliant by Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma. After Samson gets a boundary off Shamar Joseph on the first ball, Tilak gets into business with two more to ease the pressure. Add four more to the total in the next ball, thanks to a misfield from Sherfane Rutherford. 17 run come from the over. IND 121/3 (13)

Shamar Joseph strikes in his first over as Suryakumar Yadav holes out to Sherfane Rutherford. SKY makes some room and lofts for a six, but the ball dips at the hands of Rutherford. The Indian captain departs for 18. Tilak Varma comes into bat. IND 101/3 (11)

Slice of luck for the Indian captain. Suryakumar Yadav drives and the ball goes straight into the hands of bowler Gudakesh Motie, who drops. Fifty for Sanju Samson in style. Motie bangs it short, and Samson cuts through the off-side. The whole Indian knows the importance of this innings. IND 98/2 (10)

Expansive from Sanju Samson. Romario Shepherd bowls a slower back of the length delivery. Samson waits and lofts slams it over long off for a six. Four more to follow from Samson, thus time straight down the ground. The whole crowd erupts in joy. IND 91-2 (9)

Flurry of boundaries from Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson in back to back overs keep India steering on. They do not have to take any risks and play natural shots. Certainly India have upped the ante, scoring 25 runs in the last two overs. IND 78/2 (8)

Fifty comes up for India in the final over of the powerplay. The important message for Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav would be to stay in the wicket for a while. Even West Indies were 45/0 at this stage of the game. The runs are coming easily at this wicket and the only thing for the Indian duo will be to spend some time in the middle, get settled and then play your shots.

OUTTT!! India are in complete tatters here. At a time when he needed to stay in the middle, Ishan Kishan finds Shimron Hetmyer at deep square leg. Jason Holder punches in the air in celebration. Kishan goes back for 10. The ball hits the toe end of the bat and maybe that's why didn't get the required elevation. WI 41/2 (4.3)

BANGGG!!! Sanju Samson is on the charge once again. After two quiet overs, Samson clobbers Akeal Hosein for two sixes and a four. OUTTT!!! It's not Abhishek Sharma's day today. After two dropped catches, Abhishek goes for the pull, and Shimron Hetmyer takes uneasy catch. The entire crowd goes in silence. IND 29-1 (3)

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson walk out in the chase. Akeal Hosein will open the attack for Windies. Just five runs come from the opening over. IND 5/0 (1)

A six and a four in the final over by Rovman Powell and Jason Holder as West Indies finish at 195/4 in 20 overs. India need 196 runs to advance into the semifinals.

The Indian fielding have been very sloppy today as Abhishek Sharma drops his second of the night. Rovman Powell flicks and gets the toe end of the bat. Abhishek dives full stretche with both hands underneath the ball. The ball pops out as soon as Abhishek's elbows hit the ground. WI 181/5 (19)

BANGGG!!! Jason Holder goes under the ball, clears his front foot and tonks Varun Chakaravarthy over wide of long on for a 80m six. Two more fours to follow as India are clearly under pressure. The partnership between Holder and Rovman Powell nears 50.

WI 163-4 (17)

MASSIVEE from Rovman Powell. The Indians could only watch and watch as the white cherry vanishes in the night sky. Powell smashes the pull for a 98m maximum over square leg. SIX more for Powell, this time, he flicks Arshdeep Singh. Four more for Powell as 24 runs come from the over. WI 149/4 (16)

OUTTT!!! things falling apart for West Indies as Sherfane Rutherford edges behind to Sanju Samson. Hardik Pandya delivers a lebgth ball outside the off stump. Rutherford plays a late cut, but the extra bounces does the job for Pandya and India. Wicket of the first ball of the over. Jason Holder finishes the over with a maximum down the ground. WI 125/4 (15)

Varun Chakaravarthy comes into the attack. Meanwhile, head coach Darren Sammy is looking a bit tensed at the West Indie dugout. The run rate has certainly gone down for Windies. But having said that, Sherfane Rutherford and Rovman Powell has the reputation of changing a situation of a match within no time on their given day.

WI 119-3 (14)

OUTTT!!! Loud noise and the finger goes up. Shimron Hetmyer goes upstairs immediately. UltraEdge shows the ball kissed the inside edge of the bat to Sanju Samson. Jasprit Bumrah lofts his hands in celebration as the whole Eden Gardens crowd erupts. Timely strike by India. OUTT!!! Another wicket in the over and its Roston Chase. Suryakumar yadav dives full stretch to complete the catch.

WI 103/2 (12)

Varun Chakaravarthy comes to bowl his second and is welcomed by a huge six by Shimron Hetmyer. The West Indian is very strong on the leg side and the Indians must keep that in mind. Four more added to the total, this time through the off side.

WI 99/1 (11)

Things are slowly getting out of hands for India as Roston Chase and Shai Hope are inching towards their individual fifties. Varun Chakaravarthy is brought into the attack. The Tamil Nadu boy is a local in Kolkata, playing for KKR in the IPL for so many years now. He knows the ground like nobody else in this Indian playing XI. OUTTT!!! Varun gets India the breakthrough. Roston Chase is cleaned up.

WI 68-1 (8.5)

Jasprit Bumrah runs in for the first time in this game. Some innovation from Roston Chase against the best in the world. The West Indian goes across, scoops for a four over fine leg. DROPPEDD!! Abhishek Sharma drops a dolly at extra-cover. Chase goes for a pull, gets a thick top edge only for Sharma to take the catch. The Indian goes underneath the ball with both hands but puts it down. The whole Indian dugout can't believe what they saw.

WI 35-0 (5)

NO Jasprit Bumrah so far for India as Suryakumar Yadav brings on Axar Patel. Shai Hope welcomes the left-arm spinner with a four. A short break early in the game as Roston Chase is experiencing some discomfort on his right leg. The physio is out in the middle. Play resumes. WI 28/0 (4)

Horrible miss by the Indians! Roston Chase goes to the backfoot to drive on the up against Arshdeep Singh and goes for a single. The ball goes straight to Varun Chakaravarthy, who checks at the batters, and throws at the non-striker's end while Chase was half-way down the pitch. Had Varun threw at the striker's end, things would have been different now. Chase finishes the over with a couple of boundaries. WI 23/0 (3)

National Anthems done and dusted in Kolkata. Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden rings the Eden bell to kickstart the game. Shai Hope and Roston Chase walk out in the middle. Arshdeep Singh concedes only three runs in the first over.

West Indies have lost on all four occasions when they batted first against India in India in the shortest format.

1. Lost by five wickets, Kolkata, 2018

2. Lost by six wickets, Chennai, 2018

3. Lost by six wickets, Hyderabad, 2019

4. Lost by six wickets, Kolkata, 2022

Shai Hope: We would have done the same (bowling). Playing consistent cricket is key for us. Most of the guys have been part of the IPL and hopefully we can come out on top today. It's a do or die game today. This is what we play for - to play against big teams, best teams. One change, Akeal Hosein comes in for Brandon King..

Suryakumar Yadav: We will bowl first tonight. Looks good. It has been a chasing ground, wicket gets even better so chasing is a good option. It's already wild and we will look to give a good show to the crowd. I think we ticked all the boxes last game. Same team.

It's time for the toss in Kolkata. Shai Hope and Suryakumar Yadav walk out for the toss. Will the captain winning the toss opt to chase? According to former cricketers, chasing is a better idea in Kolkata. The team sheets have been exchanged. India have won the toss and Suryakumar opts to bowl first. India go unchanged. For West Indies, Akeal Hosein comes in place of Brandon King.

Rinku Singh has joined the Indian camp in Kolkata. But it is unlikely, India will tinker with the playing XI. Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy is bowling at the nets. Although India might have been able to train much under lights at this venue, the players and coaching staff have much experience of the conditions. While Gautam Gambhir most of his IPL time in Kolkata, Varun and Rinku Singh are still playing for the KKR in IPL. In fact, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has also played his entire IPL at KKR.

Viral internet astrologer Greenstone Lobo has made a bold prediction on the winner of the India vs West Indies clash. Although the statistics are in favour of West Indies, but planetary elements favour India. He also stressed the importance of having Sanju Samson in the playing XI and how it will favour India.

One of the most notable areas that both teams will have to think about is the timing of the game. So far, all the games that have been played at Eden Gardens, were all day games. As a result, there was no dew on all those games. But with a night game today, dew will play a factor today. Having said that, West Indies have trained in the evening a few times before and know what to expect. But for India, they have come to Kolkata just a day before and got to train only once.

Suryakumar Yadav is unlikely to make any changes to the playing XI. Rinku Singh, who lost his father recently, will join the Indian camp on Sunday in Kolkata and is unlikely to play today.

The Eden Gardens is a happy hunting ground for West Indies, especially in T20 World Cups. In fact, it was the same venue where they defeated England in the final of th 2016 T20 World Cup with Carlos Brathwaite smashing Ben Stokes for four sixes in the final over. West Indies have played three T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata, winning all three.

West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde/Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Till now, India and West Indies have played 30 times in T20Is with the Men in Blue enjoying a 19-10 advantage. Only one game ended in no result. However, in T20 World Cups, West Indies hold a 3-1 head-to-head record against India with the Caribbean side winning in 2009, 2010 and 2016 editions. India's only win came in the 2014 edition.

South Africa have already qualified for the semifinals with two wins from two matches in Group 1. With both India and West Indies on two points each, a win for either teams will put them on four points for a passage to the knockouts. But West Indies have a better NRR than India. Zimbabwe have already been eliminated from the race with two lossess in two games.

Both India and West Indies have finished at the top of their respective pools in the group stages. In the Super 8 stage, India have won against Zimbabwe and lost to South Africa. The story is similar for West Indies too. With both India and West Indies on same points, the winner of the game will qualify for the semifinals and join South Africa from Group 1.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the final Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Kolkata between India and West Indies.