Sanju Samson needed one more boundary to reach a hundred. He didn’t get it, and it didn’t matter. His unbeaten 97 off 50 balls had already done the job sending India into the T20 World Cup semi-finals and setting a new individual record along the way.
This guide covers two different things people mean when they search “India vs West Indies players” the players who delivered in that unforgettable Super 8 chase, and the squads both boards have named for the bilateral series that follows.
Which India vs West Indies Are You Looking For?
Before going further, a quick clarification most competitor pages skip. “India vs West Indies” in 2026 context could mean the completed T20 World Cup Super 8 match, or the separate bilateral tour 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is that West Indies play in India later in the year. This guide covers both, clearly separated.
| Fixture | Format | Status |
|---|---|---|
| T20 World Cup 2026, Super 8 Match 12 | T20I | Completed — 1 March 2026, Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| West Indies tour of India, 2026 | 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is | Upcoming — squads announced |
The T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 Classic Players Who Decided It
Played 1 March 2026 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. India won the toss and chose to field first.
Result: India won by 5 wickets with 4 balls remaining, topping their Super 8 group and advancing to the semi-finals.
West Indies innings: 195/4 (20 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shai Hope (c, wk) | b Varun Chakaravarthy | 32 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 96.97 |
| Roston Chase | c Suryakumar Yadav b Jasprit Bumrah | 40 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 160.00 |
| Shimron Hetmyer | c Sanju Samson b Hardik Pandya | 27 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 225.00 |
| Rovman Powell | — | 34 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 178.94 |
| Sherfane Rutherford | c Samson b Hardik Pandya | 14 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 155.56 |
| Jason Holder | not out | 37 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 168.18 |
Fall of wickets: 1-68, 102-2 (Hetmyer, 11.3 ov), 103-3 (Chase, 11.5 ov), 119-4 (Rutherford, 14.1 ov).
India bowling: Arshdeep Singh 4-0-43-0, Hardik Pandya 4-0-40-1, Axar Patel 4-0-35-0, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-36-2, Varun Chakaravarthy 4-0-40-1.
India innings: 199/5 (19.2 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abhishek Sharma | c Hetmyer b Akeal Hosein | 10 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 90.91 |
| Sanju Samson (wk) | not out | 97 | 50 | 12 | 3 | 194.00 |
| Ishan Kishan | c Hetmyer b Jason Holder | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 166.66 |
| Suryakumar Yadav (c) | — | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 112.50 |
| Tilak Varma | — | 27 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 180.00 |
| Shivam Dube | not out | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 200.00 |
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West Indies bowling: Jason Holder 2/38 (4 overs), Shamar Joseph 2/42 (4 overs), Akeal Hosein 1/22 (2 overs), Matthew Forde 0/22 (3 overs). Player of the Match: Sanju Samson.
Turning Point: Samson’s Record-Breaking Chase
Here’s what most recaps get wrong. They call this “a match-winning fifty-plus score” and move on. But here’s the real problem with underselling it Samson’s 97 not out is the highest score by an Indian batter in a T20 World Cup run-chase, surpassing Virat Kohli’s twin knocks of 82 against Australia and Pakistan. This wasn’t just a good innings; it was a genuine record in a virtual quarter-final.
What most people miss is how the chase actually unfolded. India lost both openers cheaply Abhishek Sharma for 10 and Ishan Kishan for 10 putting real pressure on the middle order early.
Samson didn’t need boundary-hitting support to survive that: he simply kept scoring at nearly two runs a ball himself, through Suryakumar Yadav’s and Tilak Varma’s brief contributions, right through to the winning runs with four balls still in hand.
Player Performance Breakdown
- Sanju Samson (97* off 50, Player of the Match): Twelve fours and three sixes, at a strike rate just under 194, in a chase where India lost early wickets.
- Bold opinion worth stating plainly: this was arguably the most complete individual T20 World Cup innings by an Indian batter in the tournament’s Super 8 stage controlled enough to survive early pressure, aggressive enough to finish the job without needing the tail.
- Jason Holder (37* off 22, plus 2/38 with the ball): His all-round contribution kept West Indies competitive on both sides of the innings.
- Common mistake in reading his figures: focusing only on his economical bowling spell and missing that his unbeaten finish with the bat is what pushed West Indies from a modest total to a genuinely challenging 195.
- Roston Chase (40 off 25) and Shimron Hetmyer (27 off 12): Their acceleration through the middle overs, including Hetmyer’s strike rate of 225, is why West Indies reached a total that ultimately required a record chase to overhaul.
- Jasprit Bumrah (2/36) and Varun Chakaravarthy (1/40, including Shai Hope’s wicket):
- What people think vs reality: Bumrah’s economy of 9.00 looks unremarkable for a bowler of his reputation, but in a match where every other frontline bowler went at 8.75 or higher, his figures were still comparatively the tightest.
Squads for the Upcoming West Indies Tour of India
West Indies tour India later in 2026 for a series of 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. Both boards have named their squads.
India’s Squad (Combined Pool Across Formats)
| Player | Primary Role |
|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | Batter |
| Rohit Sharma | Batter |
| Shubman Gill | Batter |
| Suryakumar Yadav | Batter |
| Sanju Samson | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Rishabh Pant | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| KL Rahul | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Shreyas Iyer | Batter |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | Batter |
| Tilak Varma | Batter |
| Rinku Singh | Batter |
| Abhishek Sharma | All-rounder |
| Hardik Pandya | All-rounder |
| Axar Patel | All-rounder |
| Washington Sundar | Bowling all-rounder |
| Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | Batting all-rounder |
| Shivam Dube | All-rounder |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
| Mohammed Siraj | Bowler |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler |
| Varun Chakaravarthy | Bowler |
| Arshdeep Singh | Bowler |
| Prasidh Krishna | Bowler |
| Harshit Rana | Bowler |
| Harsh Dubey | Bowler |
| Prince Yadav | Bowler |
| Gurnoor Brar | Bowler |
| Suryansh Shedge | Batter |
| Ishan Kishan | Wicketkeeper-batter |
This reflects the full pool named across the ODI and T20I squads; the actual playing XI for each match will be a subset of this list, and specific squads may vary slightly by format.
West Indies’ Squad
| Player | Primary Role |
|---|---|
| Shai Hope | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Roston Chase | All-rounder |
| Shimron Hetmyer | Batter |
| Sherfane Rutherford | Middle-order batter |
| Jason Holder | All-rounder (recalled to the ODI squad) |
| Keemo Paul | All-rounder |
| Alzarri Joseph | Bowler |
| Khary Pierre | All-rounder |
| Justin Greaves | All-rounder |
| Shamar Springer | Bowler |
| Amir Jangoo | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| John Campbell | All-rounder |
| Jayden Seales | Bowler |
| Matthew Forde | All-rounder |
| Gudakesh Motie | Bowler |
| Ackeem Auguste | Batter |
| Keacy Carty | Batting all-rounder |
| Shamar Joseph | Bowler |
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West Indies named a 13-player squad for the ODI leg specifically, with Jason Holder’s recall to that squad a notable selection story after his impactful showing at the T20 World Cup.
Squad Changes to Track
| Change | Detail |
|---|---|
| Jason Holder’s ODI recall | Returns to the West Indies ODI squad after his standout Super 8 innings against India |
| Harsh Dubey added to India’s ODI squad | Reflects India’s continued rotation of fast-bowling options across white-ball squads |
| Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav in the wider pool | Signals India’s selectors testing depth beyond the established core group |
Players to Watch in the Bilateral Series
- Sanju Samson: Coming off the biggest T20 World Cup innings of his career against this exact opponent, expectations will be high, but the bilateral series offers a different kind of test sustained form across five T20Is rather than one virtual knockout.
- Jason Holder: His recall to the ODI squad, on the back of a match-defining performance with bat and ball against India at the World Cup, makes him the single most interesting selection story on the West Indies side heading into this series.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill: Both remain central to India’s long-term white-ball planning, and a bilateral series against West Indies is exactly the kind of assignment selectors use to assess consistency outside marquee tournament pressure.
- Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford: Both showed genuine middle-overs firepower against India at the World Cup; how they’re used in the bilateral series will reveal whether West Indies plan to build their batting order around that acceleration or ask them to bat with more restraint in a bilateral context.
Key Highlights and Records
- Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 97 off 50 balls is the highest score by an Indian batter in a T20 World Cup run-chase, surpassing Virat Kohli’s twin scores of 82.
- India’s win over West Indies in the Super 8s sent them into the semi-finals with a perfect record in that stage of the tournament.
- Jason Holder contributed both with bat (37* off 22) and ball (2/38) in the Super 8 defeat, and was subsequently recalled to West Indies’ ODI squad for the tour of India.
- West Indies named a 13-player squad specifically for the ODI leg of their tour of India.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who won the last India vs West Indies match in the T20 World Cup 2026?
Ans. India won the Super 8 match by 5 wickets at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 1 March 2026, with Sanju Samson scoring an unbeaten 97 to seal the win and send India into the semi-finals.
Q2. What record did Sanju Samson break against West Indies?
Ans. Samson’s unbeaten 97 off 50 balls became the highest score by an Indian batter in a T20 World Cup run-chase, surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous mark of 82.
Q3. Who was Player of the Match in the India vs West Indies T20 World Cup Super 8 match?
Ans. Sanju Samson was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 97 off 50 balls.
Q4. When does West Indies tour India next, and in what formats?
Ans. West Indies tour India for a series of 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is in 2026, with both boards having named their squads for the tour.
Q5. Has Jason Holder been recalled for the West Indies tour of India?
Ans. Yes. Jason Holder was recalled to West Indies’ 13-player ODI squad for the tour of India, following his standout all-round performance against India at the T20 World Cup.
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