Kolkata, Feb 28 (IANS) The iconic Eden Gardens is all set to host a blockbuster on Sunday as the defending champions India will face the West Indies in their last match of the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s, which will be a virtual quarterfinal that will decide the fate of both teams.

Both India and the West Indies have lost one and won one match in the Super 8, Group 1, and are tied on two points.

The semifinal equation is straightforward for both teams: the winner of the encounter will advance to the next round, along with South Africa, which has already confirmed their spot from Group A.

India got into the contest after 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.

Despite the dominant win against Zimbabwe in their last match, their prime bowler Varun Chakravarthy’s form will be in focus when they face the two-time champions, West Indies, in the must-win clash. Varun gave away 35 runs against Sikandar Raza’s team and was able to take only one wicket. Against the Proteas, Varun leaked 47 runs and took only one wicket. India will hope that the mystery spinner gets back to what he does best when he returns to his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), home ground.

The positive thing for the hosts is the return to form of opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored a fifty against Zimbabwe after getting three zeroes in the previous four matches he played in this World Cup.

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.

While the West Indies is coming into the do-or-die match after suffering a nine-wicket defeat against the T20 World Cup 2024 runner-ups, South Africa, in their second Super 8s match played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Shai Hope’s team registered a big win in their first Super 8s match vs Zimbabwe. The Caribbean side also has two points in two matches.

The Windies have good memories of the iconic ground. Ten years ago, they beat England in the 2016 T20 World Cup final here to secure their most impressive ICC title. Windies have played three T20 World Cup matches at this venue, and have never lost a match. Shai Hope’s team will look to continue that streak against the home team.

Squads:

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel.

West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Jayden Seales, Quentin Sampson

–IANS

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