Windies stun India to storm into World T20 final

Late replacement Lendl Simmons led a charmed life to blast 82 not out and carry West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over against India in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

Simmons was caught three times at the Wankhede Stadium but made the most of his fortunate reprieves to help West Indies set up a final against England on Sunday.

On 18 and 50 he escaped after the bowlers had overstepped for no-balls.

The 31-year-old also had luck on his side on 68 when Ravindra Jadeja snapped him up on the boundary but stepped on the rope as he lobbed the ball to Virat Kohli, turning a possible dismissal into a six.

Earlier, Kohli continued his rich vein of form by smashing an undefeated 89 to guide India to 192 for two after they were put in to bat.

West Indies lost the dangerous Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels early in their reply but opener Johnson Charles kept them in the hunt with a 36-ball 52 and a third-wicket stand of 97 with Simmons.

The right-handed Simmons plays for Mumbai in the Indian Premier League and was only called into the squad two days ago as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher.

He cracked seven fours and five sixes in 51 balls and added an unbeaten 80 with Andre Russell for the fourth wicket to take West Indies home with two balls to spare.

Russell, known for his powerful hitting, contributed 43 off 20 deliveries.

"We knew it was a 200 wicket and halfway in the dressing room I kept telling the boys that India are 10 runs short," said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, delighted after his team proved they can win without Gayle firing on all cylinders.

"We said this before the tournament that Chris is under pressure, he is our best Twenty20 player but we have 15 match-winners in this side."

DHAWAN DROPPED

Earlier, the West Indian bowlers began strongly, allowing the home team just six runs in the first couple of overs but India then took control in front of a stadium filled to the brim with fans wearing the team's blue jersey.

India, the inaugural champions in 2007, dropped under-performing opener Shikhar Dhawan and the move paid off as Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) put on 62 for the first wicket.

That laid the perfect foundation for Kohli, who led his side into the last four with 82 not out against Australia in the previous match, as he compiled a third unbeaten half-century in the tournament.

Kohli began nervously, twice going close to being run out, but made the opposition pay for failing to take their chances.

He struck 11 fours and a six in his 47-ball knock, putting on 66 for the second wicket with Rahane and an unbroken 64 for the third with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15 not out).

Dhoni said the toss was crucial and the evening dew made it tough for his spinners to grip the ball.

"It was a bad toss to lose," he added. "That (dew) makes it very difficult for us.

"We also have a history of not doing very well when it comes to the spinners bowling with a wet ball."

West Indies' women also reached the final as captain Stafanie Taylor scored 25 and took three wickets to help defeat New Zealand by six runs and set up a final against champions Australia on Sunday.

Smashes

Russell smashes a boundary and six off Kohli to book their berth in the World T20 final where they will meet England on Sunday.

Chasing a daunting target of 193, Simmons anchored their chase with an unbeaten knock of 82 while Russell bludgeoned four sixes and three boundaries in his 20-ball 43 during an unbroken stand of 80.

Player of the match Simmons slammed five sixes and four boundaries in his 51-ball knock as West Indies made 196-3 in 19.4 overs.

West Indies need 8 off 6 balls to be bowled by Kohli.

Russell has clubbed Jadeja for a thundering straight six followed by a cracking boundary on the off. WI 185-3, 19 overs.

Eventful over as Bumrah is hammered for a six and boundary by Simmons. WI 173-3, 18 overs.

Russell has whacked a half tracker from Nehra into the stands. WI 161-3, 17 overs.

Simmons is taking it away from India smashing a boundary and straight six off Bumrah. WI 151-3, 16 overs.

Simmons survives again after being caught off a no-ball bowled by Pandya before hammering a six off the free hit. WI 138-3, 15 overs.

Russell is turning it on smashing a boundary and thundering six off Pandya.

Simmons completes a half century in his first match of the tournament. WI 120-3, 14 overs.

Kohli seems to have the Midas touch striking with his first ball to break a 97-run partnership. WI 116-3, 13.1 overs.

Jonathan Charles c Sharma b Kohli 52 (36b 7x4 2x6)

Charles swats Pandya for a boundary to bring up his half century off 30 balls. WI 104-2, 12 overs.

Charles continues to pick up boundaries smashing Ashwin for a massive six. WI 72-2, 9 overs.

Simmons survives after being caught off a no-ball from Ashwin. WI 51-2, 7 overs.

Jadeja is smacked down the ground for te first six of the innings by Simmons. WI 44-2, 6 overs.

Simmons gets into his stride pulling Nehra to square leg for a boundary. WI 33-2, 5 overs.

Charles picks up a couple of boundaries off Bumrah. WI 28-2, 4 overs.

Nehra strikes as Samuels chips a delivery which stopped on him. WI 19-2, 3 overs.

Marlon Samuels c Rahane b Nehra 8 (7b 2x4)

Charles drives Nehra down the ground for his first boundary.

Samuels opens his account by opening the face of the bat to steer Bumrah to third man. WI 14-1, 2 overs.

Bumrah has struck a deadly blow yorking Gayle with his first delivery. WI 6-1, 1.1 overs.

Chris Gayle b Bumrah 5 (6b 1x4)

Gayle opens his account by pulling Nehra to square leg for a boundary as West Indies begin chasing 193. WI 6-0, 1 over.

India innings

Another magnificent half century from Virat Kohli (89 not out) has powered India to a formidable 192-2 after being put into bat by West Indies.

Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) gave India a blazing start posting 62 in 7.2 overs before the Virat Kohli show began.

Surviving a run out attempt on one, Kohli slammed 11 fours and a six during his 47-ball knock, sharing in two stands of 66 with Rahane and an unbroken 68 off 26 balls with skipper Dhoni.

Kohli has thumped a towering six over long-on off Russell who goes for 19. Ind 180-2, 19 overs.

Kohli cracks a scorching boundary off Bravo after Brathwait leaks one earlier going for a catch. Ind 161-2, 18 overs.

Kohli swats Brathwaite to square leg for a boundary followed by a couple to bring up his half century. Ind 150-2, 17 overs.

Dhoni promoting himself above Raina opens his account with a paddle scoop off Brathwaite for a boundary.

Bravo takes a well judged catch on the boundary to dismiss Rahane. Ind 128-2, 15.3 overs.

Ajinkya Rahane c Bravo b Russell 40 (35b 2x4)

Kohli has played an incredible shot sending Brathwaite sailing over two fielders on the off for a boundary. Ind 127-1, 15 overs.

Rahane and Kohli have added 52 off 38 balls for the second wicket. Ind 120-1, 14 overs.

Rahane has smacked Badree to midwicket for a boundary. Ind 86-1, 10 overs.

Kohli (1) survives being run out after Bravo misses with three stumps in sight before edging past the keeper to third man for a boundary. Ind 76-1, 9 overs.

Badree has drawn first blood trapping Rohit leg before. Ind 62-1, 7.2 overs.

Rohit Sharma lbw b Badree 43 (31b 3x4 3x6)

India have got their best start of the tournament with some power hitting from Rohit. Ind 55-0, 6 overs.

Rohit is on fire smashing a waist high full toss over long leg before slamming the free hit for a towering straight six.

Rahane gets a boundary off Badree attempting an inside out shot only to edge it to third man. Ind 35-0, 5 overs.

Rohit is on song slamming two consecutive boundaries of Benn on either side of the wicket. Ind 26-0, 4 overs.

Rohit his the first six of the match lofting Brathwaite over long-on clean as a whistle.

West Indies have won the toss and put India into bat in the second semifinal at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

Gayle and Lendl Simmons are in the Windies XI for Evin Lewis and the injured Andre Fletcher.

India have left out Shikhar Dhawan and injured Yuvraj Singh and brought in Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey.

Preview

The second World Twenty20 semi-final is likely to hinge on who emerges on top in the battle between the big-hitting West Indian batsmen and India's wily spinners when the former champions clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

India, the world's top-ranked side in the shortest format, arrived at the sixth edition of the tournament with 10 wins from 11 matches in 2016 and were considered overwhelming favourites by fans, opposing captains and bookmakers alike.

But while an opening Super 10 stage defeat to New Zealand, who reached the semi-finals unbeaten, was a wake-up call, the home side's credentials came into question in a one-run win over Bangladesh, who lost three wickets in the last three balls.

Virat Kohli's wide blade was then called on to see off a stiff challenge from 50-over world champions Australia in a winner-takes-all contest to reach the last four, his masterclass glossing over some major batting flaws for the 2007 champions.

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have failed to build a solid foundation for the hosts and their opening stands of five, 14, 42 and 23 have put pressure on the middle and lower order to provide a bulk of the scoring.

Left-hander Suresh Raina's scores of one, zero, 30 and 10 have not been overly helpful either, and calls for the number four batsman's omission from the team have only gained momentum.

Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out with an ankle injury he picked up in the win over Australia, opening the door for either Ajinkya Rahane to play at his home ground or the recalled Manish Pandey to stake a claim in the starting side.

"You can't rely on one batsman, yes the others have contributed, but still at the same time, if we can do a bit more with the bat at the top of the order and the middle overs, I think we will feel the pressure slightly less," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said after the Australia triumph.

"Also, it will be good, because still we feel we are batting at 65 percent, barring Virat (Kohli)."

CAPTAIN COOL

Dhoni faces the prospect of lifting a third World Cup for India after leading them in 2007 and again for the 50-overs title in 2011, the wicketkeeper lauded for his exceptional calmness and savvy against Bangladesh as India stole victory.

A win on Thursday will take India to a third final in the World Twenty20 under Dhoni after they went down to South Asian rivals Sri Lanka in the last edition in Bangladesh.

The strong form of his spinners and accuracy of pacemen Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah in the death overs will give Dhoni hope of taming the West Indies batsmen on a surface that has done little to help the bowlers in three matches.

South Africa saw a 230-run target chased down by England, who were on the receiving end of Chris Gayle's assault when they failed to defend a score of 182.

At the same ground, Afghanistan gave South Africa a scare while chasing 209 until they lost too many wickets in the second half of the innings on a surface offering little respite for the bowlers at a ground with relatively short boundaries.

Afghanistan also inflicted the only Super 10 defeat on West Indies with their spinners finding a way to restrict their powerful batsmen in Nagpur.

The 2012 champions rested Gayle for that game and a hamstring injury to Andre Fletcher, who has since been ruled out of the tournament and replaced by Lendl Simmons, hampered their chase further.

But the inability to chase down a modest 124 would have not gone unnoticed and skipper Darren Sammy is hoping it was just a one-off and not a sign of inconsistency.

"We have to leave this game in Nagpur," Sammy said. "We'll leave this game here and see it as the blip in the tournament.

"Now we have two knockouts to play. Two more steps."

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