The West Indies will be looking to silence the Eden Gardens when they face India in a virtual quarter-final tonight. With three out of four semifinalists set, all eyes are on this India vs West Indies clash. The equation is simple. Win and face England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium.
India obviously enter this game as favourites. They got their mojo back with a stupendous batting performance against Zimbabwe. But one team that can give India a taste of their own medicine is the West Indies, who boast a powerful batting lineup. However, it is their bowling, who may need some tweaking ahead of the must-win clash in Kolkata.
Predicted West Indies playing XI vs IND
Don’t forget, the West Indies have put themselves in this must-win situation after putting up an off showing against South Africa. They were outclassed across all fronts. The bowling bore the biggest brunt as they got hammered for 177 runs in just 16.1 overs. They made a solitary change in Ahmedabad, bringing in off-spinner Roston Chase in place of Akeal Hosein. This was done to counter South Africa’s multiple lefties, something that India also tried to do by bringing in Washington Sundar. But both of them failed against the Protea power.
Now, against India, the Windies should stick with Chase. He is a smart operator and the off-spinners have troubled Indians throughout this edition. However, Akeal Hosein is also needed, as India have been one of the worst spin-playing batting units in the T20 World Cup 2026. Also, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav are not incredible players of left-arm spin. Hence, you would want Hosein to be there.
| Position | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brandon King | Opener |
| 2. | Shai Hope (C & WK) | Keeper-Batter |
| 3. | Shimron Hetmyer | Batter |
| 4. | Rovman Powell | Batter |
| 5. | Sherfane Rutherford | Batter |
| 6. | Romario Shepherd | All-rounder |
| 7. | Roston Chase | All-rounder |
| 8. | Jason Holder | All-rounder |
| 9. | Akeal Hosein | Bowler |
| 10. | Gudakesh Motie | Spinner |
| 11. | Shamar Joseph | Bowler |
For that, the West Indies need to drop a pacer and that would be Matthew Forde. Indians love pace coming onto the bat. Forde can get hit for runs. In Hosein, Chase and Gudakesh Motie, the Windies have enough potency in spinners. As for pacers, they already have Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder. Holder is the engine room for them, while Joseph has extreme pace which is a wicket-taking threat.
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