It was a humdinger at the Wankhede Stadium that hosted the second semi-final of the ICC World T20 2016 between India and West Indies, which the Carbbeans clinched in the end by 7 wickets through a breathtaking chase.
Some poor bowling by India, and two costly no-balls by Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya gave second and third lives to the eventual man of the match Lendl Simmons, who starred with an exceptional knock of 82* to take his side to the final.
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India got the prized wicket of Chris Gayle in the second over of the innings, but Johnson Charles, Andre Russell, and Simmons perfectly executed the run chase of 193 runs under pressure.
Earlier, Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 89 took India to a competitive total of 192/2, but that, in the end, proved out to be 10-15 runs short.
There were many pivotal moments in the game, and here, we have summarized them through pictures.
1. The build-up: Packed Wankhede Stadium
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai is one of the largest stadiums in India in terms of seating capacity, and all seats were filled tonight with the large score of fans who turned out to watch the game.
They would have walked back disappointed, but the support that they showed to their team was emphatic.
The fans got the first proper look of the Indian players when they walked out to sing the National Anthem.
2. Rohit and Rahane give India a solid start
Rohit Sharma had a new batting partner for this game in Ajinkya Rahane, and the two gelled along immediately, as they put up a 62-run opening stand.
Rohit, who was cautious initially, opened up towards the second half of the powerplay and struck some big hits. But before he could fully flourish, he was dismissed by Samuel Badree, who trapped the Indian opener leg-before-wicket.
3. Virat Kohli takes centre stage
Rohit’s dismissal brought India’s best batsman, Virat Kohli, to the crease. Kohli and Rahane looked a bit jittery at first when it came to running between the wickets and the Delhi-born batsman escaped a run out as well.
Thereafter, the Indian batsman slowly got into the grove, and played some exceptional shots in his innings.
He was cautious at first, but gradually upped the ante and played freely towards the end of the Indian innings.
4. Sachin Tendulkar watches from the stands
When there is a World Cup semi-final going on in Mumbai, you naturally expect the city’s favourite son to turn up and cheer for his team. And so he did, as Sachin Tendulkar was seen watching the game from the stands.
Upon realizing that he was on camera, he waved towards the plethora of Indian cricket fans, who had gathered not just to watch the game, but also in the hope that they might just get a glimpse of the master.
5. Kohli and Dhoni finish off the Indian innings
West Indies bowled well in the middle overs and didn’t allow India to score many boundaries. However, Kohli made sure that his side made up for that with some serious and unbelievable hitting towards the death.
The Indian captain, MS Dhoni, also played a brisk cameo to assist Kohli at the other end- who himself was going all guns blazing- and got India close to that 200-run mark.
6. Jasprit Bumrah knocks over Chris Gayle
India were only defending 192 on the flattest of tracks that you would find in the country, and to have any chance in the game, they needed to get Chris Gayle’s wicket early.
And Jasprit Bumrah did just that when he bowled a beautiful inswinging yorker to knock back Gayle’s off stump and give India a huge head start.
7. Marlon Samuels chips one to Rahane
West Indies had hardly recovered from that early setback, when Marlon Samuels, played a check-shot, and scooped the ball up in the air, only for Rahane to take a smiple catch at cover.
That wicket had put India ahead in the game, but what followed thereafter certainly dashed the home side’s hopes for good measure.
8. Lendl Simmons powers WI through
Those two wickets didn’t dent even an orifice into Lendl Simmons’ confidence, who, playing his first game of the tournament, having been flown in as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher, played a blinder.
Simmons and Charles showed the right mixture of strike-rotation and powerful hitting to revive the West Indian innings and take them ahead in the game by the time the 15th over was completed.
9. Kohli’s magical arm
Just when things were looking dismal for India with Simmons and Charles executing the run-chase perfectly, MS Dhoni made a surprising bowling change by giving the ball to Virat Kohli in the 14th over.
And India’s best T20 batsman rewarded his captain immediately, when off his very first ball he got Charles caught at long-off to give India a massive opening to crawl their way back into the match.
10. Simmons and Andre Russell take WI home
It seemed as if Simmons at ice running through his veins tonight, as despite the fall of Charles’ wicket and the pressure of the mounting run-rate, he kept his cool and carved out crucial boundaries almost every over.
20 runs were needed off 2 overs in the end, and after three good balls, Jadeja, who was bowling the penultimate over, conceded a four and a six to bring the equation down to 8 off the last over.
Dhoni gave the ball to Kohli yet again in a hope that he could dish out some magic again, but it was not to be.
Russell smashed a four off the 3rd ball and a six off the 4th ball of the over to seal the deal for West Indies.
It was a heartbreak for India, as they were unbale to win the cup after making to the final four for the second consecutive time. However, now it is certain that either the West Indies or England would lift the ICC World T20 trophy for the second time.
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