Two-time champions West Indies went down fighting in a virtual quarterfinal against co-hosts and defending two-time champions India at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It was loads of joy for the Men in Blue while for the Men in Maroon, it was despair and heartbreak again as they lost out on another semi-final spot. In 2024, West Indies crashed out in Super 8s and the same thing was repeated in this edition. They had their moments but failed to seize the moments when it mattered. We will try and enlist three reasons for their close loss to India.
Losing 4/80 in middle phase of 7-15 pegged West Indies back
West Indies were put into bat by India and the new opening pair of Shai Hope and Roston Chase opened the batting. The duo got off to a solid and cautious start in powerplay. They made 45 runs but kept wickets in hand for a launch towards the end. But in the middle phase, they just lost wickets at the wrong time. Plenty of starts for West Indies batters but no one crossed 40 runs.
In the most important middle phase of the game, West Indies lost 4 wickets for 80 runs in 9 overs. The first wicket fell at the completion of 9 overs while Bumrah returned and did a double strike removing Shimron Hetmyer and Roston Chase in the same over. Hardik later removed Rutherford at the start of the 15th over. West Indies reached 125/4 in 15 overs. They did well to get to 195 in the end, with 70 coming off the last 5 overs. But the slowdown or more importantly wickets falling meant West Indies did not touch 200-run mark.
West Indies will look back and think what might have been as they had India under the pump in patches but were not good enough for the win. India were ahead after powerplay despite losing two wickets and then did well in the middle phase. To put things into perspective, India were 20 runs ahead of West Indies after 15 overs and that made a whole lot of difference. West Indies will look to improve on these little things that make a difference in close games and come back stronger in subsequent tournaments.
Inability to reign in Sanju Samson sealed West Indies’ fate
After getting runs on the board, West Indies searched for early wickets. And to be fair, they did get early wickets as Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan fell in the powerplay. But the run rate was always under control thanks to a special innings from Sanju Samson. Samson who has been in and out of the team showed his worth to perform under immense pressure. The way he handled it was something interesting to watch.
Samson built small partnerships with other batters to take India closer to the line and eventually pass it as he carried his bat, West Indies did not know what hit them and were clueless on the field. Lots of loose deliveries were bowled and were taken to the cleaners by the right-handers. West Indies did not know when to use spinners and by the time they came, the damage was done and he was well set.
Others like Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya played cameos and so did Dube at the end as India got over the line with 4 balls left. West Indies bowling lacked control and gave away extra runs as well. They picked wickets but were expensive. Their batters got starts but could not kick on for a significant score. While for India, Sanju stood up with his 97 and walked away with the Player of the match award. Going ahead, West Indies needs to have incisiveness and cutting edge that can trouble other teams.
Tactical Errors and Insufficiency hurts West Indies
West Indies made a few tactical errors last night that cost them the game. First at the toss, which Shai Hope lost, West Indies dropped a specialist opener in Brandon King and was replaced by specialist spinner Akeal Hosein. King was injured in last game and no one knows whether he was dropped or rested. There was no clarity there. Thereafter, Chase was asked to open the batting with Hope. Both plays slowly as they are anchor players but they tried to up the ante.
Chase scored 40 after being given a life on 14 by Abhishek Sharma who was having an awful day in the field. So, this move worked for West Indies but it’s the decisions taken while chasing has raised a few eyebrows. Firstly, Akeal Hosein picked up an early wicket of Sharma. But he was taken out soon. Roston Chase was not given the ball because of a right-hander at the crease which made no sense as these match-ups while it’s right can be overdone by the management. When Suryakumar and Sanju were batting, Chase was not even introduced.
It’s after Tilak who came in after Sanju’s innings where Chase was introduced but the game was over by then or almost. Gudakesh Motie was introduced after powerplay as a set pattern but he faced the raging Samson and couldn’t do it well. To put things into perspective, West Indies picked 3 spinners to spin a web and create problems for India. But with dew coming in, they were all neutralised.
Hope did not have the confidence of bringing in the spinners and bowled them for 2 overs each. Instead of facing maybe 12 overs of spin, India faced 6 overs only which was a huge morale victory for the Men in Blue. Since the pacers, just weren’t good enough and with the dew in fast outfield, the writing was on the wall. Coach Daren Sammy and Shai Hope needs to rethink and get their tactics right as they were woefully shot last night at a packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. West Indies deservingly bow out of the tournament.
What Lies Ahead
West Indies bows out of the tournament in Super 8s stage for the second tournament in a row in T20 World Cup 2026. India are into the semi-finals where they will face England in Mumbai in 2nd semi-final on Thursday. Before that, we will have South Africa vs New Zealand in 1st semi-final on Wednesday in Kolkata. So, 2 cracking games coming your way to conclude the T20 World Cup 2026.
We will see how things unfold from here.
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2026: Sanju Samson’s Match Winning Gigantic Knock Stuns West Indies