Well that was awfully exciting, wasn’t it? The West Indies men join the women in the final, where they have a chance to win their second World T20 in three tournaments, after their success in Sri Lanka four years ago. We’ll have a match report for you in a bit, but meanwhile thanks for reading, and we’ll see you on Sunday.
Lendl Simmons, who wasn’t in the team before today, has taken the West Indies home with a quite brilliant 83 from 51 balls. It simply didn’t look even close to on when Gayle and Samuels went cheaply, but Simmons, Charles and finally Russell were utterly brilliant, and they will face England in the final on Sunday. What a chase! What a match! What a sport!
WEST INDIES WIN BY SEVEN WICKETS!
Russell hammers it over the mid-wicket fence for six, and they’ve done it!
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19.3 overs: West Indies 190-3 - require 3 runs from 3 balls: He hits that one! Four to the mid-wicket fence!
19.2 overs: West Indies 186-3 - require 7 runs from 4 balls: Dot ball! Russell misses a big swipe to leg!
19.1 overs: West Indies 186-3 - require 7 runs from 5 balls: Simmons dabs a single to mid-wicket.
Kohli! It’s Kohli! Kohli’s going to bowl the last bloody over!
19th over: West Indies 185-3 (Russell 33, Simmons 82) - 8 more runs required from 6 balls
Blimey, it’s Jadeja for the penultimate over, but the first two balls only go for one. Simmons carts him out to deep mid-wicket but there’s a man there, so it’s only one more, and the next is hit straight back to the bowler. But there’s some runs! Russell nails one with extreme prejudice, straight, straight, straight for six. Woof. And then another four, inside-out to the extra-cover fence. It’s deadly silent in Mumbai, because the West Indies are going to win this one, surely.
18th over: West Indies 173-3 (Russell 22, Simmons 81) - 20 more runs required from 12 balls
Simmons charges again, and again Bumrah goes for the slower shorter one, followed by another slow ball that is waved at by the batsman, and another from the next ball. Very smart bowling by the young man, that, producing three whole dot balls. And then six! Simmons smacks it up in the air, to the wide long-on boundary, where Jadeja catches it...but his toe touches the ropes before he can throw it up to Kohli! Scenes! Absolute scenes! Next an inside-out drive goes out towards the boundary, but Pandya runs around to make a fine stop and save a couple of runs. And then Simmons slices one over the slips for another four! Despite three dot balls, 12 runs from that over! SCENES!
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17th over: West Indies 161-3 (Russell 21, Simmons 69) - 32 more runs required from 18 balls
Here’s Nehra with a bit of experience to try calming things down a little. He’s around the wicket to Simmons, who walks across his stumps and tries to flick it for four, but just gets a single off his hips. A terrific yorker is kept out by Russell, then Nehra drops shorter and his well and truly punished, Russell carting him over cow corner for six. A couple more singles, but still ten from the over. The home crowd are nervily quiet.
16th over: West Indies 151-3 (Russell 14, Simmons 67) - 42 more runs required from 24 balls
Bumrah is back, and Russell hammers one that nearly takes the umpire’s head off, but Kohli comes round and not only stops the boundary at long-on, but keeps them to a mere single. “Any truth in the rumour that it was actually Virat who was behind the recent discovery of gravitational waves?” asks Simon McMahon. Every chance, Simon.
Simmons charges at Bumrah but the bowler sees him coming, and sends down a loopy bouncer that befuddles the batsman. Then Simmons slices one high over short third-man, and it bounces over the ropes for four. Another nailed shot goes straight to Ashwin at cover, who throws at the stumps, misses and they take a buzzer. And from the final ball of the over, a half-volley on middle-leg, Simmons thrashes a drive over the straight fence for six. It’s on! It’s blooming well on!
15th over: West Indies 138-3 (Russell 12, Simmons 56) - 55 more runs required
Pandya is back, and is greeted with a blur of Russell’s bat, as he belts the ball past mid-off and to the boundary. And then SWEET FANCY MOSES - Russell brutalises a shorter one that very nearly hit the roof of the stadium, and this is a big ol’ stadium. Pandya tries a different approach, coming around the wicket and bowling across Russell, which works in that he only gets a single from a carve to third man.
And then Simmons slaps a full-toss straight to cover, the catch is comfortably taken but...it’s a no ball again! That’s twice Simmons has escaped due to some careless over-stepping! And then, obviously, Simmons drops to one knee and mullers the free hit into the stands. So 18 runs and a wicket from a no-ball from the over. On balance, not a great one for India.
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14th over: West Indies 120-3 (Russell 1, Simmons 50) - 73 more runs required
A couple of dot balls, then Simmons brings up his 50 with a two and a single. Andre Russell then gets strike, hits a single down to long-off and that’s the over. A wicket and just four runs, which isn’t bad going at all.
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WICKET! Charles c Sharma b Kohli 52 (35) - West Indies 116-3
Virat Kohli! What a man! What a player! What a batsman! WHAT A BOWLER! Dhoni brings on the skinny genius, which looks like a maverick decision, but from his first ball - his first ball! - Charles whacks him up in the air, and straight to Sharma at long-off. If you want a job doing properly, give it to Virat.
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13th over: West Indies 116-2 (Charles 52, Simmons 47) - 77 more runs required
Jadeja continues, and Charles goes for the big one, doesn’t get hold of it and the ball bounces just in front of Rahane at long-off. Simmons very much does get hold of the next one, smacking it inside-out over extra-cover and to the boundary. A few singles, then Simmons takes advantage of some more width, carving Jadeja over cover for another boundary. If Jadeja’s going to bowl that line, surely it’s suicide not to have a fielder on the boundary out there?
12th over: West Indies 104-2 (Charles 50, Simmons 37) - 89 more runs required
Pandey bowls again, and he’s greeted with a fierce whip in front of mid-wicket from Charles that bounces just in front of the boundary. Simmons goes for a big wipe, but only gets a single from the last ball, after Charles survived a hopeful lbw shout that hit him well outside off. 89 runs needed from 48 balls.
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11th over: West Indies 97-2 (Charles 46, Simmons 35) - 96 more runs required
Jadeja is back with a bang, but the sort of bang you get from a party popper - he drops short and Simmons rocks back, belting him way over mid-wicket for six. Then a fuller, wider one is driven through the covers and it zoots along the ground and to the boundary. Could they? They couldn’t, could they? Well, yes, they probably could. Jadeja then gets away with a ludicrous full-toss - firstly because Simmons only bunted it away for a single rather than smacking it over the fence, and then because the umpire Ian Gould didn’t think it was over waist-height. With respect to Gunner, it blinking well was. Still, 13 runs from the over.
10th over: West Indies 84-2 (Charles 45, Simmons 23) - 109 more runs required
Pandey has a bowl, and Charles takes a colossal swipe at one, gets a thick edge that nonetheless flies out to the third man boundary, which it bounces millimetres in front of....or that’s what it looked like on the replays, only for the third umpire to decide it hit the Toblerone on the full. The outcome of the next is more certain, as Charles pulls a short one powerfully behind fine leg and he gets four. Pandey beats Charles from the last ball of the over, fencing outside off, but 12 from it = good news for the West Indies.
9th over: West Indies 72-2 (Charles 34, Simmons 23) - 121 more runs required
Ashwin floats one up to Charles, which turns out to be a mistake as he carts him into the crowd beyond the mid-wicket fence. Charles then smacks one along the ground to about the same spot, which Pandey makes a fine attempt at stopping but can’t quite manage it. A single, then Simmons goes big, inside-out, but it plugs a little in the turf allowing Jadeja to run around and stop it with his boot.
8th over: West Indies 59-2 (Charles 23, Simmons 21) - 134 more runs required
Hardik Pandya is the new bowler, and the batsmen take three singles from the first four balls, before he drops short and Charles, down the pitch, nails a pull out to the boundary.
7th over: West Indies 51-2 (Charles 17, Simmons 19) - 142 more runs required
Spin from both ends now as Ravi Ashwin’s whirling arms arrive. Simmons cuts uppishly and it goes in the air just - just - past Bumrah at wide slip and to the boundary. Then a couple of balls later he plays the same shot, this time it goes straight to the fielder who takes the catch...but wait! Ashwin commits that most unforgivable of sins for a spinner by overstepping. No ball, and as well as no wicket it’s a free hit...that Simmons thinks is a wide and leaves, but no dice there. Why didn’t he just swing at it anyway? Not like he could get out. Eventful over, although only seven runs came from it.
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6th over: West Indies 44-2 (Charles 16, Simmons 14) - 149 more runs required
The first bowling change - at this stage the West Indies had made five - as Ravi Jadeja has a bowl with his left-arm spin. And Simmons tucks in, battering a darted ball at leg stump way over the straight boundary for six. Big hit, that. Simmons misjudges a flick off his hips and it balloons in the air, but drops wide of fine-leg and they come through for a couple.
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5th over: West Indies 33-2 (Charles 15, Simmons 4) - 160 more runs required
Nehra trundles in again, and keeps Charles quiet, just a single from a mishit, attempted thrash over the leg side from the first four balls. And then Simmons shows Charles what to do, flicking a pull like a right-handed Graham Thorpe past fine leg for four.
4th over: West Indies 28-2 (Charles 14, Simmons 0) - 165 more runs required
Charles clearly isn’t going into his shell after those early wickets - Bumrah drops a bit short, and the opener nails one over mid-wicket and to the fence, a result he repeats next up with a little tuck off his hips and past short fine-leg. A single then brings new man Lendl Simmons onto strike, who dabs at his first couple of balls.
“I’m not proud of this,” writes Ant Pease, “but in spite of his obvious bowling talent, every time I hear the word “Bumrah”, all I can think is that it sounds like the answer to the question “I appreciate you’ve got a terrible cold, but could you please remind me of the name of the Thundercats’ nemesis? Admittedly, this question is rarely asked.”
3rd over: West Indies 19-2 (Charles 5, Simmons) - 174 more runs required
Well. What a start. What. A. Start.
WICKET! Samuels c Rahane b Nehra 8 (7) - West Indies 19-2
Nehra is back in, and Charles thumps a half-volley near his toes straight past the bowler, and also past a diving mid-on. A big lbw shout as Charles plays across the line, but that was well above the knee-roll and thus heading over the stumps. Nehra drops a bit shorter and thuds one into Charles’ belly, and it rolls away far enough for them to take a leg-bye. And then - hoo boy - Samuels ends his iffy short innings by gently chipping one straight up and into the waiting palms of Rahane at mid-off.
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2nd over: West Indies 14-1 (Charles 1, Samuels 8) - 179 more runs required
Spicy field from Dhoni here for Samuels - not only a slip, but a leg-slip too, and Samuels jabs at one that he was backing away from, edging through where second slip might have been and it flies to the boundary. That leg slipper is duly brought round to a sort of third/gully position, and Bumrah comes back with a couple of snorters that leave Samuels looking rather uncomfortable, before ruining things slightly with a wideish long-hop that is carved away to the cover boundary.
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WICKET! Gayle b Bumrah 5 (6) - West Indies 6-1
Jasprit Bumrah will bowl from the other end, and what a start! He bowls a low, inswinging full-toss that Gayle misses, and it thuds into the base of his off-stump. Is it hyperbolic to say that could be the game already?
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1st over: West Indies 6-0 (Charles 1, Gayle 5) - 187 more runs required
Charles faces first and tucks a single off his hips, then Gayle trolls us all by leaving his first ball. The second he prods at a little tentatively, and nearly plays onto his own stumps, then the third he also leaves, but partly because he nearly couldn’t reach it, Nehra just getting away with a very short, quite wide one. And then, the first boundary, a long-hoppy number that Gayle shovels past mid-wicket and out to the fence.
Opening the bowling for India, Ashish Nehra, who is apparently ‘only’ 36 but seems to have been around since the late 1970s.
And here are those batsmen. Chris Gayle, of course, but also Johnson Charles.
Plenty of neatly-clipped beards in this India team. They’re currently huddling on the outfield, probably swapping trimming tips. Or talking about how to limit the West Indian batsmen. One of the two.
West Indies require 193 runs to win
Well, it’s slightly under the average score for this ground, but nevertheless that’s a reasonably good total for India, the king Virat Kohli once again at the heart of everything. We’ll have a little break to do the necessaries and for Kohli to mop his dripping sweat, and we’ll be back for Chris Gayle to smack everything that moves shortly.
20th over: India 192-2 (Kohli 89, Dhoni 15)
Bravo starts with a full-toss on Dhoni’s shins that he massively gets away with, the ball going straight to the fielder on the wide mid-wicket fence on the bounce. Then - drop! Kohli smacks a length ball towards the same fielder, immediately gives up because a catch looks inevitable, but it either swirled in the air or Simmons misjudged it, because a diving catch attempt is turfed. They take two, then a single brings Dhoni on strike. Dhoni cloths another one into the air, it drops to a vacant mid-wicket area then a wayward throw allows them to dash back for three runs. Kohli swipes a half-volley on middle that bounces inches in front of the ropes, then the innings ends with a single out to long-on. Eeesh - breathless stuff.
19th over: India 180-2 (Kohli 81, Dhoni 11)
Russell back for the penultimate over. Kohli digs out a decent yorker to take two out to third man, then a length ball is utterly murdered over long-on, flying over the fielder and fence. Another yorker, but again Kohli flicks it off his toes and a sprinted first run allows them to take a second, then Russell tries one more that Kohli hammers just over cover for four, and closes the over with a bullet of a straight drive off a low full-toss, and another boundary. Whelp - 19 from the over, and Virat understandably looks beat.
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18th over: India 161-2 (Kohli 63, Dhoni 10)
Bravo is on for his death overs, starting with a slower ball that dips late and would’ve bamboozled about 95% of batsmen, but not Dhoni who flicks it for a single. Another couple of singles then Kohli carts Bravo from wide outside off, Brathwaite hesitates slightly before running in for the catch, but that dither was enough for it to bounce just in front of him and go to the boundary. The final ball of the over is straighter, Kohli takes a couple of steps down then plays a beautiful inside-out drive that just beats a diving Russell at long-off.
17th over: India 150-2 (Kohli 54, Dhoni 8)
And here goes Dhoni. Brathwaite bowls another full, wide one, but the Indian skipper wanders right across his stumps and plays a rampy, lappy flick past short fine-leg and to the boundary. A quick two, a single, then Brathwaite serves up a stinker of a long-hop that Kohli might actually be disappointed he only got four from. Another short one is bunted up into the air by Kohli, which would have dropped neatly into mid-on’s palms if he wasn’t on the boundary, and they come through for two to bring up his fifty. And a very productive over for India is completed as Kohli backs away, going for the big inside-out number but gets a cue-end on it, the ball squirting down to fine third man and another four.
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16th over: India 133-2 (Kohli 44, Dhoni 1)
Dhoni has moved himself up the order, so presumably he’s going to have a dart. Kohli pushes just wide of long-on and comes through for a rapid two, then misses out on a full-toss, punching straight to the cover sweeper and they get a single. Dhoni gets off the mark with a drive to the same man, and that’s another decent over for the Windies - six runs and a wicket from it.
Here’s Manoj Joseph, with more from the trash-talking hall of fame: “I was aiming for something more like Floyd Mayweather saying “When I retire, I’ll get Ricky Hatton to wash my clothes and cut my lawn and buckle my shoes. Ricky Hatton ain’t nothing but a fat man. I’m going to punch him in his beer belly. He ain’t good enough to be my sparring partner.” Looks like there is a ways to go yet before a get the art of the diss down perfectly.”
WICKET! Rahane c Bravo b Brathwaite 40 (35) - India 128-2
A breakthrough, and as is so often the case in T20 it comes from a pretty ropey ball, a long-hop from Brathwaite that Rahane connects pretty well with, but one that Bravo catches about a foot inside the boundary.
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15th over: India 127-1 (Rahane 40, Kohli 40)
Sammy is presumably holding Bravo back for the last two overs, so Brathwaite is back. Sammy has two men at point, Brathwaite bowls accordingly with some wide, full ones, but Kohli still manages to get four, with a square drive jammed into the turf and it bounces over both men. Lovely bit of business, that. Still, seven runs from the over - at this stage, the Windies will take that.
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14th over: India 120-1 (Rahane 39, Kohli 34)
Benn continues, and Kohli plays a beautiful, rubber-wristed drive through and then a little bit behind point, which is greeted by cheers almost as loud as when Sachin Tendulkar pops up on the big screen. A one, a two, a one, a two and a one from the remainder of the over, many driven out to the deep cover fielders.
I don't know if Kohli is the greatest living cricketer/anthropoid/deity but he is the best exponent of the square drive. #wt20 #INDvWI
— daniel norcross (@norcrosscricket) March 31, 2016
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This is interesting, and suggests India really do need a big last seven overs...
Definitely think the varied range of pitches/conditions have helped make this World T20 exciting #WT20 pic.twitter.com/nrVTCX5ftU
— Charlie Reynolds (@cwjreynolds) March 31, 2016
13th over: India 109-1 (Rahane 36, Kohli 26)
A couple of singles brings up India’s 100, perhaps at a slightly slower rate than they might have liked given this pitch, which looks pretty good. Kohli dabs towards long-on with the enough pace - or lack thereof - to dash through for a couple. Kohli then sends a full-toss out towards the square leg boundary, Russell makes a doughty attempt at stopping the thing but does so with his foot touching the ropes, so that’s four. A two, then a one, and it looks like Virat is really getting going now.
“I love Manoj Joseph’s trash-talking of Sharma,” writes Jonathan Wood, “not least because it put me in mind of the Zambian tennis player Lighton Ndejwayl, who had this to say about an opponent: “Musumba Bwayla is a stupid man and a hopeless player. He has a huge nose and is cross-eyed and girls hate him. He beat me because my jockstrap was too tight and because when he serves he farts, and that made me lose my concentration, for which I am famous throughout Zambia”.
12th over: India 98-1 (Rahane 35, Kohli 16)
There must have been a run short in that last over, which is pretty careless from India. Anyway, Benn is in and some more hard running from India produces seven runs from that over, largely out to the leg side.
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11th over: India 92-1 (Rahane 31, Kohli 13)
Brathwaite is back with the ball, and some superb running from Kohli turns a long single into a relatively comfortable two. Plenty of that Brathwaite over is very leg side, and he sort of gets away with it, in that no boundaries come from the over, but some smart running accounts for their score.
Manoj Joseph isn’t a fan of India’s opener: “Rohit Sharma is the biggest liability in the Indian team. Any player who plays more than ten balls in power play and can’t maintain a strike rate of at least 150 does not deserve to be in the team. Personally, I think that the situation against Australia in the last group game got so bad only because he could not give India a half decent start. What sort of player leaves balls without even attempting a shot during powerplay? More than once in the same over even. India should have lost the last game and probably will lose this one. A large chunk of the blame rests on the shoulders of the yellow-bellied lily-livered Rohit Sharma.”
10th over: India 86-1 (Rahane 29, Kohli 10)
For the first time in the innings Sammy keeps a bowler on, continuing with Badree, whose first ball is a wide down leg. Rahane drives inside-out for two, then a couple of singles, then Badree serves up a pretty whiffy long-hop that Rahane belts in front of mid-wicket and to the fence. Ten from the over.
9th over: India 76-1 (Rahane 21, Kohli 9)
Here’s Dwayne Bravo with his slowies and really slowies and not-quite-as-slowies. He sends down a couple of rapid short ones, the first is signalled as his first over shoulder-height, so thus the second is called a no-ball.
And then, a heroic level of shambles - Kohli misses the free hit, it goes through to the keeper but for some reasons starts taking a single, perhaps forgetting you can be run-out from a free hit. Ramdin underarms at the stumps and misses by an inch, then Bravo picks it up and attempts a throw of his own...and misses by an inch on the other side of the stumps. It should tell you how far Kohli was down that they had two attempts at throwing down the stumps.
Kohli seems to have had about a crate of Red Bull before batting, because next ball he takes an uber-risky second run, and would’ve been well gone had Ramdin gathered the throw from the deep. Then he throws everything at a widish one, getting a thick edge that flies fine to the ropes. He pumps his fist heartily, Bravo chuckles.
Peter Salmon writes, I think seriously: “Terrific stuff – see this is what I tune into the cricket for – an action packed debate on questions of gender and patriarchy. Perhaps the match could be settled on these lines – Chris Gayle and M S Dhoni debating Mary Daly’s notion of Gyn/Ecology and phallocentrism – I’ll bet they’d both have some pretty interesting things to say, and the crowd would love it!”
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8th over: India 66-1 (Rahane 20, Kohli 1)
India seem to be playing Badree like he’s Shane Warne, constantly playing for some ripping leg-spinners that simply don’t arrive, suggesting that more trouble could be ahead. Four runs come from the over, a good one by the Windies leggie.
“Dave Bell has a point,” writes Robert Wolf Petersen, “but I wasn’t advocating a NZ v England rematch on the grounds of political acceptability. I just don’t like the current Windies or India teams much. PS: Thanks for the waving bear. Really puts everything into perspective.”
Here’s Virat. Everyone get settled.
WICKET! Sharma lbw Badree 43 (31) - India 62-1
Badree now gets another bowl, his third over, and gets the breakthrough. Sharma plays for the leg-spin that doesn’t arrive, flicks across the line, misses and he’s trapped in front.
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7th over: India 62-0 (Sharma 43, Rahane 17)
The bowling rotation continues - Benn is back, tightening things up a little. No boundaries, but still seven runs as they take seven runs from a relatively low-key over.
“So if changing bowlers every over is a good idea in T20 cricket, why isn’t it also a good idea in Test cricket?” asks John Cox. Presumably because Tests required a bit more time to get into a rhythm, work on plans to certain batsman and so forth.
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6th over: India 55-0 (Sharma 41, Rahane 12)
Russell returns, but his second ball is a full-toss at about the height of Sharma’s lowest rib, which the batsman nevertheless pops miles over the fine leg fence. And then the bonus delivery from the no-ball is absolutely crushed way, way, way over long-on. 13 runs from two balls - not Russell’s finest moment, that. Sharma hoys another delicious four from a long-hop, which brings to an end a very productive over for India - 20 runs from it.
5th over: India 35-0 (Sharma 23, Rahane 11)
Sammy mixing the bowlers up as ever, as Badree has changed ends. Rahane sprints down the pitch and aims for the long-off boundary, but doesn’t get anywhere near it and a thick edge flies away. Still, it flies to the ropes, so same result. Bravo then stops one on the boundary and they take a couple, before two more singles round off the over.
Meanwhile, Dave Bell writes: “Given the role of colonialism in instigating and furthering misogyny of various forms (not to mention its other harms) I hardly think it’s appropriate to suggest that a colonial power and a white settler colony would make a more politically acceptable final. Indeed, much of the most powerful feminist thought and action continues to come from both the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent.”
All getting a bit heavy this. Here’s a waving bear to lighten things up a little.
4th over: India 26-0 (Sharma 21, Rahane 4)
Big Sully Benn lopes in with his vertiginous left-arm spin, and they take two from a thick Sharma edge past slip. A bit of bounce can be an advantage for a spinner, but it can also not be - Benn drops short and is cut/back-foot driven through the covers for four, then the next ball drops to one knee and sweeps behind square-leg for the same amount. A good over for India, 11 from it.
“I don’t necessarily agree with Ian Copestake (pre-match comment),” writes Kandukuru Nagarjun, “but I support his right to say it. Especially since sports commentary would be so much more interesting if mixed with politics.
“Although I’m Indian, I’ve long supported WI at cricket because of CLR James and Michael Manley, the progressive political luminaries who also wrote about cricket. The current England team are so likeable that I’m considering abandoning my long-standing anyone-but-England policy. I first borrowed it from the late lamented Mike Marqusee, and then made it my own after the Iraq invasion of 2003.”
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3rd over: India 15-0 (Sharma 10, Rahane 4)
Carlos Brathwaite replaces Russell with the ball, and his first delivery is an absolute buffet ball, a half-volley on middle-leg. Sharma grabs three plates, piles it high with chips, lasagne, three types of noodles, a big load of rice, a couple of pizza slices and stuffs a bunch of bread rolls into his pocket - or, if you prefer, ‘smacks it over long-on for six.’ A few more singles, the last of which is a tight one that Sharma dives for at the non-strikers’ end, and seems to jam his thumb a little as he sprawls. After a shake of the hand, he looks like he’ll be OK.
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2nd over: India 6-0 (Sharma 2, Rahane 3)
Badree will bowl from the other end with his hurrying leg spin, and flummoxes Sharma with a googly - or ‘wrong one’ as Ramiz Raja calls them - that flicks off his pad and goes past Ramdin for a leg-bye. Just another few singles from the over, and this has been a tight start.
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1st over: India 2-0 (Sharma 1, Rahane 1)
Three dots to start, including an absolute snorter from Russell that beats Sharma’s outside edge, then India get of the mark as Samuel Badree lets the weakest of nudges to mid-wicket trickle through his hands. Just one more single and that’s a smashing start by the West Indies.
The players are out, anthems have been anthemed, and we’re very nearly away. Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma will open the batting for India, while Andre Russell has the ball.
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Some more stuff on the issue of who to support from you, dear readers:
Simon Gates: “Ian Copestake doesn’t need to worry as these teams are only playing for the honour of being obliterated by England in the final. Possibly.”
Robert Wolf Petersen (great name): “I’m with Ian Copestake. Is there any chance we can eliminate them both and organise a rematch between England and New Zealand for the final?”
Colm: “I know it’s a cliché but- only in the Guardian!!”
On who to support for moral reasons, here’s Ian Copestake: “I am still struggling to disassociate the West Indies from Chris Gayle’s unreconstructed interview techniques and figured I would support India on the basis of gender equality. But a look at the Gender Inequality Index has India down in 130th place (of 150 or so nations), forty below Jamaica. So I kind of want them both to lose.”
Team news
India
RG Sharma, A Rahane, V Kohli, S Raina, M Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk, c), H Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Nehra, J Bumrah.
West Indies
J Charles, CH Gayle, MN Samuels, LMP Simmons, D Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, AD Russell, DJG Sammy, CR Brathwaite, S Badree, SJ Benn.
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Ian Gould (on-field), Marais Erasmus (third umpire), Michael Gough (fourth umpire), Chris Broad (match referee).
West Indies have won the toss
...and have chosen to bowl first.
Lovely bit of news from earlier - Mahela Jayawardene will play alongside Chris Gayle for Somerset in the T20 Blast this summer. Oh yes.
Preamble
So, sports fans, what do we want to see today? Would we like to see a close fought, squeaky tight game in which a run chase goes down to the very last ball, or are we all here just to see if Virat Kohli can do those Virat Kohli things again? Hopefully both, but let’s not get greedy. The other question is who would make a better final? The home team, with their cricket daft nation whooping it up around them, or the visitors, who can’t seem to find their collective bottom with both hands when it comes to Test matches, organisation or actually keeping any of their players happy, but when it comes to Twenty20 most definitely have their ish together?
Another thought it whether the last games of the two teams will have any impact. India of course roared back to beat Australia from an unlikely position, Kohli playing like the dreamiest dream and proving once and for all that - with apologies to all the very capable, erudite, talented people out there - he is almost certainly better than you. West Indies on the other hand stuck out a pseudo-reserve team that were torn a new one by Afghanistan, of all people, a result that might not mean a great deal since the reason for their second-string was that they had already qualified for the semis. But still, perhaps not the ideal way to prepare for such a supermassive game, neither might be an emotionally and physically draining encounter with Australia.
What seems rather more certain is that this should be a belter. Stay tuned.
Start: 14.30 BST
Hello. Nick will be here shortly for West Indies v India. Despite the Windies winning the group, hosts India are the favourites. West Indies captain Darren Sammy remains confident his team can book a rematch with England in Sunday’s final:
It is going to be 15 West Indian players versus thousands and how many billions here in India. It is a challenge we are ready to face. The guys who predict the results, I think they say it’s 80‑20 to India, so it feels like a David and Goliath – but people tend to forget that David won the fight. It is something similar to that.
The next T20 World Cup is in four years. The World Universe Boss [Gayle] will be 40. I will be 36, so yes, we really put our all into this tournament and the guys in the dressing room are aware of what’s at stake
It is six steps to the cup. We have taken four, we had a little pothole in the road [against Afghanistan] but we will brush ourselves off and the step tomorrow is against India and we are looking forward to it. I think this year could be the year for the West Indies.
