IND vs WI T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s: India will lock horns with West Indies during their last Super 8s match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. Both teams are in must-win situations, as the winner qualifies for the semifinal. And that's why everything is at stake.
The Men in Blue are considered favourites to win the upcoming clash, but they have failed to live up to expectations in the ongoing mega event so far. The West Indies might capitalize on the weaknesses the Indian team has shown so far, along with other factors. Let's take a look at five factors of why the West Indies might outplay India at the Eden Gardens:
The West Indies are full of power-hitters, and they also bat deep
This was particularly evident in their matches against England and South Africa. In the match against the Harry Brook-led side, they had lost two wickets during the first two overs. They lost wickets at regular intervals but still posted a mammoth target of 196 runs, on the back of Sherfane Rutherford's brilliant knock of 76 runs off 42 balls. During the Super 8s match against South Africa, they were tottering at 83/7 at one point, but then Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder stitched a partnership of 89 runs and helped the team post a target of 176.
India's bowling in the middle overs is a big concern
Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya failed to fire with the ball, forcing the team management to use their sixth bowler, Shivam Dube, who made things worse. During the match against the Aiden Markram-led side, both Chakravarthy and Hardik conceded many runs, and Dube also struggled. The Proteas were tottering at 20/3 and then posted a match-winning target of 187 runs. During the match against Zimbabwe, Dube made things worse for himself by giving away 46 runs after bowling just two overs.
Memories of the 2016 T20 World Cup
The Men in Blue were considered favourites to defeat the West Indies in their semifinal clash in Mumbai. But they posted a mammoth target of 192 runs, and it looked like they were to blame if they had lost the match. But Lendl scored a brilliant 82 and helped the Caribbean team qualify for the summit clash by creating a huge upset.
Feel-good factor in Kolkata
This was the same venue where Carlos Brathwaite had smashed Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes during the last over and helped the Caribbean team lift their second title in 2016. And when the Shai Hope-led side enters the ground on Sunday, they will realise how lucky this ground has been for them in the past.
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Presence of Darren Sammy
Darren Sammy was the skipper of the T20 World Cup-winning team way back in 2016. And this time, he has returned to India as the West Indies team's coach. He will try to help the team win this match again, drawing on his knowledge and experience.