Journalism of Courage
India vs West Indies: Title aspirants India were knocked out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a heartbreaking seven-wicket defeat at the hands of West Indies, who capitalised on the home team's sloppy bowling display in a high-scoring semifinal showdown. Put into bat, India rode on in-form Virat Kohli's blazing unbeaten 47-ball 89 to notch up a challenging 192 for two, but the spirited Caribbean chased down the total and made the final with two balls to spare, leaving the capacity crowd at the Wankhede Stadium completely stunned.
India vs West Indies: If there was enough star power in the middle, there was plenty in the stands too. Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor were in attendance for the big clash. Also in the stands were MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin's wives. Wankhede was a packed house right from the start of the game and got behind the home team before turning silent during West Indies assault. (Source: AP)
India vs West Indies: The fans were left stunned. They didn't see this coming, especially after Virat Kohli's masterclass powered India to over 190 (read 192). At the half-way mark, Wankhede seemed in a celebratory mood and they turned even more vocal when Jasprit Bumrah castled early. However, what followed next turned the vocal lot into mute spectators. (Source: Reuters)
India vs West Indies: At the start of the game, there were cheerful and happy faces and the smile on their faces went wider after the Kohli show. It, however, didn't last long as the Men in Blue put up a shoddy performance with the ball and saw West Indies power him with seven wickets to spare. (Source: Reuters)
India vs West Indies: India had themselves to blame for the debacle as they made costly blunders while bowling and allowed Lendle Simmons three lives. Simmons, playing for the first time in the tournament in place of injured Andre Fletcher, made full use of the lives to smash his way to a scintillating unbeaten 82 off 51 balls. 2012 winners West Indies will now take on England, champions in 2010, in the summit showdown at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. (Source: PTI)
India vs West Indies: Simmons, caught off no ball twice in his innings that contained 5 sixes and 7 fours, led the West Indian charge. India were left ruing the let-offs to Simmons due to overstepping committed, first by Ravichandran Ashwin when the batsman was on 18 in the seventh over, and then Hardik Pandya when he was on 58 in the 15th over with West Indies cruising at 132 for 3. Simmons put on a vital partnership of 97 runs in 62 balls with another youngster Johnson Charles (52 in 36 balls) after West Indies had been rocked by the dismissals of swashbuckling opener Chris Gayle (5) and Marlon Samuels (8) with just 19 on board. (Source: PTI)
India vs West Indies: This was the third time in four clashes in the tournament's history that Windies had got the better of India who had won their earlier clash two years ago in Bangladesh on way to finishing runner-up to Sri Lanka. (Source: Reuters)
India vs West Indies: Throughout the tournament, India were heavily dependant on Virat Kohli at top of the order and needed Ashish Nehra's experience in the bowling department, more often than not. Nehra and Kohli fired again, but it was others who didn't step up on the big stage. In wet conditions, spinners found it difficult and a struggling Hardik Pandya didn't give Dhoni tight overs either. After ending up as runners-up in the 2014 edition, India end their 2016 campaign as semi-finalists. (Source: Reuters)
