India face West Indies in a crucial must-win encounter at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, with a place in the semifinals at stake. The contest is virtually a quarterfinal — the winner advances, while the loser crashes out of the tournament. Historically, India has struggled against the West Indies in T20 World Cups, managing just one victory in four meetings between the two sides.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar set the tone in the first over itself. He bowled a series of beautiful outswingers that troubled Dwayne Smith. From that point on, the West Indies never really looked comfortable. They failed to take advantage of a few fielding mistakes by India, but the bowlers were so disciplined that it hardly mattered.
Bhuvneshwar finished with remarkable figures of 3 overs, 3 runs, and no wickets — one of the most economical spells in T20 internationals. Mohammed Shami kept things tight from the other end. Ravichandran Ashwin bowled early in the innings to increase the pressure, and the plan worked perfectly. When the West Indies were already struggling, Amit Mishra delivered the final blow by taking the wickets of Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo in back-to-back deliveries.
While India bowled brilliantly, the West Indies also played very passively. Even with several extra runs given by India, they were only 46 for 1 after 10 overs. Chris Gayle scored 34 from 33 balls, which was one of his slowest innings in T20 cricket. Dwayne Smith struggled badly, making just 11 runs from 29 balls. The rest of the batting line-up could not handle the pressure of needing over 100 runs in the final 10 overs. This was despite Gayle being dropped twice, once on 0 and again on 19.
Kohli’s opponents in 2014 WC
36 (32) vs Pakistan
54 (41) vs West Indies
23 (22) vs Australia
57 (50) vs Bangladesh
72* (44) vs South Africa (Semi-final)
77 (58) vs Sri Lanka (Final) pic.twitter.com/x4uIjyPmq8— Sah Aditya (@AkashGupta44333) March 1, 2026
India’s bowlers did not give away easy runs. Bhuvneshwar, in particular, looked dangerous every time he bowled full. Before the match, Suresh Raina had mentioned that the West Indies struggle when they cannot hit sixes. Their captain, Darren Sammy, had said teams should try to stop them from clearing the boundary. India did exactly that. Only six sixes were hit in the entire innings, and even singles were hard to get.
When Gayle tried to attack, it came with big risks. He hit a six off Mishra but nearly got out on the very next ball. Ashwin bowled a disciplined spell, making sure Gayle never got going. Boundaries were rare, and quick running between the wickets was also missing. Gayle was eventually run out in a casual manner, which summed up the West Indies’ innings.
At 62 for 2 after 13 overs, they were far behind in the game. Mishra then removed Samuels with a sharp leg break that led to a stumping by MS Dhoni, his 127th in international cricket — a record at the time. Bravo fell soon after to a googly, and the match was almost over.
West Indies managed to reach 129 due to some loose bowling at the end, but it was never going to be enough. Despite a questionable lbw decision against Shikhar Dhawan, India chased the target comfortably. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma scored calm half-centuries to guide the team home. Yuvraj Singh struggled but added some late excitement.
In the end, it was a dominant performance by India. Their bowlers controlled the match, and their batsmen finished the job with ease.
