T20 World Cup Super 8: India defeat West Indies by five wickets to qualify for semi-finals

India defeated West Indies by five wickets to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026. In the David vs Goliath clash, which West Indies coach Daren Sammy mentioned a day earlier, Sanju Samson activated the clutch mode that got the job done for the hosts at the Eden Gardens. Having lost two early wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, the keeper-batter showed some much-needed temperament and modified that with some sensible hitting. 

He ended up scoring 97runs off 50 balls as India are now set to play England at the Wankhede Stadium to book a place in the summit clash. Even though at the end of the day, a win was all that mattered but India had a rough day. Abhishek Sharma’s form is a major concern as he once again flopped with the bat, scoring 10 runs off 11 balls.  

It’s not just his approach but his game sense is something that might bother the team management. In the third over of the match, when Samson already scored 17, there was no reason for Abhishek to



hit in the final delivery. However, he did and eventually got out to Akeal Hosein as Shimron Hetmyer picked up a simple catch. Now, it’s not just his batting; Abhishek’s fielding has been worse than what one expects from amateur cricket. He dropped two sitters in the field, which came back to haunt India later on.

India’s bowling too was far from ideal. They failed to strike in the powerplay and in the death, two most important portions of the game. Jasprit Bumrah was once again the star among bowlers, claiming two wickets for 36 runs in his four overs. Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy leaked 40 runs in his four for one. 

If not for Samson, the match could have gone the other way and eventually India could have been knocked out. His innings was in what boxing called the knockout punch. Meanwhile, his knock also helped India register their highest successful chase in T20 World Cup history. Their previous best was against South Africa in Mirpur when the team chased 174 runs.