India is set for a big clash against the West Indies (IND vs WI) in the T20 World Cup 2026. The two teams face off at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1 in a do-or-die match. Whoever wins heads to the semifinals. The loser packs up and heads home.
If you look at the numbers, Eden Gardens has always been good to India when playing the West Indies. India has never lost to them here. Suryakumar Yadav is leading the side and the team looks ready to write another chapter of history at this ground. The match kicks off at 7:00 PM on Sunday, and you can bet Indian fans everywhere will be glued to their screens, hoping for another win.
India cruised through the group stage without dropping a game, but South Africa snapped that streak in the Super 8s, beating India by 76 runs. That loss put the pressure on and India now needs to win every remaining Super 8 match to make the semifinals. They bounced back by crushing Zimbabwe by 72 runs. Now, only the West Indies stand in the way.
Eden Gardens is almost like a fortress for India in T20s. West Indies, on the other hand, haven’t done well here. India’s beaten them in all four T20s they’ve played at this venue. One in 2018, three in 2022. In November 2018, India won by 5 wickets. Then, in February 2022, they beat the West Indies twice, once by 5 wickets and once by 8 runs. The last match that month, India won by 17 runs. Now, after four years, they’re meeting again at Eden Gardens.
The West Indies have played seven T20Is at this ground and only managed to win three. In ODIs, they’ve never beaten India here as India handed them big defeats in ’88, ’93, and ’94. One thing to note that this will be the first T20 World Cup Super 8 match to be played at Eden Gardens. The West Indies might feel a bit more at home this time as they’ve already played (and won) two group matches here against Scotland and Italy.
Looking at the overall record, India has beaten the West Indies in 63% of all T20Is. But when it comes to the T20 World Cup, the story flips. The West Indies have the edge. Their first World Cup meeting was back in 2009 at Lord’s, where the West Indies won by 7 wickets. They repeated the feat in 2010, winning by 14 runs. India’s only World Cup win against them came in 2014 by 7 wickets. Then there was the 2016 semifinal in Mumbai, where the West Indies knocked India out by 7 wickets.
So, there’s a lot at stake this Sunday. The numbers favour India at Eden Gardens, but the West Indies know how to turn up on the big stage. It’s going to be a cracker of a match.
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
