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.

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.

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.

Samson, opening for the second match in succession, led the way.

When India slipped to 41-2, he was joined by captain Suryakumar Yadav (18) and the pair added 58 for the third wicket.

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.

Samson stood firm and though Hardik Pandya fell for 17, India reached the target with four balls to spare to spark celebrations and fireworks.

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.

The West Indies sprang a surprise at the top of the order, promoting Test captain Roston Chase to open alongside T20 skipper Shai Hope.

That enabled them to bring in an extra spinner, Akeal Hosein, with regular opener Brandon King left out.

In their defeat to South Africa last week, the West Indies slumped to 83-7 but the new-look opening partnership was more assured.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy got the first breakthrough, bowling Hope for a sluggish 32.

Shimron Hetmyer raced to 27 off 12 balls before falling to the faintest of edges off Jasprit Bumrah to make it 102-2.

After Chase fell for 40 and Sherfane Rutherford followed, Powell and Holder launched their brutal late assault.

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.

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.

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.

The final is in Ahmedabad next Sunday.

South Africa survived a brilliant all-round show by Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza to record a five-wicket win on Sunday, which means they remained unbeaten ahead of a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday.

After Zimbabwe scored 153-7 in New Delhi, South Africa survived an early wobble.

Dewald Brevis hit 42 off 18 balls as the 2024 runners-up reached 154-5 in 17.5 overs.

Raza earlier hit 73 and then took 3-29 with his off-spin for Zimbabwe, who had stunned Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka in the group stage to reach the Super Eights.

Raza struck on the third ball of the South African chase to send back Quinton de Kock, caught behind for a duck.

Raza bowled skipper Aiden Markram for four in the next over.

Ryan Rickelton was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Brad Evans and took five minutes to recover.

He then lifted Evans for two straight sixes in the next over before the bowler had him caught for 31.

Brevis and David Miller, who hit 22, put on 50 before two more quick strikes from Zimbabwe.

Blessing Muzarabani dismissed Miller, and Raza removed Brevis.

Tristan Stubbs (21) and George Linde (30) then put on an unbeaten 53 to steer their side to the target.

After choosing to bat, Zimbabwe lost the in-form opener Brian Bennett, who hit an unbeaten 97 in the defeat by India, for 15.

Raza reached his fifty off 29 balls before falling to left-armer Kwena Maphaka, caught by Miller off a leading edge.

Clive Madande boosted the total with 26 not out off 20 balls at the end.

Maphaka took 2-21 from his four overs and Corbin Bosch 2-40.

PAKISTAN were put out of their misery at the T20 World Cup when they failed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or less after posting a challenging total of 212.

Once Sri Lanka had eliminated Pakistan from the tournament, the rest of the match was irrelevant from a Pakistani perspective. In the end both Pakistan and Sri Lanka were losers.

Pakistan had failed to defeat any major team in the tournament before this game, and that says everything you need to know about the current standing of Pakistan in world cricket.

With three changes in Kandy, Pakistan relied on their bowlers to exploit Sri Lanka’s batting weakness. However, it was the stunning performance of Pakistan’s opening batsmen that created hope before Sri Lanka reminded the world of their own talent.

Farhan took the batting glory on his way to his second tournament hundred and to race past Virat Kohli’s record for most runs scored in a World T20.

The conditions supported his vigorous stroke play, the ball coming on nicely in pace and in line. The sense was that Farhan just needed to find some support from his fellow batsman, and here he found a willing accomplice in Fakhar Zaman.

Naseem Shah, one of the returning players, made the first incision of Sri Lanka’s chase.

He spotted Nissanka making room and cleverly produced a perfectly pitched googly that found Sri Lanka’s danger man overstretching.

The wicket started taking turn towards the end of Pakistan innings, and was now a more appetising prospect for spinners. Sri Lanka had won the toss and could only blame themselves for this slight imbalance.

Abrar rekindles hope

Abrar Ahmed, who had fluffed his lines against India, was the man who made Pakistan fans dare to believe. Full of confidence here, he slowed his pace down dramatically to repeatedly deceive Sri Lanka’s batsmen.

When Mohammad Nawaz chipped in to take the fifth wicket, and with Sri Lanka still some 50 runs short of the target that would eliminate Pakistan, hopes were high of completing a mission that wasn’t impossible..

Rathnayake had other ideas. As the rest of Sri Lanka’s batsmen struggled, Rathnayake launched into Nawaz and Shadab Khan. The ghosts of Pakistan’s inadequate tournament performance were back to haunt them. Pakistan had backed spin and spin bowling all-rounders, and the strategy hadn’t delivered.

When Shanaka plundered Usman Tariq for 13 runs in the 16th over, Pakistan were out and New Zealand were through to the semi-finals. Now, Pakistan had to somehow find the desire to win this game, and thanks to Shanaka’s brutal late hitting they almost didn’t.

Earlier Sri Lanka had put Pakistan in to bat, and Pakistan quietly expected. But nobody quite expected what followed.

Farhan and Zaman took the attack to Sri Lanka, quickly setting the run rate at 10 an over, and keeping it there. It was Farhan who generated the momentum, powerfully punching boundaries almost at will. He was also aware enough to settle for a single when it was the best option.

Farhan’s acceleration took the pressure off Fakhar in his return to the team. But once Fakhar too found his trademark strokes, Pakistan were flying.

Sri Lanka probably settled too early to defend runs by targeting width rather than seeking to slow down Pakistan by taking wickets. Both batsmen, as is the modern way, line up shots and then get their front leg out of the way to generate power. Farhan is more orthodox, while Fakhar is an innovator.

The result was a partnership of 176. At that moment Pakistan looked well set for a total above 220. After such a brilliant opening stand, the eventual target felt at least 20 runs short.

Question mark over Babar, Shaheen

In the end, Pakistan’s big decision to drop Babar Azam made no material difference to their score other than forcing the responsibility onto others. It really is hard to see how, as prolific as he has been, Babar has a future in the T20 team after this tournament.

Pakistan will point to recent improvements in performance leading up to this World Cup, and perhaps they got unlucky when their match with New Zealand was rained off.

But the hard truth is that Pakistan are short of high-quality cricketers in this format and probably the other formats as well. When the problems with Pakistan’s cricket are so systemic and deep-rooted, it seems almost academic to focus on individuals.

Of course that must be done, and the areas are clear. Pakistan fall short in quality of top order batting and pace bowling. The all-rounders aren’t good enough to support a strategy built on them. Then there is the question of whether the captain and a whole generation of senior players should continue in the T20 team — and, yes, this includes Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi, alongside Nawaz and Shadab Khan.

The brutal answer is no. Pakistan must shed the deadwood that is now drenched in failure. Grow the tree again.

As ever, Pakistan do unearth talented new cricketers, but the problem is that the development of these cricketers is failing.

The PSL cannot continue to be the main pipeline for Pakistan’s cricket team across the three formats. The problems, therefore, are systemic and the challenge is complex and long-term. But what the PCB has continued to demonstrate, under every leadership and regime for the last 20 years and more, is that it does not have the patience to cure the disease at the core of Pakistan’s cricket.

Unless it does so, these disappointments will endure — and sadly failure is something that Pakistani fans are now numb too. The message to the PCB is simple: shed the deadwood, grow a new tree from the roots upwards, and make the trunk — the core — strong.

What’s true for the T20 team is also true for Pakistan cricket as a whole.

Pakistan’s main contribution to this tournament, the performance of Sahibzada Farhan aside, was to fulfil their obligations to the ICC and Sri Lanka by playing India. Is that all Pakistan cricket is — a cash cow for the ICC, albeit a cash cow that is in a sideshow?

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2026