West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to field against India on Thursday in the second semi-final in Wankhede stadium, Mumbai.
For India, Ajinkya Rahane in for Shikhar Dhawan and Manoj Pandey in for Yuvraj Singh. Lendl Simmons replaces Andre Fletcher in West Indies.
Batting first, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane made a solid start as India were 55/0 after 6 overs. Rohit scored a brilliant 43 off just 31 balls.
Virat Kohli with Rahane balanced the innings and after 13 overs, India were 109/1. When Rahane departed, Kohli maintained the pace of the innings and scored a blistering knock of 89 off just 47 balls to take India 192 against the Windies.
Chasing a target of 193, Jasprit Bumrah got rid of Chris Gayle early. Soon, Ashish Nehra also got Marlon Samuels wicket. West Indies were 44/2 after 6 overs.
After losing two early wickets, Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles took West Indies to 97/2 after 11 overs.
Kohli Vs Gayle
The match is expected to be a showdown between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. On one hand Chris Gayle is intent to get his World Twenty20 limelight back, while on other Kohli is in no mood to give it back.
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While Virat has already reached to the top slot of the shortest cricket format, Chris Gayle could be the biggest threat to India’s entry into the World T20 summit clash for the third time in six editions.
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Kohli has been the star of the World T20 up till now, however in the last match Gayle, the swashbuckling West Indian opener, has smashed an unbeaten century against England. Chris Gayle blitz of 100 not out in 48 balls, studded with 11 towering sixes and five fours, that enabled the West Indies to easily overhaul the former’s 20-over tally of 182 for 6 with 11 balls to spare.
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The Stadium
According to PTI report, The Wankhede Stadium track being prepared for the ICC World T20 semi final clash between India and the West Indies is unlikely to favour the batsmen to the same extent as it did in the earlier matches.
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“There’s an even coating of grass to bind the wicket, but the track would be slower than in earlier games. But it will still be a good T20 wicket,” informed sources said here today ahead of the March 31 clash which is to be witnessed by a packed capacity crowd of 33,000 spectators.
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Weather
The heat in Mumbai has been on the higher side over the last few days with mercury touching the mid-30s, and this factor too is expected to affect the way the track will behave, the sources pointed out.
On India’s part, Spinners are expected to play a crucial role in the match. As far as West Indies team is concerned, they rely heavily on their all-rounders, including skipper Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell.
Possible playing XI:
India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma.
West Indies (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.
(With Agency Inputs)