Men in Blue ride on his unbeaten 97* to down West Indies by 5 wickets, set up semis with England
Kolkata: Sanju Samson produced a match-winning 97 not out as India defeated West Indies by five wickets in their Super Eights clash to reach the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
India will face England in the semifinals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
West Indies posted a challenging 195 for 4 after Roston Chase laid a solid foundation and Rovman Powell (34 not out; 19 balls) and Jason Holder (37 not out; 22 balls) added a 76-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
In reply, India were under early pressure as Abhishek Sharma (10) and Ishan Kishan (10) fell cheaply in the powerplay. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (18), Tilak Varma (27) and Hardik Pandya (17) also failed to convert their starts.
Amid this, Samson, playing only his third match in the tournament, anchored the chase with poise. He struck 12 fours and four sixes in 50 balls, guiding India to 199 for 5 in 19.2 overs. He shared a 58-run third-wicket stand with Suryakumar Yadav and a 42-run partnership with Tilak Varma.
Samson brought the scores level with a towering six off Romario Shepherd in the 19th over and sealed the victory with a boundary over mid-on. The innings marked his highest T20 World Cup chase score for India and highlighted his return after being sidelined earlier in the tournament.
