We have come to the final run of the World T20 with just two games to go. England played an aggressive cricket that came in against the unstoppable Kiwis saw the latter crash out of the World Cup, having not lost a single match in group stage. Jason Roy’s whirlwind innings saw his team finish the game with 3 overs to spare.

The semi-final game against West Indies looks nicely poised and is set to be a cracker of a game. Both teams look destructive and it looks as if the winner is going to be the one who holds his nerves in pressure situation. The Wankhede Stadium is supposed to be fully packed for the action. It will actually be a battle between ‘the consistents’ and the ‘carefree slaughters’.

For India, it took two miracles, one in Bangalore against Bangladesh, and the next in Mohali against Australia, to help them book a ticket to the semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 against West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday.

West Indies had no need for such miracles. They secured handsome wins against England, South Africa and Sri Lanka to seal their berth in the knockout stage. However, the loss against Afghanistan in their last league game would have brought them down to earth.

The higher the rise, the harder the fall they say. And India certainly found their slump against New Zealand, in the tournament opener in Nagpur, hard to digest. They had been outdone on a turning track, no less. Their next game, against Pakistan, saw the side return to winning ways, and in fine fashion. Then came the two miracles – one brought on by Bangladesh batsmen on themselves and another brought on by Virat Kohli’s sizzling batting display against Australia – that saw India progress to the next stage.

The problems still remain, with both bat and ball. However, the fact that India have managed to pull through and are just two steps away will keep the side optimistic.

West Indies, on the other hand, came into the tournament with some amount of uncertainty shrouding their camp. That they have overcome those problems and managed to put themselves in the position they are in is massive credit to Darren Sammy’s side.

Chris Gayle has already made a mark, with his hundred against England at the same ground. Their bowlers then shone against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Coming into their final league game against Afghanistan, the West Indies juggernaut looked set to roll on. They were, however, served with a harsh reminder of the unpredictability of the format as they slumped to defeat.

The defeat will have done its bit to keep the side on their toes, and West Indies will be hoping that the loss will be their one minor blip in this World T20.

Teams:

India (From): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh

West Indies (From): Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin(w), Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Evin Lewis, Jerome Taylor, Ashley Nurse, Jason Holder