Virat Kholi's knock of 89 off 47 balls was not enough to deny West Indies their place in final to meet England in the final of the world T20 on Sunday in Kolkata. The West Indies staged the highest run chase in world T20 knock out match to post a 7-wicket victory over India as Lendl Simmons, playing his first match of the tournament after being flown in as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher, scored an unbeaten 83 off 51 balls at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
Simmons, who probably had more lives than a cat on the night, scored a match-winning 83 off 51 balls to take his side home. The Trinidadian hardly had the time to shake off jet lag when he replaced Andre Fletcher in the West Indies squad. Simmons was let off twice when he was caught of no-balls. In the first instance, when the batsman was on 18, R Ashwin over-stepped as Jasprit Bumrah held on to a low catch at short third-man. Then, when Simmons was on 50, he spooned a catch to Ashwin at covers but this time Hardik Pandya had overstepped.
To rub salt into India's wounds, Simmons launched the free hit into the stands. Later, Ravindra Jadeja had stepped on the boundary skirting as he tried to nab a skier on offer. Indian spinners could be excused for being off-colour because of the dew factor, but there was really no excuse for bowling noballs in such a tight game.
The win also proved West Indies cricket is not just about Chris Gayle. They are a team full of T20 specialists who can deliver when it matters.
India's man of the moment Virat Kohli played a superlative knock earlier, his third 50-plus score of the tournament. Kohli even provided an important breakthrough when he broke a stubborn 97-run thirdwicket stand between Charles and Lendl Simmons to get India back into the game. But by the time he bowled the last over, the West Indies batsmen virtually had the match sealed.
Jason Roy guides England to final
England chased down 154 runs required to win over New Zealand in the first semi-final of the world T20 match. Now they will meet West Indies in the final on Sunday in Kolkata. The architect of the victory was Jason Roy who made 78 off 44 balls. England finished the chase thanks to a flurry of sixes off the blade of Jos Buttler (32) and his 49-run unbeaten stand with Joe Root with 17 balls and seven wickets still standing.
England, through Roy, gave the Black Caps the kind of the mauling they had received a year back in the 2015 50-over World Cup. The Kiwis are once again left to rue what might have been in their 17th semifinal now on the world stage, the Black Caps have contrived to lose 13 of those matches. However, it all looked different in the first half of their innings. Colin Munro (46) and NZ skipper Kane Williamson (32) had put their side on course for a formidable total with a stand of 74 for the second wicket. It was the death bowling of England through Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes which tilted the scales in favour of England.
