Regrettably, the West Indies were knocked out of the ICC’s Men's T20 World Cup at the Super 8 stage by India. While the West Indies fell to India, they did so playing the most inspired cricket we’ve seen from the islands in a generation — noble, high-stakes, and ultimately undone by a single, unstoppable force.
For much of the match, India looked uncharacteristically rattled, right up until a gentleman by the name of Sanju Samson decided to play with a defiant urgency that suggested he wasn't just chasing a total, but settling a personal score with destiny.
He single-handedly took the game away from the Caribbean men. His magical 97 not out was one of the best T20 innings I have seen since the introduction of T20 cricket. It was calculated, measured, and determined as if his life depended on the outcome of the game. He said after the match it was “one of the greatest days of my life”.
This is a player who played in only two of India’s innings, scoring 22 in 8 balls vs Namibia, 24 in 15 balls vs Zimbabwe, and then the innings against the West Indies. There is no doubt that the West Indies would have won the game had it not been for Samson. He never put a foot wrong, letting his bat do all the dancing while the Caribbean fans were left without a partner, but enough about Samson.
The West Indies had a tremendous tournament. I know there are fans out there who would say, “But we failed, we didn’t even make it to the semi-finals,” but that’s a narrow view of a brilliant campaign. The West Indies dismantled their group—including a clinical win over England—with a swagger we haven’t seen in years. The only bad game the team had was against South Africa, but most, if not all, of the teams have one bad game; it is how the team rebounds from that bad game that separates the great teams from the ones who are there to make up the numbers.
South Africa nearly tripped over Afghanistan and needed two super overs to get the better of them. England narrowly escaped a historic embarrassment against Nepal, but a lack of proper cricketing experience cost Nepal that victory. Australia actually lost to Zimbabwe while India stared into the abyss against the USA, and the list can go on.
Throughout the tournament, the West Indies showed togetherness, team spirit, competitiveness, and determination, attributes that have been lacking in West Indies cricket for a long time. The games I thought were well planned; yes, there were one or two things that could have been done differently, but it is always easy in hindsight to say this or that should have been done. Sometimes, the plan is perfect, but the opposition simply refuses to follow the script, not necessarily because you are playing bad cricket.
When the West Indies innings was completed in what was essentially a ‘quarter-final’ against India, I thought that, because of the nature of the pitch and the small size of the ground, they were about 15 runs short. Some felt Hope’s 32 off 33 balls was not fast enough, but I would cast that aside because in a team sport, the burden of "picking up the slack" is a collective one. The Indian bowlers bowled well despite the conditions, and their superman Jasprit Bumrah took the important wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and Roston Chase in the same over, which meant two new batsmen had to start over, so give the Indian bowlers credit.
Some of the positives were the movement of Shimron Hetmyer up the order, which could very well propel his career again in the various franchise leagues, and don’t be surprised if you see Hetmyer batting at number three in a few teams around the world. His dismissal against the Indians was interesting with ‘The Review Heard Around the World’. Nine times out of 10, a batsman knows very well if he hits the ball, and ‘Hetty’ was so convinced he hadn’t hit it that he reviewed before the umpire could even finish raising his finger. Even on the 4K replays, the evidence was as clear as mud. I was not 100% sure, and both he and King Sammy looked bemused. Technology said "out," but the look on Hetty’s face suggested a glitch in the matrix. Regardless, it was the pivot point that swung the pendulum back in India’s favour.
What has also been good is the depth that has been shown by the West Indies batting line-up, especially coming down to the last five overs, as they have fought right down to the end. The partnership between Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd vs South Africa was exceptional, proving this team has a spine that extends to the tail. The promotion of Rovman Powell was also a good move, but he would be disappointed that he did not score more runs, as would be Sherfane Rutherford, who got some good starts, but the tournament did not see too much of his destructive batting.
The bowling was steady, but I still think there is more work to be done with the fast bowlers. There are too many deliveries that are too short or heading down the leg-side, and that needs to be tightened. They gave 100%, and they really cannot be faulted for effort, attempting to put batsmen under pressure and bowling to their field. The spinners were good on pitches where I thought they might have gotten more assistance, but they varied their speed and turn.
Akeal Hosein, opening the bowling, kept batsmen in a state of perpetual guessing, while Gudakesh Motie teased us with a back-of-the-hand delivery that, if mastered, could become a lethal asset. Chase’s bowling has improved at the T20 level, and he can pick up a wicket or two when he gets it right with his line and length.
The blueprint for the future is clear. The Windies need a "Death Row" specialist—someone who can bowl the final four overs and not only restrict the scoring, but also get vital wickets in the final overs. It will take some practice and a lot more hard work. The other component of the West Indies bowling I would like to see added to the armoury is the emergence of a good leg spinner and a back of the hand left arm spinner.
Investment must be made in the "dark arts" of leg-spin and left-arm unorthodox bowling. Take a look and see how well the leg spinners have done in the tournament; it's clear that wrist spin is the modern currency of T20s. England will suffer when Adil Rashid retires; thankfully, they seem to have a good prospect in Rehan Ahmed.
Between them, against the Kiwis, they bowled seven overs for 56 runs, but more importantly, they scalped four batsmen. I’m pinning my hopes on the Under-19 duo of leg spinner Micah McKenzie and the left arm unorthodox spinner Vitel Lawes. Hopefully, they both get some specialised training, as they are special commodities that West Indies cricket doesn’t have an abundance of.
With the West Indies out, who takes the crown? Your guess is as good as mine. New Zealand has never beaten South Africa in a T20 World Cup; however, in a plot twist few saw coming, New Zealand has finally rewritten history in their favour. Despite a historical drought against the Proteas in T20 World Cups, from the second over onwards, it was a Kiwi takeover, fuelled by a remarkable, tone-setting knock from Finn Allen and excellent bowling. I’ll admit, I had South Africa pegged as the eventual champions, but their exit has blown the tournament wide open.
India, bolstered by 60,000 fans in Ahmedabad, remains the ultimate ‘final boss,’ but they are dangerously reliant on the supernatural exploits of Jasprit Bumrah. If he has a human day, the script flips. England's batting has been wobbling, and unless the top order fires, too much will be left to Harry Brook. New Zealand’s semifinal performance proved they aren't just participants; they are predators. They showed they have the temperament to silence a crowd and the execution to dismantle a favourite.
Unless England can spring a massive surprise in the second semifinal, we are hurtling toward a New Zealand vs. India final. It promises to be a spectacle of world-class cricket—one where the only thing louder than the roar of the 60,000 fans in Ahmedabad might be the sound of their collective heartbreak if the Kiwis pull off the ultimate heist.
May the best team on the day win!
Editor’s note: The views expressed in the preceding article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organisation in which he is a stakeholder.
