Sports

World T20: Simmons rides luck to carry West Indies into final

The 31-year-old top-scored with an unbeaten 82, carrying his side to a nail-biting win in the last over against India

Reuters March 31, 2016

PHOTO: REUTERS

MUMBAI, INDIA: Late replacement Lendl Simmons led a charmed life to blast 82 not out and carry West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over against India in the second semi-final of the World T20 on Thursday.

#WI are in the #WT20 Final! 50s from Charles and Simmons helped edge #IND in an thriller by 7 wickets! #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/RUZ4Rzhn1Q
— ICC (@ICC) March 31, 2016

Simmons was caught twice at the Wankhede Stadium, on 18 and 50, but both times the bowlers had overstepped for no-balls and he made the hosts pay dearly for their mistakes as West Indies set up a final against England on Sunday.

He was at home in the West Indies 48 hours ago, but @54simmo has come to Mumbai and got #WI to the #WT20 final! pic.twitter.com/91iXVjc8Af
— ICC (@ICC) March 31, 2016

The #Champion Dance celebrations continue for #WI in Mumbai with a Chest-Roll thrown in for good measure! #WT20 pic.twitter.com/XKWWcmWtu2
— ICC (@ICC) March 31, 2016

Earlier, Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form by smashing an undefeated 89 to guide India to 192 for two after they were put in to bat.

England promise 'all guns blazing' in T20 final

West Indies lost Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels early in their reply but opener Johnson Charles kept them in the hunt with a 36-ball 52 and a third-wicket stand of 97 with Simmons.

The right-handed Simmons plays for Mumbai in the Indian Premier League and was only called into the squad two days ago as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher.

He cracked seven fours and five sixes in 51 balls and added an unbeaten 80 with Andre Russell for the fourth wicket to take West Indies home with two balls to spare.

Russell, known for his powerful hitting, contributed 43 off 20 deliveries.

Roy smashes 78 as England march into final

Earlier, the West Indian bowlers began strongly, allowing the home team just six runs in the first couple of overs but India then took control in front of a stadium filled to the brim with fans wearing the team's blue jersey.

India, the inaugural champions in 2007, dropped under-performing opener Shikhar Dhawan and the move paid off as Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) put on 62 for the first wicket.

That laid the perfect foundation for Kohli, who led his side into the last four with 82 not out against Australia in the previous match, as he compiled a third unbeaten half-century in the tournament.

Kohli began nervously, twice going close to being run out, but made the opposition pay for failing to take their chances.

He struck 11 fours and a six in his 47-ball knock, putting on 66 for the second wicket with Rahane and an unbroken 64 for the third with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (15 not out).

West Indies' women also reached the final as captain Stafanie Taylor scored 25 and took three wickets to help defeat New Zealand by six runs and set up a final against champions Australia on Sunday.

Both @henrygayle & @DJBravo47 took time to thank the amazing crowd tonight in the Wankhede #INDvWI #WT20 pic.twitter.com/f6AXCPmLOo
— ICC (@ICC) March 31, 2016

COMMENTS (25)

someone | 8 years ago | Reply @nasser: Hmm Did I mention the word "LUCK"? All I said it was a good match. Indian team posted a very good total and the batting was great. The bowling let us down but then its part of game. You win some you loose some. But the Indian team is miles ahead of any other team in south Asia. That is a fact.

Deepak Arora | 8 years ago | Reply @imran - " Soo happppy. Like if Pakistan has won something. I wish to see live faces of indians. " Borther I am an Indian here & I am not ashamed of our team. They played great cricket to reach till semis. And more importantly its not 24 hours over yet & I am smiling :)

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Pakistani | 8 years ago | Reply Rubbish.....Indians got beaten fair and square and by a better team. They should stop blaming their luck. What if Kohli had got run out early in his innings?!!? Dhoni should have congratulated West Indies in the presentation ceremony. Sour loser.

nasser | 8 years ago | Reply @gp65: Typical negativity. You don't like to give opposition any credit for their good showing. Sad

nasser | 8 years ago | Reply @Prada: Same may be true for Pakistan Cricket also. Just sack Waqar as coach ...don't give any chance to Rameez Raja in cricket affairs and Pakistan will again rise with the very players who are being hounded without any justification.

nasser | 8 years ago | Reply @Vectra: @someone: How was it LUCK for Simmons? Not been given out against illegal bowls is not Luck. If it is luck then all the batsmen across the cricketing world are lucky that Sayeed Ajamal and many front line spinners are banned for illegal bowling actions. If anyone was lucky then it was Kohli who escaped two easy run outs off a single delivery. For those Pakistanis who are furious against their team may notice that India minus Kohli would have been dumped long back.

Prada | 8 years ago | Reply Keep your chins up dear Pakistanis ! I know it must be a sad day for you to learn that India has been knocked out. All I can say is that the sun will rise again tomorrow. The flowers will bloom and the birds will chirp again. Keep your spirits up and wait for the dark clouds to scatter.

Feroz | 8 years ago | Reply Terrific match indeed ! The West Indies bowled and batted superbly and were evenly matched by India. Just five wickets fell on the day, in that context twice the Indian fielders caught Simmons but discovered on both occasions that the bowler had overstepped. This was a costly mistake and finally proved the difference between the two sides. It was said before the match that if Gayle fails West Indies will lose, however even though Gayle failed and Kohli clicked India lost. Of the bowlers only the old wily experienced foxes Badree and Nehra could control the batsmen, returning with identical figures of 1 for 26. Congratulations to West Indies for a wonderful performance. Sorry Kohli, you did not deserve to be on the losing side.

imran ali | 8 years ago | Reply i want to draw your intention on the issue of words that you use in newspaper is absolutely wrong as you have done in t twenty story there is no word of rich vein and other sentence cracked the wicket in English

Baba | 8 years ago | Reply @An Indian: That is silly. It was a great game between two very good teams. India, is good in all three formats but T20 it seems was tailor made for the West Indians. As a Pakistani I just enjoyed the game. I would say it was a tough toss to lose for India and also the dew clearly made a difference.

someone | 8 years ago | Reply What a match. Congrats to West indies and well played India. Kohli is beyond comparison and India proved that they are the best in South Asia and miles ahead from other teams in South Asia.

Asad ali | 8 years ago | Reply Goodbye India!!

nasser | 8 years ago | Reply @Ashish: What sort of rubbish is this? It was a good match and you should not hide your disappointment for the loss behind Senseless comments. Accepting loss gracefully requires a big heart.

Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply Its all about cricket, entertainment and sportsmanship .....and there was an abundance of all three in this match.

Asad | 8 years ago | Reply Maukaaa maukaaa..

Vaibhav | 8 years ago | Reply Well played windies...... India did well......192 was very good batting effort........ WI's bowling and fielding was excellent..... Today Our bowling is exposed......... Full marks to Dhoni.... With this bowling attack..........we can not expect more...... ...and yes ....VIRAAT KOHLI........words can not DESCRIBE HIS brilliance FINAL.....WI vs ENG...... Difficult to predict.... ( Raina Jadeja ...time to take rest)

An Indian | 8 years ago | Reply Something for the Pakistanis to cheer about!

imran | 8 years ago | Reply I am sooo happpyyy. Soo happppy. Like if Pakistan has won something. I wish to see live faces of indians.

Defiant | 8 years ago | Reply Kohli, Ashwin etc foul ups led to Indian failure. That said, the lack of sportsmanship exhibited by the Indian crowd was appalling. Great work West Indies! Really happy for you.

Vectra | 8 years ago | Reply Bad fielding by India,Simons 2 times was caught out but 2 times no ball and he made sure his side wins-that's a turning point,that's disgusting blowing by India.Anyways good luck next time.I am sad we lost but disappointed with bowling and fielding of India :(

Kingston | 8 years ago | Reply sensational, spectacular win. Windies looked out of it by the 13th. Humiliated India, What a win. :-)

winner | 8 years ago | Reply yesssss

gp65 | 8 years ago | Reply 86 for 1 in 10 overs is not that different from 192 for 2 in 20 overs. It is expected that the last few overs would have a higher average when the wickets are intact. Unclear why it is implied that initial overs were slow scoring.

Ashish | 8 years ago | Reply Waiting for lot of ppl to comment that, it was fixed n scripted n Kohli scored because of miss run out and bad bowling and fielding. Hahaha.

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