Sanju leads the charge with first fifty after six-hitting Windies post 195/4; India must win to advance

Sanju Samson is leading the charge as India chase a fighting total of 195/4 set by the West Indies in a do-or-die Super Eight contest in the T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Sanju stepped up when India needed him the most with his first half-century of the tournament after Abhishek Sharma (10) and Ishan Kishan (10) were back in the dugout inside the powerplay.

Sanju looked calm and confident throughout his innings, hitting three sixes and six boundaries to get to his fifty off 26 balls.

At the time of writing, skipper Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed by Shamar Joseph in his second ball to leave India in trouble at 99/3 in 10.2 overs.

Earlier, the Windies, for all their shortcomings against slow bowling, bludgeoned the white ball over the rope ten times.

Every Windies batter hit at least a six, and they geared up in the last five overs, making 70 runs. Rovman Powell smashed two sixes to push him to the top of the six-hitting West Indians' list (T20), past Nicholas Pooran. He made 34 not out off 19, while Jason Holder hit three sixes to remain unbeaten on 37 off 22.

For the Windies, they needed to turn to their most potent superpower of power hitting, against the defending champions who have relied on the prowess of their bowlers to get to this stage when the famed batting unit did not deliver consistently.

After being sent in to bat, the Windies made 68, which was the best opening stand by any opposition this edition. Roston Chase, who had never opened an innings before, made 40 off 25 before losing his wicket to a slow delivery from Jasprit Bumrah.

India's ace pacer had tricked the opposition's star batter Shimron Hetmyer with a slow ball in the same over. After Sherfane Rutherford (14) was removed by Hardik Pandya, again caught behind by Sanju Samson, the Windies had seemingly thrown away a good start to be left at 119/4.

But then came in Powell and Holder, adding an unbeaten 76-run stand for the fifth wicket. In between, Abhishek Sharma dropped two catches, the first of which was a sitter. It won't be an easy chase for the hosts at the Eden Gardens. The winner will reach the semifinals.

Brief scores: West Indies 195/4 in 20 overs (Roston Chase 40, Jason Holder 37 not out, Rovman Powell 34 not out, Shai Hope 32, Shimron Hetmyer 27, Jasprit Bumrah 2/36) vs India