A Man of the Match performance from Lendl Simmons helped West Indies reach their second World T20 final, by beating India by seven wickets. Darren Sammy’s side will now face England in the final at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat, Rohit Sharma got India off to a flyer, before he departed. Then it was Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who steadied the innings through the combination of the odd boundary and plenty of twos.
Once Rahane got out, it was the Kohli show as the right-hander once again put on a masterclass in a big-match and eventually finished with a 47-ball 89 helping India post 192. In response, Jasprit Bumrah got Chris Gayle early and his partner-in-crime Ashish Nehra got Marlon Samuels as the Windies lost a couple of early wickets in their massive chase.
From then onwards, it was always going to be difficult but fifties from Johnson Charles and Lendl Simmons gave the Windies some hope. The latter lived a charmed life as he was out off a no-ball twice and in the end, his partnership with Andre Russell, who smashed a 20-ball 43 that sealed the victory for their side.
Also read: ICC World Twenty20: England vs West Indies Finals, Match Date, Time, Venue info
Got three chances and I cashed in: Simmons
For his unbeaten 82, Lendl Simmons was the Man of the Match. He said: "I slept over the flight. I got a call in the morning after the Afghanistan game to come over, if I am fit. I came under pressure and had come here for a reason - to deliver and I delivered. I enjoy batting here. The fast outfield also helps.”
He admitted that it was one of this best innings. He added: “In a tough situation. I didn't play in the final [World T20 2012] in Sri Lanka and I almost missed out on this one. 180-190 is a par score and with the power-hitters we have, the guys believed we could chase it. I got three chances and things went my way and I cashed in.”
MS Dhoni admitted that the toss was crucial. He said: “I knew it was a bad toss to lose. The dew starts setting in during the second innings. Our spinners don't have a history of bowling well with the wet ball. Other than the two no-balls I'm not very disappointed with the bowlers.
“There wasn't much on offer. I wanted the fast bowlers to make a game out of it and give the part-timers a 5 run cushion. It's a hard format. There will be many close games. In the IPL, we face many such games which go till the end.”
Victorious captain Darren Sammy: "We knew it was going to be a massive step, our fifth step in this tournament against a very good Indian team. They came at us in the Powerplay, we stuck to it. I knew it was a 200 wicket.”
He added that he thought India were 10 runs short and he was praying to win the toss as it was a chasing ground.
“Now we have 2 West Indian teams in the final. It's great for the people in the Caribbean islands. We said before the tournament started, Chris is our best T20 player but we have 15 match-winners. Today Charles, Simmons and Russell took responsibility against a very good Indian team.
“We just believed. I can't describe it in one word. At the starting of the game, we said this is ours for the taking. I'm very excited. One step left. On Sunday we have to take that step the best way we can."
Here are the reactions from the cricket fraternity:
Mushfiqur Rahim put up the following Tweet but then deleted it soon after:
Lot of people admitted Simmons was living a charmed life, Graeme Smith:
Herschelle Gibbs:
Michael Vaughan:
Ashley Giles:
Many praised the genius of Dhoni, for bringing on Kohli to bowl and taking the wicket.
Dean Jones:
Michael Vaughan:
James Taylor:
Russell Arnold:
Graeme Smith made a valiant point on what was the difference between the two sides:
After another masterclass, tributes were pouring in for Kohli, Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy had a request:
Michael Vaughan:
Andrew Flintoff:
Former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Mahmood:
South African all-rounder Albie Morkel got the first part right but not the second:
Former Zimbabwe international Mpumelelo Mbangwa:
Former Australian spinner Stuart MacGill:
Australian opener Aaron Finch kept it simple:
After the missed run-out of Kohli on 1, Brian Lara kept it simple:
Anjum Chopra:
