IND vs WI: India completes joint third-highest run chase in T20 World Cup historyIndia completed the joint third-highest run chase in the T20 World Cup history after beating West Indies by XX wickets in their Super Eights fixture at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.An extra fielder inside now due to the over-rate penalty. Shepherd to Samson, full on the pads, lofted over square leg for six! Just one needed.Samson just about clears mid on to find a boundary and take India through to the semifinal!! What a knock from Sanju Samson!!Dropped from the playing eleven just ahead of the World Cup due to his dwindling returns. Played a solitary game in the group stage due to Abhishek’s illness. He has now carried India to the semifinal with a sublime knock in a tough run chase against the fellow two-time champion. He deservedly gets the Player of the match award.Samson.jpegPhoto - K.R. Deepak17 from 12. Yorker ball down leg, goes in between Hardik’s legs. WICKET!! Leading edge as Hardik looks to whip one legside, lobs up to Holder at cover who makes no mistake this time.Hardik Pandya c Jason Holder b Shamar Joseph 17(14)Shivam Dube in at seven. Four!! Low full toss, Dube drives it through wide long on and finds the gap. That will relieve some pressure. Carves a full yorker straight to point. Dot ball. Full yorker again, carved past point for a boundary by Dube. Angled into the pads, Dube picks two leg byes.Holder to Samson, slower yorker, turned to mid on for a single. Yorker outside off, goes under Hardik’s bat, through to the keeper. Slower yorker again, clipped to square leg for one. Four!! Length ball outside off, cut past the solitary point fielder for a boundary. Slower ball full toss, driven to midwicket for one. India knows it can do this without much fuss. Hardik pummels a low full toss from Holder to deep midwicket for one. Eight from the over.Shepherd to Hardik, starts off with a wide. Hardik slaps a length ball straight at short extra cover but Holder spills a sitter! A single to deep cover for Hardik after the reprieve. Full on the pads to Samson, clipped to deep square for one. Short and wide outside off, attempted slower ball. Hardik lets it go and collects a wide. A single to deep backward point for Hardik. Wide again from Shepherd. Single for Samson to deep point on a ball full and wide. Hardik clubs one over cover to collect a boundary off the last ball.Four!! Shamar Joseph to Hardik, full on the pad, clipped fine for a boundary. Hardik picks a couple to midwicket. After a wide, Hardik picks a single to long off. Samson returns strike with a push to long on. Low full toss on the pads, Hardik clips to deep square leg for one. Four!! Samson gets one on his pads, clips it fine through fine leg for four.Holder into the attack. Samson drills the first ball of the over to long on for one. Full and wide to Tilak, drives it to point. Dot ball. Four!! Wide again, Tilak thrashes the ball through cover and beats the fielder in the deep. WICKET!! Against the run of play. Tilak gives room and attempts to loft one over mid off. Hetmyer holds on to a good catch above his head.Tilak Varma c Shimron Hetmyer b Jason Holder 27(15)Hardik in at 6. Pushes a back of a length ball to deep point for one. Four!! Slightly wide on a length, Samson drives it through cover for a boundary.Chase again. Four!! Full and wide from round the wicket, Samson guides it past backward point for a boundary. A single to long off follows. Full on the stumps to Tilak, turned to midwicket for one. Single off the next ball for Samson. A cut to point hands Tilak a quick couple. SIX!! Tilak makes room and lofts one down the ground, manages to clear the fielder at long on. 15 from the over.Shamar with his second. Four!! Full on off, crunched down the ground for a boundary by Samson. Short and wide, cut hard to the fielder in the deep for one. Four!! Full to Tilak, nonchalantly lofts it over mid off for a boundary. Four!! A touch too wide, Tilak slashes it past backward point for a boundary. Four!! A misfield in the deep from the midwicket fielder gives Tilak a third boundary in the over. 17 from the over.Roston Chase into the attack. Length ball on the pads, Samson turns it to deep midwicket for one. Angles one into Tilak, who defends to short cover. On the backfoot again, defended back to the bower. Tilak takes a single to long on. Samson pulls a slightly shorter ball to midwicket for one. Just three from the over.Shamar Joseph into the attack. Samson takes a single off the first ball. OUT! Suryakumar Yadav is caught at deep cover! Lofted the full ball but finds the fielder who takes a really good diving catch.Tilak Varma in at five. He’s off the mark with a single. A dot by Samson. India needs exactly 96 runs now. Samson drives too straight and the ball hits the stumps, another dot. This time he drives towards long on and takes a single.Motie for his second over. Samson takes a single off the first ball. Dropped! Suryakumar hits straight to the bowler but he isn’t able to grab it. Suryakumar takes a single off the next ball. Samson cuts for four and reaches his fifty off 26 balls. Crucial innings. A dot next up. Samson pushes towards long on and takes a single.Romario Shepherd into the attack. Samson takes a single off the first ball. Another single, this time by Suryakumar. SIX! Samson smacks the slower ball for a maximum. Hits it over wide long off boundary. Four! Samson drives straight and a poor fielding at long on gets India another boundary. Squares up Samson the next ball. Fortunately, Samson had the closed the bat face early. A single to end the over.Gudakesh Motie into the attack. Starts with a short and Samson hammers it towards cover for four. Takes a single off the next ball. Surya taps towards off side but can’t get a single. Gets a single the next ball towards long on. Another single towards long on, this time by Samson. Suryakumar ends the over with a four. Sweeps past the short fine leg fielder.Holder continues. Suryakumar takes a single off the first ball. Short and wide outside off, Samson punches past the bowler and gets a four straight. Takes a single the next ball. Length ball and Suryakumar takes out his typical pickup shot over deep square leg for a six! Huge hit that. Takes a single off the next ball. Samson pulls for a single to end the over.Forde for his third over. Drifts down the leg, wide. Suryakumar takes a single towards square leg. Slower delivery outside off, Samson takes the aerial route over point fielder and gets a boundary. A single via leg bye. A dot ball as Suryakumar defends. Takes a single the next delivery. Samson gets an inside edge, a dot to end the PowerPlay.Jason Holder into the attack. Back of the length, Ishan misses the cut. Full ball this time and Ishan lofts over cover fielder for four! OUT! Short ball, Ishan pulls straight deep square leg fielder. He timed it brilliantly but didn’t gave much elevation. He goes after scoring 10 off 6 balls.Suryakumar Yadav in at number four. Beaten off the first ball. Holder drifts down the leg, wide. Suryakumar gets a double off leg byes. A single to end the over.Forde continues. Samson takes a single towards square leg and Ishan Kishan gives him the strike back the next ball, opening his account. Samson drives but not in the gap, a dot ball. Samson pushes straight and gets a single. Not much timing in that shot. Full on the pads and Ishan picks it towards midwicket and gets his first four. An inside edge but Ishan will get a single.Hosein for his second. Samson backs away and cuts the length ball past point fielder for four. SIX! Now Samson slog sweeps and sends the ball into the square leg stand. Hosein too full on that occasion. Punches the length ball towards cover fielder, a dot ball. Another six! Short ball and Samson picks the length early to pull the ball over midwicket region for a maximum. He takes a single towards long off the next ball. OUT! Abhishek is gone. Short of length, Abhishek attempted the pull but ends up hitting high in the air and Hetmyer catches him running from the deep square leg region. Abhishek falls for 10 off 11 balls.Matthew Forde from the other end. Short ball and Abhishek pulls towards midwicket for four! Too wide outside off. Abhishek pushes towards cover point but can’t steal a single. Top edge into the helmet and Abhishek will have a concussion test. He was looking to whack the ball towards leg side on that occasion. Back. Abhishek taps the ball towards leg side and takes a single. Sanju Samson on strike. Seams in and cuts Samson in half! Seamed in a lot and Samson lucky not to get an inside edge there. He takes a single towards deep square leg for a single.Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson open the innings. Akeal Hosein with the new ball.Abhishek on strike. He defends the ball back to the bowler. Wide outside off, Abhishek lofts over the cover fielder for four! Drifts away, Abhishek looks to slog but misses. Pushes towards midwicket, a dot ball. Another dot as Abhishek drives towards cover fielder. He pushes the ball towards cover and takes a quick single to end the over.West Indies manages to put a formidable target on the board. India has chased 195 and above nine times in its history.195 will be the fourth-highest successful chase at the Eden Gardens in T20 cricket. Good news for the Windies is that there is minimal dew on the field. However, there has been barely any turn on offer for the spinners either way.The slower balls from India seemed to work against the middle order, so that will likely be the plan of action for the Windies.Bumrah to Powell, length ball on the body, swung across the line, clears the fence at forward square. Yorker to follow, just a single conceded. Nails the yorker, Powell manages to dig it out to the legside for two. Four!! Attempted yorker becomes a low full toss, drilled past wide long on for a boundary. Gets it right this time, just a leg bye on offer. Yorker again, Powell doesn’t connect his lofted shot down the ground. West Indies finishes on 195 for four.Arshdeep goes full and wide to Holder, mistimes his shot down the ground. Falls safely and gives him a single. Powell gets an edge on his attempted sweep, Samson gets his fingertips on it with a full-length dive. Abhishek puts another one down. Running in from the deep, he couldn’t gather the ball in his stride. Arshdeep goes wide again. almost out of the pitch. Just manages to prevent a no-ball and free-hit there. Holder punches one to deep cover for a couple. Just six from the over by Arshdeep. Goldust at this stage.Bumrah to Holder, lofted through the gap between square leg and midwicket for a boundary. A single brings up the 50-run partnership between Holder and Powell. A drive to midwicket gives Powell a single. Low full toss outside off, dragged to long on for one. Good over in the circumstances. Four!! Full on the stumps, clipped past short fine for four to spoil the over.Holder has struck at 250+ in the death this tournament in the first innings. India will need to get him out.Varun to bowl out. A couple of singles to start the over. West Indies in pursuit of 200 here. Six!! Holder moves his front foot away and slogs the length ball over midwicket for six. A couple to point for Holder. Four!! Overpitched on off, Holder uses his bottom hand to pummel it down the ground for four. Goes around the stumps and wide, just inside the tramline. 14 from the over.West Indies well ahead of the average total of 180. The Windies have struck at 205.55 strike rate at the death this tournament.Arshdeep back for his third. Powell picks up a single to point. Holder mistimes a lofted shot down the ground, falls well short of the fielder running in from the deep. Arshdeep goes short. Concedes five wides as the ball rises past Samson and runs away to the fence. Six!!! Powell connects with a slog across the line, deposits it into the stands. Arshdeep goes wide, away from the arc, called a wide though. Six!! Powell flicks a full ball on leg stump towards square leg and clears the rope again. Four!! Finds the gap through backward point this time. 24 from the over.Hardik back. Short of a length from over the wicket to the left-hander. Rutherford has a waft outside off and edges one to Samson behind the stumps.Sherfane Rutherford c Sanju Samson b Hardik Pandya 14(9)Jason Holder in at 6. A flurry of wickets have brought the run rate down. Full on off stump to the new batter, defended to point off the back foot. Three dots against the all-rounder as India builds up the pressure. Make that four. The run rate hovering just above 8 now. Six!! Holder makes room and launches a length ball down the ground for six to break the streak.king.jpgCredit - PTIVarun back after an expensive over. Powell fails to get bat on a legside push. Plays down the wrong line, and is rapped on the pads. India opts to review. Umpire’s call on hitting. A couple of singles exchanged between the two. Just six runs conceded by the mystery spinner.Axar into the attack. Six!! Sherfane pulls a shortish ball over midwicket, just manages to clear Tilak in the deep. Tilak in fact got his fingertips on the ball. Powell is welcomed with an arm ball, manages to bring his bat down in time and defend. Ten runs from the over.Hetmyer records most sixes in a single T20 World Cup editionShimron Hetmyer recorded most sixes in a single T20 World Cup edition during West Indies vs India Super Eights fixture at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.Bumrah brought on to see the back of Hetmyer. Chase brings him on strike with a single. Back of a length on the body, turned to deep square for a couple. WICKET!! Cramps him for room and Samson and Bumrah appeal for caught behind. Given by the umpire but Hetmyer reviews instantly. A small spike on UltraEdge and the dangerous Hetmyer is out.Shimron Hetmyer c Sanju Samson b Jasprit Bumrah 27(12)Sherfane Rutherford in at 4. Back of a length on off, dabbed to the offside for a single. WICKET!! Short of a length again, Chase only manages to lob his defensive prod up towards cover. Surya completes the catch. Two in the over for Bumrah!Roston Chase c Suryakumar Yadav b Jasprit Bumrah 40(25)Varun with his second over. Chase picks up a single to long on. Hetmyer goes after the spinner first ball, clears midwicket. Picks up two more to the same region. Four!! Varun goes wide, Hetmyer slaps it past extra cover for four. Another touch to midwicket hands the southpaw a couple more. Another couple to round out the over. 17 from it.Hardik for his third. Hetmyer defends back to Hardik. SIX! Length ball and Hetmyer smacks the ball over midwicket region. Stand and deliver. Pushes the next ball towards long on for a single. Cutter but too wide. Chase drives towards deep cover and takes a single. Hetmyer taps towards midwicket, wants a double but has to settle for a single. Down the leg, wide. Another wide, this time way outside off. A single to end the over.Varun Chakaravarthy for the first time today. Hope takes a single towards deep cover. Chase attempts a sweep but is hit on the pads, a dot. A single off the third ball. Followed by a dot as Hope misses the cut. OUT! Drifts into Hope, who looks to pushes towards leg but completely misses it and gets cleaned up. He falls after scoring 32 off 33 balls.Shimron Hetmyer in at three. He’s off the mark with a single.Axar for his third. Chase reverse sweeps and beats the short third fielder for four! He takes a single off the next ball. Hope cuts towards deep point and runs a double. A dot next up. Hope runs a double towards long on. A drive towards cover and a good fielding inside the ring keeps it down to just a single.Hardik is back. Chase takes a double towards deep cover. Tries to drive but is beaten off outside edge. Now he taps towards point region and takes a single. Hope taps towards off side and takes a single. Length ball, Chase slogs over midwicket for a six! Lovely strike that. He takes a single to end the over.Axar. Full toss and Hope drives through the covers for four. Length delivery, Hope drives but is fielded at covers. Hope takes a quick single off the third ball. Chase plays a dot, couldn’t middle that one. Now he sweeps past short fine leg fielder for four! A single to end the over.Jasprit Bumrah into the attack. Hope drives but is fielded at cover. Slices the off cutter but ball lands in front of cover point fielder. Another drive but fielded again at covers, but they take a single. Chase ramps the full ball and hits over fine leg for a four! DROPPED! Chase hits the ball high in the air and Abhishek drops a sitter at cover! Hope takes a single at deep point.Axar Patel into the attack. Hope opens the face of the bat and cuts past backward point for four. Ball was very close to the stumps there, risky shot. Chase is getting a bit of attention from the doctor; some issue in his leg. Back after a brief break. Hope tries to slog again but gets an inside edge, dot ball. Opens the bat face again but this time ball goes to short third fielder, dot. Attempts a sweep but is fielded at square leg inside ring, dot. Now he cuts but another dot. A single towards long off to finish the over.Arshdeep. Off stump, Chase doesn’t middle it and pushes the ball back to the bowler. Chase drives and wanted a single but Hope says no. The fielder, Varun, in the ring throws at the wrong end and Chase returns to crease safely. Another inside edge but a single this time. Now Hope hits towards deep point and takes a single. Chase lofts the full ball straight over the bowler’s head for four. And ends the over with another four, a cover drive.Hardik Pandya from the other end. Fuller on stumps, Hope defends but can’t steal a single. Length delivery outside off, Hope can only defend it. Hope clears leg, goes for the slog but gets an inside edge. Good dive from the keeper, Samson, to stop the ball. Length ball and this time Hope times it well, sending ball into the midwicket stand! Hope charges down the track but misses the back of the length delivery. This time, Hope stands still and drives past the cover fielder to end the over with a four.Arshdeep Singh to begin proceedings. Roston Chase and Shai Hope open the innings.Hope on strike. Defends the incoming delivery on off stump. On the pads, Hope taps on leg side and takes a single. Now Chase pushes the ball towards mid on and takes a quick single. Outswinger, Hope defends the off stump delivery. Similar delivery, and Hope taps again but isn’t able to steal a run. A single off the last ball towards deep point.We are done with national anthems. Players are out in the middle now.It is a high-scoring ground. If you’re bowling from the clubhouse end, it’s 73 metres straight over the bowler’s head, equidistant almost square of the wicket, so parity on both sides. Lots of sixes are being struck here, but there’s also value for your shots along the ground, one of the fastest outfields in world cricket. We’ve got some really living grass here, not too dry. One end is a little drier than the other, I feel, with a little less grass, but generally speaking, this is a six-hitting paradise, reckon Samuel Badree and Matthew Hayden.India: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit BumrahWest Indies: Shai Hope (c, wk), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Mathew Forde, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.India wins the toss, Suryakumar opts to bowl first.“It has been a chasing ground, and there is a bit of dew as well. There will be pressure, but the mood in the camp is good. Same team,” Surya says.“We would have bowled first, too. Will try to use the experience of playing in the IPL to win the game. Akeal Hosein replaces Brandon King,” Shai Hope says.Bringing in Sanju Samson at the top of the order helped the side put on a strong first-wicket partnership, which eventually helped the side post a mammoth total on the board. The team will hope for more of the same against the Windies.With Kolkata not particularly favouring spin, the bowling attack should also wear a very similar look, with Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh forming the pace trio.The City of Joy is mourning the loss of one of its favourite writers, Sankar. Add to it the earthquake that struck the metropolis on Friday. Even if there were no casualties, the worry was real. Within this theatre, the Men in Blue hope to provide cheer as they take on the West Indies at the historic Eden Gardens here on Sunday night.The ICC T20 World Cup’s Super Eight Group 1 fixture is a virtual knockout as the winner would sail into the semifinals. Decades ago, a limited overs clash between India and the West Indies would often swing the latter’s way even if Kapil’s Devils won the 1983 World Cup after defeating Clive Lloyd’s men.Cut to the present, India has a domineering aura, and after the defeat against South Africa, found its moorings in the game involving Zimbabwe. The playing eleven may be identical to the one at Chennai. With openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma laying a base against Zimbabwe, a factor that went missing in the earlier outings, India wants an encore from the men atop the batting tree.With Ishan Kishan stepping in at three and captain Suryakumar in at four, the alternating right-left combinations can test rival attacks. It was a pattern that stretched further down with Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma bolstering the middle order. The bowling, meanwhile, has largely been on mark even if the odd blip like Shivam Dube’s meltdown happened.The defending champion would be still wary of the West Indies. The men from the Caribbean played twice here during this championship and got past Scotland and Italy. The calypso lovers would also draw heart from history. In the 2016 final at Eden, Carlos Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four sixes in the final over, and Ian Bishop went ecstatic in the commentary box.Among the current lot, batters like Shimron Hetmyer and captain Shai Hope can soar. The exposure to the Indian Premier League has also helped many in the rival outfit to be clued into the local conditions. Head-to-head, India has won 19 and lost 10 against the West Indies.As the tournament enters its final stretch, the host would want to extend its winning run. This historic eastern urban sprawl had made foreigners like Dominique Lapierre and Steve Waugh feel comfortable here; India, though, wouldn’t want the West Indians to feel at home. The stakes are too high.- K. C. Vijaya KumarWelcome to the live coverage of the Super Eight encounter between India and West Indies at the Eden Gardens. The winner of the contest will be the fourth and final semifinalist at this edition of the World Cup. Will India carry forward the momentum from the win over Zimbabwe, or will the Windies spring a surprise on the defending champion?
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