Sanju Samson's sparkling unbeaten 97 kept alive India's dream of retaining the T20 World Cup at home as they knocked out the West Indies with a five-wicket win in Kolkata on Sunday to set up a semi-final against England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Samson hit 12 fours and four sixes in his superb 50-ball knock in the winner-takes-all final Super Eights match to thrill a capacity 67,000 fans at a pulsating Eden Gardens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the West Indies smacked 70 off the last five overs to score 195-4 after being asked to bat, India lost two early wickets but were always up with the required rate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Samson, opening for the second match in succession, led the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
When India slipped to 41-2 Samson was joined by captain Suryakumar Yadav (18) and the pair added 58 for the third wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Tilak Varma was next to join Samson and scored 27 off 15 before departing in the 15th over with the score 141-4 and India still needing 55.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Samson stood firm and though Hardik Pandya fell for 17 India reached the target with four balls to spare to spark celebrations and fireworks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It means the whole world to me," Samson said. "Right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, I think this is the day I was waiting for."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Samson said he learned the art of finishing matches "from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jason Holder and Rovman Powell earlier put on an unbroken stand of 76 for the fifth wicket to help the West Indies set the defending champions a target of 196 to stay alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The West Indies sprang a surprise at the top of the order, promoting Test captain Roston Chase to open alongside T20 skipper Shai Hope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That enabled them to bring in an extra spinner, Akeal Hosein, with regular opener Brandon King left out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In their defeat to South Africa last week the West Indies slumped to 83-7 but the new-look opening partnership was more assured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy got the first breakthrough, bowling Hope for a sluggish 32.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shimron Hetmyer raced to 27 off 12 balls before falling to the faintest of edges off Jasprit Bumrah to make it 102-2.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After Chase fell for 40 and Sherfane Rutherford followed, Powell and Holder launched their brutal late assault.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Powell finished on 34 not out from 19 balls with two sixes and three fours while Holder was unbeaten on 37 off 22 balls with three sixes and two fours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Maybe a few short, especially on a chasing ground such as this," said a disappointed Hope. "Probably could have gone a bit more at the end. Probably could have got more at the start as well."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It could have been better for India but they dropped three regulation catches in a sloppy fielding display, including Chase when he had made just 15.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
South Africa, the only unbeaten side in the tournament, beat Zimbabwe by five wickets earlier on Sunday and will face New Zealand in Kolkata in the first semi-final on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The final is in Ahmedabad next Sunday.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/t20-wc-samsons-ubeaten-97-guides-india-to-semis.JPG", "alt_img": "T20 WC: Samson's ubeaten 97 guides India to semis", "alt_title": "ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 -India vs West Indies", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "T20 WC: Samson's Ubeaten 97 Guides India To Semis On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "T20 WC: Samson's Ubeaten 97 Guides India To Semis, T20 World Cup: Sanju Samson smashed unbeaten 97 as India thrash West Indies by five wickets to enter semi-finals of.", "seo_keywords": "T20 WC, Sanju Samson, West Indies, T20 World Cup, Eden Gardens Stadium", "tag": "", "tagging": "T20 WC,Sanju Samson,West Indies,T20 World Cup,Eden Gardens Stadium,T20 WC,Sanju Samson,West Indies,T20 World Cup,Eden Gardens Stadium", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "t20-wc-samsons-ubeaten-97-guides-india-to-semis", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "322", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-03-01 22:56:04", "updated": "2026-03-02 08:58:16", "img_from": "Image Source: IANS", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "T20 WC, Sanju Samson, West Indies, T20 World Cup, Eden Gardens Stadium", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "1", "google_feed": "1", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-03-02 08:58:16", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": "2026-03-02 08:58:16", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/t20-wc-samsons-ubeaten-97-guides-india-to-semis-189774" }