Kolkata, Feb 28 (IANS) India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has made it clear that the defending champions will not shy away from pressure in their must-win ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight clash against the West Indies to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.

“I think the important thing is to focus on ourselves, focus on what has got this group to this point, how well they’ve done,” Ten Doeschate said in the pre-match press conference in Kolkata on Saturday.

The assistant coach expected that the big players would step up in the virtual quarterfinal and handle the pressure well.

“It’s about big players standing up, experienced players standing up, and just remaining calm and staying true to the way we’ve played leading up to this match. I don’t think you ever want to mask the pressure. I think you want to go towards pressure. And that’s been the message throughout, not just the World Cup, but certainly all the bilateral series,” he said.

“All our preparation has been towards embracing pressure when it comes. We’re continually telling the guys what a privilege it is to play for your country, what a privilege it is to walk out at Eden Gardens and play for a match to stay in the tournament,” Ten Doeschate added.

India have a good record against West Indies in T20Is. The men in blue have won 19 matches out of 30 played between the teams. While the West Indies came victorious on just ten occasions.

India will be getting into the contest by registering a dominant 72-run win against Zimbabwe in their second Super 8s match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. They lost the first clash against South Africa and have two points from two matches.

India have played only one T20 World Cup match at Eden Gardens. In the 2016 T20 World Cup, India faced Pakistan on this ground, where the Indian team was successful in winning by six wickets. India faced the West Indies three times at Eden Gardens in T20Is in 2022 and won all the matches.

–IANS

sds/bsk/