Dubai: Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 97 on Sunday as India beat West Indies by five wickets in Kolkata to progress to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
On Thursday, India will faceflap England in the second semi-finals.
Hunting down a tricky 196 to seal the win, Samson played his finest knock full of control laced with aggression and brilliance.
Though he fell three runs short of a century he wouldn’t complain as he guided India past with four balls to spare.
His score included 12 fours and four sixes.
Tilak Varma was the second best batter scoring a 15-ball 27.
Challenging total
The West Indies batted first, scoring 195-4.
Jason Holder and Rovman Powell hammered 70 runs off the final five overs to help their side set defending champions India a stiff challenge of 196 in order to keep alive their hopes of remaining in the tournament.
The West Indies also shocked the top of the order, promoting Test captain Roston Chase to open with T20 skipper Shai Hope.
That allowed them to include an additional spinner, Akeal Hosein, with regular opener Brandon King omitted.
The West Indies crashed to 83-7 in defeat against South Africa last week but the new opening partnership looked more secure.
The spinner Varun Chakravarthy struck first, bowing Hope for 32 to a huge cheer from the 67,000 crowd crammed into Eden Gardens after a partnership of 68.
Shimron Hetmyer made a quick-fire 27 from 12 balls out before being caught off a faint edge at the hands of Jasprit Bumrah to be reduced to 102-2.
Two balls later it was 103-3 as Bumrah got Chase, on 40, to chip a slower ball to India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav.
After local hero Sherfane Rutherford perished cheaply, Powell and Holder led their savage late assault in an unbroken stand of 76 for the fifth wicket.
Powell ended on 34 not out from 19 deliveries with two sixes and three fours and Holder was undefeated on 37 from 22 balls with three sixes and two fours.
It could have been an even better day for India but they were guilty of sloppy fielding and dropped three regulation catches, Chase `s when he was just on 15.